The online hacks that can cut your flying costs: With airfares rising 30 percent in a year, here’s how to get the best deal

Flight prices have risen by more than 30 percent in the past year, and many households are wondering how they can afford a summer vacation.

This despite falling service standards – Dailymail.com announced earlier this week that delays had reached their highest point in a decade.

But there is good news: there are many simple hacks online that can help you cut costs.

Last month, travel blogger Sam Jarman went viral on TikTok after revealing that customers should never buy flights directly from an airline, but instead use Google Flights price tracking service.

It’s just one of dozens of websites and apps designed to help travelers find the best deals — and some even offer a refund if your fare drops after you’ve paid.

Here Dailymail.com collects the best online hacks to help you find the cheapest flights…

Google flights

Google Flights claims to find and rank the best fares.

It also provides customers with insight into the type of business they are getting. For example, it informs a user when prices for the flight they are looking for are higher than normal.

You can then ask Google to notify you when prices drop for your trip.

A representative of the travel blog Going revealed on TikTok that she saved $141 on the travel price with this tool.

She told blog followers that she was originally offered $350, but ended up taking $209 after Google was alerted to a cheaper offer.

Earlier this month, Google Flights also announced its Price Guarantee program, which monitors fares from purchase to departure. It will then refund the difference between the price you paid and the lowest rate offered during that period.

Those who take advantage of the Price Guarantee must have a Google Pay account, and refunds to users are limited to $500 per year.

funnel

Hopper is a travel booking app that offers a price freeze feature, which means users can research a flight ticket and book it later.

The price then remains frozen for a certain period – even if the installments increase until the customer actually pays.

It offers a similar feature for hotel and car bookings.

However, customers must pay a small suspension fee, which depends on the price of the ticket and the duration of the suspension.

For example, when Dailymail.com searched for a flight from New York to Chicago in May, Hopper quoted a lock-in fee of $41.

It covers the difference in each increase up to a maximum of $300 per ticket.

Expedia.nl

Expedia offers a price drop protection feature in its app.

Like the Google Flights program, Expedia keeps track of a trip’s price after you book it.

If the price drops before you leave, Expedia will refund the difference.

However, the travel agency charges a non-refundable fee to use the service – which varies depending on the ticket price.

There is no limit on refunds.

airline programs

Major companies, including American Airlines and United Airlines, offer services that allow customers to freeze their fares for an agreed period of time.

For example, United has a FareLock program that allows users to lock in the price of a flight for up to 14 days.

However, the company charges a fee of up to $20 for the service, which again varies depending on ticket price and length of stay.

Meanwhile, American Airlines keeps a fare for 24 hours free. However, a fee will be charged for bans after this period.

A three-day lock costs $7.99, while seven days costs $11.99.

Sites that detect pricing errors

Passengers can also use websites like Secret Flying that detect fare errors and alert users

This week, dozens of customers booked flights worth $10,000 for just $300 after a blunder at Japanese airline All Nippon Airways.

Such price mistakes are so common that dozens of travel websites, blogs and forums focus on highlighting them.

It also helps to follow these pages on social media so that bargains appear in your news feed.

Examples of useful websites are: Going.com, secretflying.com, airfarewatchdog.com and Kiwi.com.

Travelers also share deals they’ve found on a discussion forum called Mileage Run Discussion on flyertalk.com.