The cost of airfares is usually the most expensive part of any international trip (even domestic flights can be pricey). Some destinations, particularly South East Asia, are super cheap once you arrive, but getting there is the killer. Especially if you’re doing a family trip!
Finding cheap flights, or ways to reduce the cost of airfares, will make a huge difference to your holiday budget.
There are a stack of hacks you can use to reduce the cost of your airfares. Below are some of my favorite ways to save money on flights. Which strategies will benefit you will depend on the type of trip you are booking, when you’re flying and your destination.
Finding the cheapest airfare dates
Skyscanner is a great example of a flight comparison site that can help you find the best dates to fly for discounted airfares.
Lets say you’ve decided to take a trip to Hawaii, but you’re on a budget and you really want to save some cash on airfares. Say you’ve got some flexibility around when you’ll travel. If that’s the case, then you’d want to travel on the cheapest days possible. The tricky bit is finding the cheapest days to fly.
How much would you expect to pay for return airfares to Hawaii? Maybe $1000? Check out the video below that demonstrates how I (quickly) found a return flight for $494.
As you can see from the video, Skyscanner finds the cheapest flight to Honolulu and then directs me to the cheapest airfare retailer to purchase the fare. Once I know the cheapest dates to fly, I can plan my holiday around those dates. Remember, if airfares are cheaper on certain dates, there’s a pretty good chance accommodation will be cheaper too.
To get this function at your own fingertips, simply download the Skyscanner app onto your smart phone. You’ll be amazed at the cheap airfares you’ll find using this app.
Frequent Flyer Programs
If you are not enrolled in a frequent flyer program, and you’re travelling, you’re simply missing out.
I’m a member of Virgin Australia’s Velocity Program, I’m also a member of KrisFlyer, Singapore Airline’s frequent flyer program. I’m not suggesting Qantas or other airlines don’t have great programs , but I can only offer advice on what I know.
Earning Points
Virgin Australia’s Velocity program is my points earning account. There are so many ways you can earn frequent flyer points through the Velocity program. I earn points whenever I purchase fuel, pay an electricity bill, book accommodation or hire car, and of course, whenever I actually fly with Virgin or one of their airline partners.
My credit cards also earn points every time I spend, and that feature alone earns me thousands of points each year. Paying for all of my groceries, bills and living expenses through my credit cards (and paying that money back from my savings account immediately) is a fantastic way to earn points.
FlyBuys and other point earning programs
If you are a member of FlyBuys or other programs that collect points, often you have an option to transfer those points to an airline. Pooling all of your points into one Frequent Flyer program can result in earning tens of thousands of points each year. That’s free airfares guys!
Membership Status
While points you earn can get you free or upgraded airfares, membership status credits earn you privileges. Perks for those with a good membership status include lounge access, priority seating and better points earning rates.
Velocity status program
Every frequent flyer program has its unique membership status program. With Virgin Australia, there are four levels of membership. You start with Red Status, then move to Silver, Gold or Platinum with each status step offering greater perks and benefits. Generally status credits are earned by air mileage – how many miles you travel with Virgin (or partner airlines).
The following is a really brief rundown of the benefits of each of the status levels within Virgin’s Velocity Program.
| Red | Sorry, not a lot of perks here. But you need to start somewhere | ||||
| Silver | 250+ status credits to gain (200+ per annum to maintain) |
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| Gold | 500+ status credits to gain (400+ per annum to maintain) |
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| Platinum | 1000+ status credits to gain (800+ per annum to maintain) |
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Velocity Frequent Flyer ProgramFamily Pooling
Velocity have a family pooling option that helps me to keep my points (and membership status) in nice shape. All of the points that my husband and kids earn, are transferred into my Velocity account. Why is this a good thing? Well, if all our points are in separate accounts, its difficult to make the most of them. Additionally, none of us alone would have enough status credits to maintain a good membership status level with Velocity. By pooling our status credits, one of us maintains a good membership status level, and that means free lounge access, free upgrades, priority boarding and priority seating. As long as one of us has a good status level, we all benefit from the perks.
Pooling status credits
To put all of this into perspective, if I traveled with my family of four to Hanoi in Vietnam, between us we’d earn 560 status points (on a Virgin Elevate fare). That one holiday is enough for us to gain Gold Status with Velocity. If we didn’t pool those points, then we’d each earn 140 status points, and none of us would even hit Silver status. With one of us a Gold Status member, we all enjoy the lounge and priority boarding when we travel together.
Pooling points
On top of the status credits, this trip will earn the family 21,000 – 42,000 points (depending on membership status – you earn more points the higher your status). 21,000 points will almost get you a return Sydney – Gold Coast flight ($200-350 value).
