4 Best Google Flight Hacks: How to Find Amazing Flight Deals

4 Best Google Flight Hacks

The more we travel the world, the more questions we get about booking travel. One of the biggest questions we get is, “How can you afford to travel so much!?” The answer is simple — we’re flexible, and we go where the deals take us.

We’ve been using Google Flights to find all of our flights for over five years now. Most of our trips start out with a generic search on Google Flights, to see what kind of cheap flights are available for our date range. Many of our trips have exactly zero thought put into them before we book our flights. All the fun planning and itinerary building comes after the flight purchase.

We’re going to share our 4 Best Google Flight Hacks with you, so you can start finding amazing flight deals just like we do. Just know that you won’t use Google Flights to book the flight. You only use it to find the best flight deals. When it comes to actually booking the flight, you’ll want to do that directly with the airline. Never use a third party to book a flight. We’ll cover more on that below.

4 BEST GOOGLE FLIGHT HACKS: HOW TO FIND AMAZING FLIGHT DEALS

1. Be Flexible With Your Travel Dates

One of our favorite Google Flight Hacks is to be flexible with your travel dates. Choose the dates of your vacation based on the cheapest flight dates in your search results. Meaning, book your flight first! And plan your trip second (i.e. hotels, tours, excursions). As long as you know your start and end points, you can book your flight without having anything else planned for your trip.

Google Flights has a flexible search calendar. This means that you can search for flights with flexible travel dates which can help you save money. Simply perform a search with your desired trip dates (any dates will work) and pay attention to the calendar options that populate (see the picture above). Google Flights will automatically show you the price of the cheapest flights on each calendar date. You can easily find cheaper flights by choosing dates with lower prices. Modify your travel dates based on the results.

To take this one step further, after you click “search” on a date range, you’ll see another option that says “Date Grid.” When you click this button, you will see a price graph that shows different prices for the flight you searched, based on both departure and return dates. Sometimes coming back from a trip just one day sooner or later can save you money.

And keep in mind, your flexibility is only needed when booking the flight. Once you’ve found a great flight deal, and you purchase the flight, your dates are locked in and you can finish planning the rest of your trip. We always try to purchase our flights first, whenever possible. You will save money by picking your flight dates based on cost, rather than choosing the dates that fit your itinerary.

4 BEST GOOGLE FLIGHT HACKS: HOW TO FIND AMAZING FLIGHT DEALS

2. Use Incognito Mode

The second one of our Google Flight Hacks will blow your mind. And if you haven’t heard of this before, you may be kicking yourself after reading this. You know what a computer cookie is, right? It’s basically a small piece of data that’s sent from a website and stored on your computer. It helps the website remember information about you.

This can be really useful in some scenarios, like remembering your shoe size at your favorite online shoe store. But for flight research, it’s your biggest enemy. Each time you search for a flight on an airline’s website or a third-party booking site, cookies are stored on your computer with the details of your search.

This means that if you repeatedly search for the same flight on your computer, you may see the price increase over time. The stored cookies on your computer are telling that airline or website that you really want to fly to a particular place on a specific date. The travel industry can see how desperate you are to fly on those dates, so it raises the prices, knowing you’ll pay it.

To avoid this, always open an incognito window before searching for flights. Even if you’re just searching for fun! You can do this by clicking on the three dots at the top right corner of your browser and selecting “New Incognito Window.” An incognito browser will block all cookies, so each time you search in that browser, it’s as if it’s your first search.

💣_{Antisocial Tourist Tip — No, this hack is NOT a myth! In recent years, a few major players in the travel industry have called B.S. on the Incognito Mode Hack for lack of evidence. To that, we say… prove it. Until someone can show us without a doubt that using a private browser does not make a difference, we’ll continue to use this hack.}

4 BEST GOOGLE FLIGHT HACKS: HOW TO FIND AMAZING FLIGHT DEALS

3. Set Flight Alerts

Constantly checking flight prices can be frustrating. If you can’t be flexible like we suggested in the first of our Google Flight Hacks, fortunately, there’s still a way for you to save money on your flight. The answer is Flight Alerts.

If there’s a specific flight you’re watching or a destination you want to travel to, you can set up Flight Alerts on Google Flights. You can set specific criteria for the dates, times, and price range you want for your flight. You can even specify the airline. This is similar to Hopper, which is a popular app that tracks flight prices and alerts you when there’s a price drop or increase. Whenever the price or availability of the flight changes, you’ll get a notification.

There are two things to look out for when using Flight Alerts. First, you will still need to use your best judgment before booking the flight. You’ll be alerted anytime the flight price changes, even if it goes up in price. So if you receive several alerts about a price drop, and you don’t take advantage of it, the next alert you receive may be bad news. On the other hand, if you purchase a flight based on a price alert, it could be even cheaper in the future.

