It’s officially holiday season; the time of the year when avid travellers will be queuing to catch up on the best holiday locations. Travelling internationally may seem like a great idea for a vacation, but unless you’re backed up by hefty funds, the airfares on international flights could prove to be a deal breaker. Don’t fret; there are many ways to get around these over bloated rates. In fact, airline companies are encouraging more fliers by offering a host of interesting deals. Here’s our pick on 8 ways to get the best deals on international flights.

Time your bookings

• One of the best albeit hardest ways to ensure cheap fares is to book during specific hours, days and time periods. You’ll need both luck and great timing skills to catch the best deal for the location you’re choosing. To make things easier for you, we’ve listed the best days and times for booking flight tickets below:
• Most avid travellers book their tickets four months in advance when going to major vacation destinations like the USA, UK and Singapore
• Theirs is no particular best day to book, but most travellers say that luck strikes when booking tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
• One pesky way to get cheap tickets is to book your flight, wait for 24 hours and check the fairs again. If they have become cheaper, you can call the airlines and cancel your existing flight ticket
• Booking during early mornings or late nights can also increase the chance of getting great deals

The Akbar Travels app has a flight calendar that displays and regularly updates flight timings and fares. Users will be notified about the latest and most affordable flight fares, making it easier to plan vacations.

Use the incognito window

Ever noticed certain booking websites asking you to accept cookies? That is done simply to register you as a visitor to the sites. So, the next time you check for bookings, don’t be surprised if you see increased fares. Flight prices increase when more registered viewers search for the same fare; avoid getting hit by these exorbitant rates by switching to the Incognito Window (Google Chrome) or Private Search (Mozilla Firefox). Incognito windows won’t register cookies, so you can search multiple times and never be worried about an increase in fares.

Break up your flight pattern

When you’re travelling long distances, try to book flights that have an indirect pattern towards your destination. You can also choose to book multiple flights on the way to your destination; book a cheap flight first from your starting point to a close by location and then an affordable one from there to your desired location. While doing this, be prepared for long layovers; you can make up for lost time by having a short holiday in your layover location.

Take advantage of error fares

With so many flights taking off and landing every hour of every day, there can be instances where flight fares are miscalculated or matched with the wrong flights. These errors normally occur either due to human error or miscalculated currency exchange rates. You can spot such errors if you are patient enough to browse through the forums and social media feeds of different flight fare scanners. If you do get lucky, be quick to book your tickets, as most errors are rectified by airports within a 24-hour gap. Also, do not mention anything about error fares to the airlines; they will immediately notify the airport to rectify the error.

Use your frequent flyer miles smartly

You can start accumulating points in the form of frequent flyer miles if you are smart enough to sign-up with airlines alliances. Every time you travel, shop at airports or dine in affiliated restaurants, you will accumulate points. Don’t just do this for yourself; most airlines have frequent flyer programs that involve your family as well. The more points you accumulate, the better the chance of getting amazing fare deals on vacation destinations.

Book through a travel aggregator

Travel aggregators pull travel information from multiple sites and compile them in their own site. Aggregators like Akbar Travels showcase the best, latest and cheapest flight details based on your customised search inputs. Registering with aggregators is a good thing to do, as you will never miss out on cheap international flight fares and discounts.

Consider smaller aircrafts

Sometimes, when you don’t have the option to book tickets on big, reputed aircrafts, you shouldn’t think twice about opting for the smaller ones. Smaller aircrafts, though obviously less comfortable, are still considerably cheaper. If travel money is your biggest constraint, you can save on funds by travelling on cheap flights and keeping the bigger spends while you are on your vacation destination.

Pick your credit cards wisely

Undoubtedly, the best tool for booking flight tickets is the credit card. However, not all credit cards offer reward points that can be used for booking flight tickets. Banks like HSBC, ICICI, Axis Banka and SBI have launched travel exclusive credit cards that offer a huge number of perks to avid travellers. You can even apply for travel cards directly from Air India and American Express. The choice of the credit card boils down to your personal preference, financial capability and ultimately- the eagerness to travel.

Everyone wants a pleasurable experience when travelling, and if money management is essential for you, employing some of the above techniques could do the trick. For the ultimate flying experience, read our tips on how to get the best seat on an airplane.