This is a perfect example of why I recommend everyone (particularly families) get into a frequent flyer program, and where possible, use family pooling to maximize the perks you can earn.
To find out more about Virgin’s Velocity Program, visit https://experience.velocityfrequentflyer.com/the-basics
Making the most of airline partnerships
Many international flights out of Australia are code-shared. For example, I may book a VA flight through Virgin Australia , but I actually climb onto a Singapore Airlines, Etihad, Delta or Hawaiian Airlines plane. One thing I have noticed is that airfares are always cheaper with the source airline.
Partnership hack example
For example, I might go to the Virgin website and price a flight to Singapore that is code shared with Singapore Airlines – basically its a Singapore aircraft and flight, and Virgin is on-selling those airfares through their business. I could then go to the Singapore Airlines website, and find the exact same flight for $300 less. Because Virgin and Singapore Airlines are partners, I can actually book the flight through Singapore Airlines using my Virgin Velocity membership. Doing it this way means I get the cheaper flight, and I still get the points and status through my Virgin Velocity membership.
To find out more about Virgin’s Velocity Airline Partners, visit https://experience.velocityfrequentflyer.com/partners-offers
Upgrading airfares
Who doesn’t want to turn left when they enter the plane? If you haven’t flown business class yet, it is delightful! If you have, no explanation is required. But… business class fares are ridiculously expensive, and most of us can’t afford to quadruple the cost of our flights to enjoy the perks of flying business class. Enter frequent flyer points.
Upgrading – getting the most value from your points
Dollar for dollar, upgrading to business class is the most effective way to use your points. Take the example of 21,000 Velocity points I mentioned earlier. With those points, you could (almost, but not quite) do a one person return flight between Sydney and Coolangatta, saving yourself $200-350. Alternatively, you could use 16,000 of those points to upgrade your Elevate Economy to Business Class seat on your next trip to Fiji or Bali. That Business Class fare is worth about $500 more than the economy ticket, and you’ve got 5,000 points spare.
Business is just more fun
Yes, a free economy flight is fantastic, but a business class flight on your next holiday is something really special. You need to experience a business class at least once in your lifetime, and all you have to do to get it is collect points when travelling and paying your weekly expenses. Why wouldn’t you?
Use your business class upgrades thoughtfully
Save business class upgrades for solo or couples trips. You’ll blow a truckload of points if you take the kids, and if they are young, they probably won’t appreciate the experience, plus it won’t be as pleasant for you either.
I know this might generate hate mail, but having the noisy and restless kid in the seat behind you ruin your business class experience – that really does suck. Don’t be the family that ruined someone else’s once in a lifetime trip. Remember most people have paid 4-5 times the price of an economy ticket to enjoy the peace and comfort of business class. Unless your can guarantee your kids won’t scream, cry, yell, move about constantly or misbehave, don’t risk destroying the quiet and restful business class experience for others.
Do you research before booking international upgrades
Be wary of booking international flights if you are planning an upgrade. In most cases, you cannot use your points to upgrade on code shared flights with partner airlines. This is where Qantas may outdo Virgin. These days most international Virgin flights (outside of NZ, LA, Pacific Islands and Bali) are code shared. I’ve been caught on this before – I booked with Virgin to Singapore, planning to upgrade to business, and then realized (after booking) that I was flying a code share flight with Singapore Airlines. In summary, airlines only offer upgrades to their own loyalty members and on flights on their own aircraft, so code shared or partner flights are not eligible for upgrades.
Transferring points
Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines have a well established partnership. As part of that partnership, I can transfer my points between their frequent flyer programs.
Transfer example
Earlier this year I wanted to fly to Thailand using my points. I checked out the points it would cost me with Virgin, then did a comparison with Singapore Airlines. It turned out that it would cost me fewer points to fly with Singapore Airlines. I then transferred the required number of points from Velocity to Singapore Airline’s KrisFlyer program. Once the points were in my KrisFlyer account, I then used the points to book my flights. This strategy would also work if I wanted to upgrade with Singapore Airlines – I’d just need to transfer all of my points and organise the upgrade through KrisFlyer.
The ability to transfer points really helps to make the most of the points you have.
To find out more about transferring your Velocity Points to KrisFlyer visit https://www.pointhacks.com.au/krisflyer-velocity-conversion-how-to/
Taking advantage of frequent flyer earning deals
Often the airlines will have deals where you can earn double points (or even status credits) by shopping or flying during promotional campaigns. Keep an eye out for these deals, and if it works for you, make your purchase while the deal is going. Double points or status credits can really make a big difference to your frequent flyer balance.
