If you’re looking for affordable flights, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve scoured the app stores for the best Android and iOS apps that will help you find the best way to get from point A to point B (and back again if you need to).
In this post, we’ll tell you which apps we think are worth a download, why they belong on your phone, and how they can save you money. From paying for flights with rewards points to getting alerts when it’s time to book a flight, these apps are sure to make life easier no matter where you’re going!
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Finding Flights
When you find the flight you want, you can book on the airline’s website directly from the app. This gives users the peace of mind that their personal information won’t be in the hands of an app that they don’t know much about.
The app has some innovative features that set it apart from the others. You can track the status of your flight to see if it is on time. But what is really cool is the augmented reality feature that measures your bag size to ensure it is acceptable for your flight.
Download Momondo for free on Apple or Android.
Skiplagged
Skiplagged allows users to book flights and hotels through its app. Skiplagged ScreenshotThis is one of the few I reviewed that also includes the price of Southwest flights in its search results. It also offers a rewards program that gives you travel credits for sharing links. You’ll earn up to $25 in credits toward a future reservation for booking a flight or hotel or when someone books using your referral link.
The unique feature of Skiplagged is that it offers hidden-city ticketed trips. This means that you’ll book a flight to someplace else but get off the plane in your desired city along the way.
For example, if you want to fly from San Francisco to Atlanta, you may book tickets with the ultimate destination of Orlando, but with a connection in Atlanta. When you land in Atlanta, you get off the plane and let the seat on your connecting flight go empty.
Just remember not to check your bags or your suitcase will end up in the wrong city! If your bag is gate-checked, which can happen, that means that your bag will continue on to the plane’s final destination. These risks are real, so make sure the price discount is worth it. Or you can pack everything you need for your trip in a bag that fits under your seat, just to be safe.
Airlines look down upon this practice, so it’s not advisable to include your frequent flier number on your reservation. Skiplagged proudly shares on their website that United Airlines sued them and Skiplagged won. However, airlines have been cracking down on travelers who use this strategy. Lufthansa even sued a passenger who used hidden-city ticketing. It lost the case but is planning to appeal the verdict.
Download Skiplagged for free on Apple or Android.
Hopper
Hopper ScreenshotHopper tracks flight and hotel prices daily to predict the right time to book your reservation. When you activate push notifications, the app will notify you when your preferred destinations, hotels, and flights change their price. This feature can save you money when prices fall or when they start to rise. Hopper continues to monitor prices after you’ve booked through the app and offers a free price drop guarantee on your reservations. If the price drops, you’ll be credited with the difference.
Once you’ve chosen your departure and arrival airports, Hopper color-codes dates to highlight prices. You can easily see when flights are the cheapest and which dates to avoid to save money on your trip. After you’ve selected your travel dates, Hopper offers guidance on whether you should book your trip now or wait for a lower price. If you’re not ready to book now, you can lock in a price freeze to secure that rate by putting down a deposit. Flights not booked within five days will automatically be refunded to your credit card.
Download Hopper for free on Apple or Android.
Jetradar
Jetradar books flights, hotels, and rental cars from its app. Jetradar ScreenshotResults can be filtered by the usual variables of duration, departure or arrival time, and price. You can also search for amenities like Wi-Fi, USB, and in-flight entertainment.
When searching for flights, the cheapest and most convenient options are pushed to the top of the results. The app also allows mixed-carrier flights, so you can book flights on different airlines to get the best itinerary for your trip. The app does not sell directly. Instead, when you click to buy, it directs you to the appropriate website to lock in your deal.
Download Jetradar for free on Apple or Android.
The Bottom Line For Booking Cheap Flights With An App
All of these apps handle the basic search function of finding flights. However, each one of these top apps for booking cheap flights offers unique features to help you save money on your next adventure. Since they are free, I recommend downloading each app and playing around with the basic search and advanced tools to see which ones you like best.
Before you book your ticket, explore your options to pay for the flight with travel rewards instead of cash. With cheap flight options, it usually doesn’t make sense to use miles to book your flight. However, many airlines offer web specials or other promotions with severely discounted flights.
For example, American Airlines offers “web special” flights for as low as 7,500 miles each way. And the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal is a great way to book flights with points earned from the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred. Or you can pay for your flights through these apps using the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card and use your miles as a statement credit to pay for travel purchases.
No matter which method you choose, there are plenty.
best international flight booking app
- Covers all your travel needs: Skyscanner
Website | iOS | Android
best-flight-booking-appSkyscanner’s flight search tool is reliable and easy to use. It searches the best deals on the web and sends you to external sites to complete bookings. You can filter your flight search by stopovers, flight duration, times and airlines.
