How To Save Money With Google Flights

Of all the cool travel tools that help you find cheap fares, one online resource — Google Flights — should be your first stop. Money expert Clark Howard and Team Clark use Google Flights’ many customizable features to track and find airfare deals to book and travel for less.

In this article, I’m going to show you some easy ways to save money using Google Flights to book your next trip. I’ll go over how to track prices and how to use the maps tool to find cheap flights and compare prices. Consider this your guide to all things Google Flights!

How To Use Google Flights To Track Cheap Flights and Compare Prices

Clark.com travel expert Clara Bosonetto is a big fan of Google Flights’ ability to save you money when you travel.

“Google Flights should be the first website to visit to search domestic and international airfares before you jump over to a specific airline to book a flight,” Clara says. “With its many filters, it’s the best site to use when you must fly on a specific airline, must have a nonstop flight, you have a multiple-city trip (flying into one city and out of another) or you want to book one-way travel.”

Google Flights: How To Use It

• Find the Best Time To Travel
• Set Filters
• Explore Maps
• Compare Prices
• Track Prices
• Use the Price Graph
• Pros and Cons

How To Find Lower Fares With Google Flights Search

Google Flights works best as an airfare search and research tool. Go to google.com/travel/flights and you’ll see a simple interface that includes a calendar so that you see the lowest price available on each date you plug in.

Now let’s get into how you can bring your airline ticket costs down when searching for a flight.

Find the Best Time To Travel

If you have an idea of where you want to fly, you can enter your departure and arrival cities along with a date and Google Flights will tell you the cheapest time to travel. Some insights that you may learn from this feature are:

• Whether it’s cheaper to travel later in the week, month or further out.
• When prices typically drop.
• When prices usually increase.

Screenshot via Google Flights

By taking advantage of this feature, you can make travel decisions with a greater sense of confidence.

Set Filters

One of the simplest ways to get the most out of Google Flights is to take advantage of the many filters it offers. Here are some of the best filters:

• Stops: Search itineraries based on the number of layovers.
• Airlines: Select only the carriers you’d like to fly.
• Bags: Select your carry-on and checked bag requirements so you’ll be able to calculate baggage fees.
• Price: Set fare limits in line with your budget

Explore Maps

Google Flights’ map feature is a great way that Clark puts his #1 cheap travel rule into practice, which is to find a destination on sale, and then find a reason to go. Here’s how to do it:

If you type in your departure city but leave the “Where to?” box blank and hit SEARCH, a map will appear. This map will show you the price of airfare from your departure city to several cities across the United States. And if you take your cursor and move it on the map, you’ll see airfares for destinations all over the world.

This is a great way to find cheap airfares as well as new destinations for a vacation!

Compare Prices

Now let’s say you’ve picked a place you want to visit based on the map suggestions. Once you click on a flight and it shows you the airfare, it’s time to compare prices.

For example, let’s say you’re searching Honolulu, Hawaii, prices. To see price comparisons of airfare, click on “Date Grid.” This will pull up a calendar view. You’ll see prices based on which day of the week you choose to fly.

Prices in green are among the cheapest for that week, while red indicates the most expensive prices. If you have travel flexibility, click on the green to save!

Once you select your departure and arrival dates, you’re all set. Now it’s time to monitor the fares via price tracking.

Track Prices

When you toggle on the “Track Prices” button (you must be signed in to your Google account), Google will send you weekly airfare alerts if the price drops.

This means that, without having to do any more research, Google will help you find the cheapest prices for the selected flight route you chose. You can also view all the prices you’re tracking on one page.

If the price drops within your budget, it’s time to buy! Google Flights will show you a “Select” button that forwards you to the appropriate airline’s website, where you can book. If the “Book on Google” button is available, you can book right then and there.

Use the Price Graph

If you’ve got some flexibility, take a look at the price graph to see which time of the year has the best fares. The bar graph gives you a great visual representation.

Pros and Cons

Google Flights gives you the functionality to compare routes, prices, times, airlines, and more all in one place. But it’s not perfect.

The site shows you flights from most of the major carriers but not all of them. You can’t find Southwest Airlines fares on Google Flights. Although there is a hack for that. Some budget airlines like Ryanair and Allegiant Air are also excluded from the site.

Here are some pros and cons I’ve found about Google Flights.

Pros	Cons
The site shows you whether prices for a flight route are high, low or typical.	The site doesn’t include all airlines. Southwest is the most notable omission.
The sync with Google Travel includes insights on hotel prices and things to do in your destination city.	You have to be logged on to Google to get the site’s full benefits.
You can opt to get alerts that will tell you if your chosen flight's price goes down.	Only on select itineraries can you book your flight directly on the site.

Final Thoughts

The initial fares that pop up on Google Flights may not always be the best routes or your preferred airline, so take full advantage of the filters to find the best deals.

And don’t forget to turn on price tracking, which will tell you when flights get cheaper.

Of course, there’s more to booking a getaway vacation than knowing how to navigate Google Flights. One pro tip: Use a cash back or travel rewards credit card when you book to save even more.

For more ins and outs of how to prepare for your trip, check out Clark Howard’s travel booking and planning guide.