The down side to loyalty programs
Like any loyalty program, earning points means you need to spend your money in the right places. If you decide to take a cheaper flight with an alternative airline, you’ll lose the opportunity to earn points and status credits, and that could impact your membership benefits, and the perks you’ll get by being loyal.
The problem with chasing the cheapest fare
I made that mistake over the past year. I’d been sitting in Gold and Platinum status with Virgin for a few years, but decided to book through Singapore Airlines for a couple of flights (because it was a cheaper option). The result was that I lost my Gold status with Virgin, and I didn’t earn enough with KrisFlyer to gain a higher level. This year I won’t have the perks of lounge access wherever I go, or priority boarding. I saved some cash, but I lost status by splitting my business. Lesson learnt, hence the advice above….
To get the perks, you need to be loyal
If you want to maintain the perks of membership status, you need to maintain loyalty to one frequent flyer program. That might mean that you see awesome deals with another airline, and skip it to book with your loyalty airline (or one of their partners). Remember, you can still book with partner airlines when it is convenient, but use your main frequent flyer membership when making the booking. You can transfer points but you cannot transfer membership status credits, so make sure your status credits are all in one frequent flyer basket.
If you’re keen for more information on point hacking, visit https://www.pointhacks.com.au/
Finding the best airfares while maintaining loyalty
This year I’ve decided to work my way back to Velocity Gold membership. That means I need to stick to Virgin, or book through Virgin Australia partners using my Velocity membership. Earlier in this article I showed you a video of the Skyscanner search function. One great thing I can do with this app, is filter the specific airlines I want to use. For me, I do the same search, but filter it to Virgin and their partners. By doing this, I find the best dates and flights for the airlines I’m loyal to, and then book those flights to gain points and status credits.
Subscribe to your airline or booking websites
Most airlines and airline booking websites send out weekly or regular emails to subscribers about flight deals. Velocity has a weekly sale on Thursday evenings with sale and discount fares. The sale is only open for a few hours, and only to subscribers. You can pick up some great discounts from these emails, but you need to be ready to book immediately. Often these bargains are part of a ‘flash sale’ that is only open for a few hours.
Flash sales
If I’m planning a trip, I’ll do all of my research, then wait for Virgin’s Thursday flash sale before I book. There is nothing worse than booking a flight and receiving an email a day later with a fare that is $300 cheaper! Sometimes its worth waiting for the flash sale, but do weigh your risks. If you find a hot deal on a Saturday, waiting until the Thursday flash sale may mean that you miss a great fare. My advice is, if you see an absolute bargain, and you’re confident its hard to beat, book it right away.
Use Price Alerts
Some websites have price alerts that will alert you when airfares to you destination change. If you’re planning a trip to Hawaii, use the price alert option to keep you posted on changes in prices. Flight prices go up and down regularly, so its important to know when prices change. You might see a great flight price today, but they may look different in a weeks time. A price alert keeps you regularly posted on any significant price changes. This strategy is best when the flight prices look fairly average – never wait to book an outstanding deal.
Skyscanner Price Alert function
Skyscanner have an easy to use Price Alert. On the picture below you’ll see a bell icon on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. You just click that, and Skyscanner will send you an alert if there are changes to prices.
Use Skyscanner to find cheap airfaresBeware of doing too many searches on one flight route
This tip was a last minute entry. I’ve read on plenty of travel sites that browser history can lead to higher airfares. The theory is that booking engines are using cookies to show higher airfares on routes that you have searched often. So if you are researching an upcoming trip from Sydney to Phuket, and have checked airfares frequently in recent days or weeks, the site “knows” you want these fares, and “guesses” that you are willing to pay a bit more for them.
Maybe, maybe not
I’m not 100% sure on whether this is true. Airfares do change based upon bookings, however today, I had my own experience with this. While writing this article, I checked flights from Sydney to Honolulu multiple times, and found the fares increased by $20 over 5 hours. Compare the price in the video ($494) to the price in the above picture ($514). Was the $20 increase due to cookies tracking my searches, or was it based on increased bookings for that flight? I’m not sure, but airfare prices do change, and a bargain you find today may not be available tomorrow.
Summary
I hope these tips make your next trip more affordable, or even doable. I’d be happy to answer any questions, and I’d love it if anyone has additional tips to share. Please do contribute to the conversation by filling in the feedback form below.
Happy travelling
Coleen xx
Addictive reading Coleen,
Loving your stories along with all the beautiful photography.
Awww thanks. Xxx