How to find the best price for international flights

Pinning down the exact right time to buy a flight is a complex science, or maybe it’s more like an art form: An elegant combination of planning ahead, sensing the trends, and knowing the ideal time, day, and alignment of the planets to hit “buy.” Or is it more like gambling?

The truth is that the right time to get those tickets varies greatly depending on a number of factors. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some tips, tricks and general know-how that won’t make it easier.

1. Search in “private mode.”

As with most flight-buying strategies, there is some controversy as to whether using incognito mode to search for flights is actually an effective money-saving tactic. But if there’s a chance there’s validity to it, why not give it a shot, right? The theory is that online travel agencies and booking sites (like Expedia, Hotwire, or Kayak) use cookies to track your search history, and therefore might jack up the price on tickets they know you’re planning to buy. Research on the subject has been largely inconclusive, but a large part of buying plane tickets is knowing you’ve done everything possible to keep costs down. Read more...