With this app, you can also book rental cars and hotels, meaning it’s a great app for organizing your entire vacation, not just your flights.
The app’s features make it easy for you to compare prices for different cities and dates.
Maybe you know you want to take a trip in December but need a little inspiration to decide on your destination. Use Skyscanner’s “Everywhere” feature.
Or maybe you know you want to go to Costa Rica. But should you use your vacation days at the beginning or end of the month? Select “Whole Month,” and Skyscanner shows you ticket prices every day that month.
- Covers your missed connections: Kiwi.com
Website | iOS | Android
best-flight-booking-appKiwi.com often finds cheaper flights than other flight providers by searching each leg of a journey individually.
That means two flights in the same journey might not be with the same airline or partnered airlines. If this is the case, you could have to re-check your bags at your first airport destination and have separate boarding passes.
This booking method also usually means you lose your flight security should you miss your connection due to delays or cancellations.
But Kiwi.com outperforms other services with its Kiwi.com Guarantee. The company promises that any connections missed due to delays and cancellations will be replaced for free and offers some compensation for hotels and food.
- Searches cheapest, quickest and best flights: Momondo
Website | iOS | Android
best-flight-booking-appMomondo is a nicely designed, easy-to-use app with an effective search function for both flights and hotels.
The best thing about this app is that search results are automatically categorized into lists of cheapest, quickest and best flights, which are displayed in individual tabs at the top. The “best” category tends to combine good prices with convenient timings.
If you’re looking for inspiration for where to go, the app also has a cool interactive map, displaying flight prices from your location to various destinations.
- Finds you a hidden city: Skiplagged
Website | iOS | Android
best-flight-booking-appSkiplagged has a unique (and controversial) feature called “hidden-city.” The app finds cheaper flights by turning your final destination into a layover.That sounds complicated, right? Don’t worry, we’ll explain.
For example, let’s say you wanted to fly from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and the cheapest direct flight was $250.
Skiplagged might find a flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta, and there’s a layover in New Orleans. Oh, and this flight only costs $190.
You book the tickets from Los Angeles to Atlanta, but you stay in New Orleans. You never go to Atlanta.
The app ensures that this is perfectly legal, although certain airlines (specifically United Airlines) have been unhappy about it.
Just remember, if you find a flight through “hidden-city,” don’t check in any bags. You don’t want to get off in New Orleans while your luggage flies off to Atlanta! Also, don’t use your frequent flyer number, because some airlines may penalize you for this flight tactic. Skiplagged addresses more issues and questions about “hidden-city” on their website.
- Tells you the best time to buy: Hopper
Website | iOS | Android
best-flight-booking-appWhen you’re choosing your flight dates, Hopper shows you a useful color-coded calendar indicating the cheapest dates to fly each month.
Once you select a journey, the app’s trademark bunny offers you advice on whether or not now is a good time to buy.
Hopper predicts if the prices are likely to fluctuate in the next few weeks and how much you could save by waiting. You can then request to be alerted when prices for a certain trip drop.
- Tracks your flights: Kayak
Website | iOS | Android
best-flight-booking-appKayak is another great app that searches for cheap flight prices.
You can also book hotels and rent cars through the app, then check all your trip information in the “Trips” tab, even if you don’t have an internet connection.
Kayak also has a live flight tracking feature. As your vacation approaches, easily see if your flight is on time and receive updates about gate changes to put your mind at ease.
- Identifies the cheapest routes: Jetradar
Website | iOS | Android
best-flight-booking-appJetradar provides a high-quality flight search tool. But its main strength is that it shows the cheapest flights available to various destinations from your location.
Do you live in Sydney? Find out the most affordable places to fly from Sydney.
The interactive map shows prices to each destination. When you click on a country, it brings up a list of all possible airports and shows the cheapest routes.
This feature doesn’t take dates into account, so flexible travelers can snatch up the best deals. It is, however, a great research tool to identify the cheapest routes to different places. For example, if planning a trip to Japan, you can infer whether it’s generally cheaper to fly into Tokyo or Osaka from your home town.
- Finds deals for flexible travelers: HolidayPirates.com
Website | iOS
best-flight-booking-appCalling all free spirits and adventurers! If you’re looking for a bargain but are flexible about where and when you go, HolidayPirates.com has some insanely cheap deals.
The app’s flight search function is good, but here’s where it really shines: its “All Deals” feature.
It offers a multitude of trips at great prices you can browse through. Just click “All Deals” and see what looks good!
Do you want to spend a week in Croatia? How does staying in Poland for Christmas sound?
Some trip offers consist of just flights, others include accommodation and other benefits.
Conclusion
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