How to use Google flights to find cheap getaways

What is Google Flights?

Everyone loves finding great deals for their holidays, and with Google Flights, you can do just that! This powerful tool is designed to help you uncover the best prices on flights, making it easier than ever to book your next adventure.

Google Flights is a free and effective flight comparison tool that displays travel options in mere seconds. Covering over 300 airlines, it allows users to filter flights by price, departure and arrival locations, cabin class, number of stops, and duration, ensuring you find the perfect flight for your needs.

Exciting New Features on Google Flights

Google Flights has recently introduced several exciting features designed to enhance your travel planning experience. First, the Price Guarantee offers peace of mind for travellers: if the fare drops after you book, Google will refund the difference on select flights, adding an extra layer of savings to your journey.

Additionally, the new Eco-Friendly filter helps you make more sustainable travel choices by allowing you to find flights with lower CO₂ emissions. Finally, the improved integration with airline reward programmes enables you to check your loyalty points directly while comparing flights, making it easier than ever to maximise your travel rewards. These enhancements make Google Flights an even more powerful tool for finding the best flight deals while supporting your travel goals.

5 tips for finding the cheapest flights on Google Flights

With features like flexible dates, price alerts, and enhanced booking options, Google Flights is your go-to resource for low-cost tickets. Check out these tips to maximise your savings:

1. Be flexible on dates and location

One of the biggest keys for travelling economically is flexibility. If your aim is to travel and save money at the same time, the best course of action is to be versatile about where you go. Go to Google Flights enter your preferred dates and click ‘Explore Destinations’.

This will take you to a map displaying the most affordable destinations and prices that you can travel to. Alternatively, if you have a location in mind but don’t have to be strict with your dates, we suggest using the date grid.

The date grid can be found on the upper right of your search results. When you click it, a grid of departure and return dates around the ideal dates you’ve selected will appear. Dates in green indicate the lowest prices, whilst dates in red show prices that are higher than usual. You can scroll up or down to look at even more dates to shop around to discover the best rates for your budget. The price graph on the subsequent tab is another useful visual indicator to compare flight patterns and to establish the optimal times to fly.

Again, being flexible with your departure location can also benefit you. Generally, when it comes to departures, airports with more outgoing flights tend to offer lower prices due to multiple options available. However, the opposite might occasionally be true, particularly in places with multiple airports. Be adaptable - expanding your options will usually lower the prices. Rather than staying with your usual airport of departure: conduct a search by city or location, with Google Flights you can broaden your search and include multiple departure and destination cities in a single search.

Being able to search up to seven origin locations and seven destinations at once using Google Flights, gives you lots of possibilities for a trip. You can specify different stops, prices, airlines, and time limits using Google Flights' filters to make sure you get the flights you want.

2. Use Price Alerts and Trend

Keep an eye out for price changes for your destination by monitoring price trends and setting up price alerts. When looking to book for your next flight make sure you start to look in advance. By doing this you can discover how far in ahead of your travel you should be booking. The price graph feature gives insights on current predicted prices, using data from the past 12 months including information on flights with the same origin, destination, number of stops, class, airline and season travelling.

Sometimes, the last-minute flights, less than a fortnight ahead of your travel can be significantly less expensive and even up to half as expensive. But, you won't need to worry about the most affordable booking time when you use the price tracker as you’ll be notified when prices drop, and you’ll be able to book straight away.

3. Book through airlines directly

Once you have done all your research and have selected your preferred flights and dates, book directly with the airline. Booking directly not only means you can earn points, build your status and gain rewards, but if your flight happens to be delayed or cancelled it is easier to deal directly with the airline than having to deal with a third party.

4. Use incognito mode or a private browser

This is a tip that most people know about, but it must be said, when browsing for flights, switch to incognito mode or use a private browser.

The rates you see while searching for flights are frequently determined by the cookies and history stored in your browser. As you have already investigated flights to this specific destination, these flights will now display a higher price for you as you have previously shown interest and there is a perceived higher "demand."

5. Book one-way flights

Consider buying a one-way ticket rather than a roundtrip if you want to save money and have more flexibility to extend your vacation. There are many instances where it is less expensive to book two one-way flights, with two different airlines, than it is to book a return trip with the same airline.

Using Google Flights to search for one-way flights is the easiest way to get the cheapest prices. The least expensive tickets will appear first, and you can use a variety of filters and calendar views to find the best flight. Additionally using two one-way flights also allows you to book with more than one airline and as different airlines usually offer alternative flight times, you can find journeys that are most suited to you.

Why Choose Google Flights?

Using Google Flights comes with significant advantages over other comparison sites:

Speed: View months' worth of flights and fares in seconds.
Insightful Tools: Get information on whether prices are high, low, or average for your travel period.
Mobile-Friendly: A clean, efficient layout makes searching for flights a breeze on any device.
Multi-Airport Searches: Simultaneously search from several airports to find the most affordable departure options.
Exceptional Filters: Tailor your search to exclude unwanted flights and find the ideal options for you.
Explore Map: Discover the cheapest places to fly to based on your selected dates.

Despite a few drawbacks - like not covering all airlines and occasional fare discrepancies - Google Flights remains a top choice for savvy travellers.

By leveraging these tips and the unique features of Google Flights, you can save time and money on your next trip. Start exploring today and see where your travels can take you!