Finding cheap flights with cash or points can be challenging, especially if you’re beholden to a typical school calendar or need to travel during busy periods. However, there are lots of ways you can cut back on airfare costs and find award availability without breaking the bank. The key to getting the best deals is flexibility, strategic planning, and using the right tools.
By using these strategies, you can maximize your savings on flights — whether you’re paying with cash or points. Here are 15 tips to help you score the cheapest flights.
Table of contents
The more flexible you can be, the more you can save
One of the best ways to find cheap flights with cash or points is by being flexible with your travel dates and even your destination. For example, if you want to visit Paris in the summer, you might have a hard time securing award space. But if you instead conduct a general search for Europe, you might find saver award space to places like Madrid (MAD) and London (LHR). From there, you can book fairly cheap positioning flights to Italy or anywhere else in Europe.
Both Google Flights and point.me have excellent Explore tools to help you find cheap airfare with flexible dates and destinations.
For example, let’s say you want to book a flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG) this summer. If you search for a specific date, like June 24, 2025, you’ll find economy fares for 45,000 miles each way. Not bad for peak travel season, but we can do better.
If, instead, you use the point.me Explore tool to search all of Europe during June, you’ll find that members have recently found flights to Athens, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, London, Rome, and Munich for as low as 25,000 miles each way.
You’ll save 20,000 miles and can instead use a distance-based program like British Airways Executive Club to book cheap positioning flights between these cities and Paris. Or you can find cheap flights on low-cost European carriers.
By being flexible with your destination and travel dates, you can save significantly. If you’re traveling with a family, these savings can add up even more and enable you to take more trips or extend your vacation.
Check dates on either side of your preferred travel dates
Even a day or two can sometimes make a difference between an affordable vacation and going over your travel budget. The point.me award tool makes this easy by allowing you to toggle between three different dates in the search results.
Google Flights also makes it easy to search multiple dates. Enter your departure and destination, and then click on the departure date. A calendar will pop up, showing fare prices by date, with the cheapest highlighted in green.
Avoid peak seasons
Traveling during peak seasons, like summer and major holidays, will result in skyrocketing airfare prices due to high demand. Saver award prices are also hard to find, making it difficult to plan your trip on a budget. If you have to travel during the busy travel season, consider early June or late August to avoid the highest prices.
Likewise, traveling on an actual holiday (i.e., Christmas) will get you slightly lower fares than traveling a day before or after (when everyone is trying to get to their destination in time for the actual holiday). Extending a few days after can also help (for example, the Sunday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days; if you can stay until the following Wednesday, it will be easier to find an award fare).
Traveling during shoulder season instead of peak travel dates can also offer more affordable fares. I constantly use this method to visit destinations off-peak. I not only save money on travel, but I also get to experience popular destinations without the crowds.
Search for departures from nearby airports
If you live near a smaller airport like John Wayne (SNA), it can be worth driving to Los Angeles (LAX) for better fares. Larger airports in major metropolitan cities have more flight options and more airlines competing for business, driving down fares significantly. They also have more direct international flights, often at lower prices.
For example, a one-way Southwest award ticket between Santa Ana’s John Wayne Airport (SNA) and Los Cabos (SJD) in March 2025 ranges between 9,462 and 20,916 points.
The cash fare ranges between $189 and $342.
Meanwhile, award flights out of LAX range between 3,071-20,003 points or $117-$313 cash.
By driving 40 miles to a bigger airport, you can save up to 67% on the points fare or a minimum of $72 cash per person.
If business class is your goal, consider flying for a great deal
If you want to fly business class, consider booking a positioning flight to a major airport with more premium cabin deals. Cities like New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles frequently have better business-class availability than smaller airports.
Flying from Miami to Europe in business class on Iberia is often available for 34,000 Avios points, while flights from smaller airports require significantly more miles (especially on distance-based award charts that charge higher rates for multi-segment flights).
Use trains, ferries, or local flights to cover the final leg to your destination
Sometimes, the cheapest way to reach your destination is to fly close to it and take a low-cost carrier or train for the final stretch. For example, flights out of London (LHR) have notoriously high fuel surcharges.
