Man where do I even start with this. So basically last december my buddy Jake and I were planning a trip to Miami right? We booked on the same day going to the same place sitting like three rows apart. I paid $680. This man paid $390. THREE HUNDRED AND NINETY. I wanted to throw my laptop out the window honestly.
Thats when I went down this rabbit hole of figuring out how airlines actually price their tickets and bro… its messed up.
They Literally Spy on You Lol
Okay “spy” is a strong word but not really though?? I noticed something weird one night. I was searching for tickets to Denver and checked the price like four times in two hours. Every single time it went up a little. $312 became $329 became $347. I thought maybe demand was increasing or whatever.
Then my girlfriend was like “try incognito mode” and I was like yeah right thats not gonna do anything. Opened a private tab. Same flight. $289. I just sat there staring at my screen for a solid minute.
They use cookies yall. They literally track your searches and when they see you keep coming back to the same flight they bump the price up because they know you want it bad. Thats so shady if you think about it but whatever thats the game we playing I guess.
The Tuesday Thing That I Thought Was Total BS
Okay so my cousin Eddie works for some small travel agency down in Houston. We were at a family barbecue last summer — you know how those go, everyone talking over each other, kids running around screaming. Somehow we got on the topic of flights and he goes “you know prices drop on tuesday nights right?”
I gave him that look. You know the look. Like yeah sure man whatever you say.
But it kept bugging me so the following week on a tuesday around 11pm I checked a route I’d been watching. It had been sitting at $445 for like a week straight. That night? $311. I screenshot it so fast and sent it to Eddie with just the prayer hands emoji lmao.
Now look im not saying this works EVERY single time. Sometimes wednesdays are cheaper. Sometimes theres no difference at all. But more often than not tuesday and wednesday nights have given me better deals than weekends. Take that for what its worth.
The Nearby Airport Thing That Made Me Feel Dumb
This one… yeah. So I live near Philly. Been flying out of PHL my entire adult life without questioning it once. Never even occurred to me to check other airports nearby.
One random afternoon I was bored and checked the same exact flight from Baltimore. Not even intentionally — I think I accidentally clicked on it or something. $197 cheaper. For the SAME destination on the SAME day. BWI is like an hour twenty from my house maybe less if traffics good.
I felt so incredibly stupid. Like how many times had I overpaid just because I automatically typed in PHL without thinking?? Probably dozens of times over the years. That hurts to think about honestly so I try not to.
Apps and Stuff I Mess Around With
Google Flights is the main one for me. Nothing fancy about it I just like that I can set a price alert and then completely forget about it until my phone buzzes. Thats my kind of effort level lol.
Hoppers okay. Predicted correctly for me maybe half the time? Sometimes itd say “wait to book” and then prices went UP so yeah. Not perfect. But free so cant complain too much.
Oh and Skip lagged. Thats the one that does the hidden city ticketing thing. First time someone explained that concept to me my brain kinda short circuited. Its borderline genius but also airlines HATE it so use at your own risk I guess. I wont say more than that just look it up yourself.
What Id Tell Anyone Who Still Overpaying
Honestly its not complicated at all and thats whats annoying about it. Clear your cookies or go incognito before searching. Check nearby airports even if its inconvenient. Try booking midweek instead of Sunday night when everyone panicking about their upcoming trips.
And the biggest one — stop buying the first price you see. I used to do that ALL the time. See a price think “eh good enough” and just book it without comparing anything. Lazy? Yeah. Expensive? Absolutely.
I saved roughly $2,300 last year doing none of this perfectly by the way. I still mess up sometimes and book impulsively. But even catching deals half the time adds up quick.
Nobody needs to be a travel hacker or whatever people call themselves on youtube. You just gotta stop letting airlines take advantage of the fact that most of us dont bother looking twice.
Anyway thats my rant. Go save some money and stop making airlines richer than they already are. Peace.