Whether you’re looking at planning a Caribbean vacation with your bae or are already planning for which European destinations you’re going to hit up in 2020, learning how to use Google Flights to find cheap airfare can help you save hundreds on plane tickets.
The online flight booking service is similar to other tools such as Kayak, Orbitz and even Skyscanner. What’s different, however, is the quality of flights and prices the algorithm spits out for you.
Ready to save on airfare and learn how to use Google Flights? Keep reading and we’ll let you in on our insider secrets and pro traveller tips.
How To Use Google Flights
Offering simplicity and speed, Google Flights is one of the most superior flight comparison and booking tools online today. This means that learning how to use Google Flights takes little to no time at all. What you really need to learn is how to harness the power of the tools.
You can enter your dates, destinations, and preferences, and then Google will scour the internet for the best prices. Unlike some other price comparison tools, we find Google Flights to be extremely easy to navigate.
Make sure you take a look at the additional tools provided to you, such as a date comparison calendar that will let you see if it’s cheaper to fly out or back on a different date. The price graph, airport checker, and tips tools are all also very helpful.
Google Flight’s Price Guarantee
As of October 2019, Google Flights is testing a special price guarantee function. For now, Google has said that the trial period is only valid for flights booked from September until November 24th, but it might become a permanent feature.
The guarantee? Unlike anything else in the travel industry to-date. If you book a flight with Google and it later drops in price, then they’ll send you a refund for the difference in price. And, they’ll send it in cash.
This solves an age-old problem for expert travellers – the question of “Should I book the ticket now or wait to see if the price goes down?” Now, you can just book it. If the price goes down, for specific flights, Google will refund you for the difference.
Tricks To Find Cheap Flights
Aside from taking advantage of Google Flight’s price guarantee, there are a few other things you can do in order to find flights, cheap flights.
Our expert budget traveller recommendation is to always be flexible with your destination. If you know where you want to fly out of and you know the dates, then leave the destination field empty when using the search function.
Once you press enter, you’ll see a map with all of the potential locations and their respective flight prices for the dates you wish to travel. We’ve found some of the cheapest flights this way, and it always makes for an interesting vacation because you get to head somewhere you might not have ever thought to travel.
Check Prices In Multiple Cities
If you know you want to head to a certain region, then Google Flights has got you covered.
You’re able to enter as many as seven different cities in the destination and departure city fields, and the software will bring up results for all of them.
This makes it incredibly easy to compare prices and find cheap flights to somewhere at least close to where you want to go. Instead of having to look up each route separately, you save a lot of time and are able to find alternate destinations that can save you hundreds of dollars.
You’ll also be able to check prices for flights leaving from nearby cities. If you’re truly trying to fly on a budget, then this kind of meticulous price checking is crucial. Leaving from Detroit instead of Cleveland isn’t that big of a difference, but if it saves you $200 on your flight it sure is.
Set Up Price Tracking For Cheap Airfare
If you’re pretty set on a particular city or can only travel within certain dates, then we suggest taking advantage of the price tracker function.
To do this, simply enter your starting city and final destination and search for the flights as you would normally. Just above the results, you should see an option that says “track prices.” Turn this on and Google will track the prices for you and send you updates on increases or decreases.
We suggest setting up a specific alert so that you’re able to receive instant notifications as soon as a good deal comes out. Because airfare changes so rapidly, you’ll have to book a good price fast.
That is, of course, until Google decides to make its price guarantee function permanent. Once that happens, travellers will be able to rest assured knowing they got the best airfare every time.