# Best way to find discounted flights

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-find-discounted-flights/689414>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 27, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-find-discounted-flights/689414 "2014-05-27T22:26:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-find-discounted-flights/689414/1 "2014-05-27T22:26:25Z")

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Let’s say I’d like to fly to London sometime in the next year. The when is not super important, and I am able to make the decision on, oh, a week’s notice.

What’s the best way to find/track ticket prices, or learn about cheap flights?

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**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-find-discounted-flights/689414/2 "2014-05-28T00:04:46Z")

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I’ve found some great deals through the weekly emails from [Travelzoo](http://www.travelzoo.com/). In 2011, I went to Iceland from Chicago for $500 roundtrip, though they also included London and Copenhagen in the deal.

[Kayak](http://www.kayak.com/) is pretty good sometimes, as is [Skyscanner](http://www.skyscanner.com/). I like to use the price analysis tools over at [Bing Travel](http://www.bing.com/travel/) quite a bit, as well. [ITA Matrix](http://matrix.itasoftware.com/) can help you choose a day by showing you prices over a length of time.

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-find-discounted-flights/689414/3 "2014-05-28T00:18:33Z")

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> [@interface2x](#):
>
> I’ve found some great deals through the weekly emails from [Travelzoo](http://www.travelzoo.com/). In 2011, I went to Iceland from Chicago for $500 roundtrip, though they also included London and Copenhagen in the deal.
> 
> [Kayak](http://www.kayak.com/) is pretty good sometimes, as is [Skyscanner](http://www.skyscanner.com/). I like to use the price analysis tools over at [Bing Travel](http://www.bing.com/travel/) quite a bit, as well. [ITA Matrix](http://matrix.itasoftware.com/) can help you choose a day by showing you prices over a length of time.

Yeah, I do this all the time. The best and most consistent results come from Travelzoo and Kayak. Travelzoo is good for discounted packages that include flights, hotels and/or a car. They have a weekly Top 20 e-mail that has some very good deals if it matches your plans. Kayak is an aggregating website that scans many other travel sites for the best deals. Both offer e-mail services for price hikes and drops. With a year to work with, I would just sign up for both of them and check every few days for a while to figure out the baseline prices.

When a good deal pops up, have a credit card in hand and be ready to jump on it within minutes because the best deals go fast. You should be able to get a good deal if you have a year to work with and you pay attention. It doesn’t take much effort other than signing up and paying attention for what is a good deal and what isn’t.