How to Get Cheap Last-Minute Flights, According to the Experts

This is also a good time to make sure you’re using the right credit card for your travel habits and airline loyalty, which can easily pay for flights through points. There’s a learning curve involved, but it’s never a bad time to get started, especially since most major credit cards offer significant sign-up bonuses several times a year. All major airlines have their own credit card (or one that’s co-branded with a bank), and most major banks, including Chase, CitiBank, and Bank of America, also offer travel-specific cards that can offer big-time savings on flights (plus hotels and more travel expenses). Take a peek at the deals on offer—and how you can snag them—with our monthly Points and Miles Travel Deals column.

Consider fifth freedom flights

Fifth freedom flights, in which an airline offers service between two countries outside of its home base, can be a boon to budget-minded travelers for several reasons. First of all, they’re often serviced by larger aircraft on popular international routes, which means more competition and lower prices, and they also sometimes offer overlooked frequent-flier availability—all of which can translate into significant savings, not to mention a superior onboard experience.

Beware of ‘skiplagging’

Say you need to fly from DC to Dallas, but the price is too high. Since booking a longer flight with a layover is usually significantly cheaper than a non-stop route, some passengers might book a flight from DC to Los Angeles via Dallas, and deplane in Dallas with no intention of traveling on the next leg. This controversial tactic is known as a “hidden-city ticket” or “skiplagging.”

Skiplagged is the best-known search engine for this workaround, but be super careful if you decide to give it a go. The tactic is strictly prohibited in many airlines’ contracts of carriage, so if they catch you flying this way, your ticket could be invalidated—or even worse, you could be sued. United Airlines and American Airlines have both cracked down on passengers taking advantage of hidden city booking in recent years.

Hidden-city tickets “can get travelers cheaper fares, but there are significant potential problems if you’re caught,” says Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge. “It’s just not worth it, especially for the casual traveler who won’t really fully understand the potential ramifications.”

Don’t be afraid to ask for a deal in person

Instead of shelling out big bucks online for an upgrade, try a more human approach—a strategy that paid off big-time for Kimberley Lovato, a travel writer who specializes in France, on a transatlantic flight from San Francisco to Amsterdam about five years ago. At the check-in desk at SFO, Lovato jokingly asked the agent whether anyone had bought one of the $10,000 business class upgrades she’d been monitoring online. No, the agent replied, but did she want one?

Not for $10K, Lovato responded, countering with $400—and, to her surprise, the agent said, “Done!”

“I’m not sure if it was because she was in a good mood or I just got lucky, but it made my flight, for sure,” Lovato says. The moral of the story: “You never know. More times than not, I’ve asked for things that seemed crazy and gotten them.”