The second thing to be aware of is that Flight Alerts can only be set up for specific date ranges. You can’t have a “flexible” option with Flight Alerts. To get around this, you’ll need to set up multiple Flight Alerts for various date combinations that work with your itinerary or availability. Be sure you’re using an incognito browser when you’re doing this, and each time you check an alert.

4 BEST GOOGLE FLIGHT HACKS: HOW TO FIND AMAZING FLIGHT DEALS

4. Use Google Explore

Of all our Google Flight Hacks, this is our favorite: Google Explore. Google Explore is a feature that shows you the top destinations for your travel dates. It can also help you find the cheapest flights for those destinations. Simply type in your travel dates, and Google Explore will show you the lowest prices for different destinations. It’s a great way of finding inspiration for your next trip.

Just recently, we booked a trip to Ireland on a whim, because we found a great deal on a flight using Google Explore. Last year we planned a trip to Iceland for this same reason. If you’re flexible with your dates and your destination, you’re guaranteed to find an amazing flight deal using Google Explore.

To use Google Explore, simply plug in your starting destination and desired travel dates, then click the “Explore” button. From there, you’ll be shown all available flights around the world during your travel dates. You can then filter the criteria even further, such as showing nonstop flights only, or flights shorter than 4 hours. This tool is invaluable and really fun to use. Just be sure you’re using incognito mode!

Google Flights recently updated its site to include a second way to use Google Explore. Now you can actually type in “Anywhere” as the destination when searching for a flight. Just like above, you’ll plug in your departure airport and desired travel dates, but type “Anywhere” into the destination box, then click search. Google Flights will then show you all the available flights around the world, along with their prices.

4 BEST GOOGLE FLIGHT HACKS: HOW TO FIND AMAZING FLIGHT DEALS

How To Book a Flight Using Google Flights

So now that you have the 4 Best Google Flight Hacks, let’s talk about how to book an actual flight using Google Flights. The quick answer is — you don’t. Google Flights is a tool you can use to find amazing flight deals. But you won’t use it to book the actual flight.

Google Flights did once offer a “Book with Google” option, but as of March 2023, this service is no longer available. But even if it was still available, we wouldn’t recommend using the feature. Instead, you should book direct. In fact, you should ALWAYS book flights directly on the airline’s website.

💣_{Antisocial Tourist Tip — Third-party booking sites can be really awesome, just not for flights. Hotels and tour companies are great about working with third-party booking sites, so don’t be afraid to book your hotels using Booking.com or your tours using GetYourGuide or Viator.}

Once you’ve found the flight that you want to book, you’ll see a “Continue” button, which will automatically redirect you to the airline’s website. Sometimes you’ll also be presented with different seating options before you’re redirected. We recommend choosing the Basic Economy option no matter what seat you prefer, then making your upgrade selections directly on the airline’s website.

4 BEST GOOGLE FLIGHT HACKS: HOW TO FIND AMAZING FLIGHT DEALS

What is the Cheapest Day of the Week to Fly?

It’s well known in the travel industry that flying during the week can be cheaper than flying on a weekend. Tuesdays and Wednesdays in particular are known for being the cheapest travel days. In our experience, this is generally true.

Whenever possible, we try to fly on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. Not only are the flight prices lower, but the airport traffic is lower too. Shorter lines at the security gate, less crowded flights, fewer screaming children, and we could go on.

Weekday flights are also less likely to be delayed! This is because most weekday flights accommodate business travelers, which is a huge part of the travel industry. Airlines will go out of their way to ensure frequent business flyers don’t have any problems with their flights.

How Far Ahead Should You Book a Flight?

There is no right answer to how far in advance you should book a flight. But there are some guidelines. In general, flights are cheapest when booked 11 – 12 months in advance, or 3 – 4 months in advance, although there are some exceptions.

Most travelers are starting to plan their trips 5 – 10 months ahead of time. The travel industry knows this, so flights are likely going to be high during those months. But they will soar even higher within 0 – 2 months of a flight. This is because most people booking last-minute travel are doing so for a specific need, and unfortunately, the airline will take advantage of that.

Final Thoughts: Google Flight Hacks

We love Google Flights, and we encourage everyone we know to use it. It’s an excellent tool for finding cheap flights, and these Google Flight Hacks can help you get the best deals. Being flexible with your travel dates, using incognito mode, setting up Flight Alerts, and using Google Explore are just a few ways you can save money when booking flights. Keep these tips in mind for your next vacation and start saving money today!

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Thank you for reading our post! We hope it helps you plan the perfect trip! Check out our other guides here and follow us on Instagram (@AntisocialTourist) or on Facebook to see our latest adventures!