Did you know the cheapest time to book a flight online is 1am?
Always wanted to know insider tips to help you always get the best flight deals? Here’s some insider travel tips that will help save you money.
It’s the great conundrum. You know there will be people on your flight who paid much less for their ticket than you did but how did they do it? Kayak analysed over a billion flights and came up with some general rules to follow to pay less. In all cases, the cheapest hour of the day to book is to set your alarm for 1am. It is up to 67 per cent cheaper than the most expensive hour. With a little know-how you can save and enjoy more time doing what you love.
Did you know? The cheapest day on average to fly to Brisbane is Friday
How to save the most on interstate destinations
| City | Best day(s) to fly | Book ahead by | Potentially save |
| Sydney | Tuesday | 3 months | 77% |
| Perth | Tuesday | 3 months | 75% |
| Brisbane | Friday | 2 months | 27% |
| Gold Coast | depart Sunday, return Friday | 2 months | 67% |
| Hobart | Thursday | 5 months | 45% |
| Cairns | Sunday | 3 months | 61% |
| Adelaide | Sunday | 1 month | 69% |
| Canberra | Tuesday | 3 months | 50% |
| Hamilton Island | Saturday | 8 months | 26% |
| Melbourne | Thursday | 2 months | 41% |
How to save the most on the top 10 overseas destinations
| City | Best day(s) to fly | Book ahead by | Potentially save |
| Los Angeles | depart Monday, return Sunday | 6 months | 44% |
| London | depart Friday, return Wednesday | 2 months | 43% |
| Tokyo | depart Tuesday, return Sunday | 8 months | 66% |
| Denpasar | depart Thursday, return Wednesday | 3 months | 31% |
| Singapore | depart Sunday, return Thursday | 2 months | 68% |
| Honolulu | depart Tuesday, return Wednesday | 5 months | 69% |
| Bangkok | Friday | 6 months | 53% |
| New Delhi | Sunday | 3 months | 34% |
| Auckland | Tuesday | 5 months | 43% |
| Hong Kong | depart Friday, return Wednesday | 6 months | 36% |
This survey largely reinforces the standard travel advice that the cheapest fares sell first, then the next cheapest and so on until only the most expensive seats are left.
Avoid travelling during peak business times 6.30am-9.30am & 4pm-7pm (Photo: 1000 Words/Shutterstock)
These days, airlines have very sophisticated seating and pricing processes in place to ensure that most flights are largely filled. However, if a flight hasn’t sold out there may be some last minute deals available for the brave or tardy.
However, there are some other clever tricks from Choice who assessed nine comparison websites and discovered a wide divergence in terms of fares and fees.
For domestic flights, it seems you might be better off seeing what’s on offer on the comparison sites then booking directly on the airline site. For international flights, the comparison sites offered more competitive fares than the airlines’ own sites. Booking fees may be higher but that may be overcome by the fare savings.
In all cases, Choice suggests that you need to be careful about pre-ticked opt-out extras. Untick them all and only re-tick the ones you regard as essential. Other suggestions are to avoid travelling during the peak (business) travel times of 6.30am-9.30am and 4pm-7pm. And pay through BPay to avoid substantial surcharges.
There is one remarkably devious tip that may be the most valuable. Clear the cookies from your computer before booking your flights; “so the airline or booking site can't track your searches”.This matches what many of us have long suspected. Flights do miraculously become more expensive just as you are about to finally book.
It also supports what a travel software developer told me. Programs are being developed to identify the moment when you are about to book and either offer you a special deal or raise the offered fare at that time. We will all have to be remarkably diligent with our cookie deletions to avoid it!
What are your best tips for saving money while travelling? Tell us below.
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