Finding cheap flights - our secret sauce

Hello from Bali! We flew on Air Canada from Regina to Bali return for $750. I take none of the credit for finding good deals on flights, hotels and car rentals so I've asked my partner Edward to share his secrets with you.

Here's a guest post from the frugal legend himself: Edward.

Who doesn’t love a good deal? Especially when the cost of travel has increased significantly post Covid. There used to be only one option when it came to booking travel, a trusty travel agent. Now there’s options galore on the Internet.

My number one tip when it comes to booking great deals on flights is to be FLEXIBLE. This includes destination, dates, time of day and layovers. Here are a few things I do when researching flight deals.

Flexible dates

Use Google Flights to search for lower cost dates using flexible dates. This might be hard if you are travelling with kids or only have specific weeks off. Obviously if you are booking during March break or Christmas, you can expect to pay more. Try searching for dates a week or two before. It’s almost always cheaper to fly mid-week than on a weekend because most people travel on the weekends and airlines hike their prices then.

When searching on Google Flights, click on the date field to expand the calendar view and you’ll see the cheapest days to fly within a two-month window.

Flexible destination

Again, Google Flights allows you to search by continent or country. Say you want to Paris, you enter in the destination as France and it shows the prices to different cities and on different carriers. Skyscanner has a similar tool. If you’re flexible about where you want to go, there’s always a deal to somewhere and you’ll save a ton of money in the process.

For the last two years I’ve taken hot holidays in February. I started off looking at destinations in Mexico. I broadened my search and for about the same price as flying to Cancun, I ended in UAE and then Bali.

Set up alerts

If you’re not ready to book a trip, you can use Google Flights to track prices based on specific flights, routes, and dates.

Sign up for newsletters

Before you start planning for specific destinations, why not sign up for some news letters. YVR Deals or YUL Deals provides excellent information on airline specials and they arrive in you inbox.

Good luck and safe travels.

Thanks Edward for the simple to implement tips, and most importantly for being the best travel buddy I could ever wish for. We've been on so many amazing trips over the years. And Bali is no exception. Off to the breakfast buffet we go.

P.S.: What are your secrets for cheap flights, hotels and car rentals? Let us know in the comments section. You'll need to subscribe to leave a comment so click on that orange subscribe button. We are building a fun little community here, be part of it. It's a zero-risk endeavour.