Instead, consider taking a 2-hour train ride to Paris and then departing out of (CDG). You’ll avoid steep fuel surcharges, and the cost of train travel will be reasonable.
Book in the right window
Booking at the right time is key to securing the cheapest flights. For cash fares, this tends to be 1-3 months in advance for domestic flights and 3-10 months for international.
For award flights, it’s slightly different and depends a bit on how the airline prices its award fares. For example, some airlines utilize dynamic pricing, which results in higher award fares during high-demand periods. Other airlines utilize distance and zone-based pricing, which results in more reasonable and less volatile pricing.
For the best chance, search for award availability right when airlines release availability (between 328-362 days out). Some airlines also open up last-minute award availability. For example, Lufthansa releases premium cabin awards to Star Alliance partners 1-2 weeks before departure.
Set fare alerts
Setting fare alerts can help you track price drops and grab a deal as soon as it’s available. Google Flights offers price tracking on cash fares, making it possible to monitor price changes and jump on a great fare when it becomes available.
Search for two one-way flights instead of a roundtrip
Saver award space is often limited, especially on popular routes and peak travel dates. That’s why booking a one-way fare might be cheaper than booking a roundtrip: You can secure a one-way saver award and then save on a return flight if last-minute saver award space opens up. Of course, that’s a big “if” – there’s no guarantee you’ll find saver award space on the return.
However, booking a one-way flight gives you flexibility. Plus, on popular routes where saver award space is rare, booking it when it becomes available can still be more cost effective than waiting for non-saver roundtrip fares to open up. Booking one-way flights is most valuable for domestic cash flights and award flights. It might not be the best strategy on international trips, where you might end up paying through the roof for last-minute return flights.
Split up your group
Splitting up your group isn’t ideal, but doing so can save you on airfare, whether you’re redeeming miles or paying cash. With paid fares, it’s important to note that airlines sell airfare in different “buckets.” When the cheaper fares sell out, the more expensive ones become available. Sometimes, if you’re searching for a flight for five travelers but the airline only has two seats in the lower (i.e., cheaper) fare group available, it will sell all five seats at the higher price.
By searching for fewer seats and splitting your group, you can save on airfare while still traveling together.
This strategy is also helpful for award flights. Many airlines restrict saver award seats, especially for premium cabins, so there might not be enough seats available for your group. By splitting your group up into different cabins or even flights, you can book cheaper award flights.
Explore all fare classes
Sometimes, business fares don’t cost that much more than economy class. This is especially true on full-fare economy tickets, which are sometimes very close to business fares. For example, this main cabin select economy fare between Chicago (ORD) and New York (LGA) on American Airlines costs $213 and excludes checked bags.
For an extra $73, you can upgrade to first class. You’ll not only get two free checked bags (a value of $80), but you’ll get a more comfortable seat, priority boarding, and earn more miles).
When it comes to points, you can save by flying there in economy class and back in business or first. Avianca Lifemiles even lets you book mixed-cabin awards for less. For example, a business class ticket to Europe costs 70,000 miles each way. But by booking an itinerary with a short segment in economy class, you can save thousands of miles.
Act fast
When you see a great fare, book it immediately. Most airlines have a 24-hour cancelation rule on both cash and award bookings, though it typically applies to departure dates a week out or longer. For award fares, you can place a hold with certain airlines while others let you cancel or change for free or a small fee.
Keep in mind that if you’re booking a mistake fare, the airline may not honor it. You’ll typically find out if that’s the case or not within 24 hours of booking. During this time, avoid making any non-refundable hotel reservations or other travel bookings, in case your ticket is canceled.
Remember that the airline operating the flight may not offer the cheapest fare for that flight
Award fares can vary across programs for the same flight. For example, United MileagePlus charges 160,000 miles or more for a roundtrip flight to Europe. However, you can book the same flight through ANA Mileage Club for 130,000-140,000 miles round-trip, depending on whether you’re traveling during peak, shoulder, or off-peak dates.
You can use point.me to ensure you’re booking the cheapest award ticket possible. point.me will not only find the lowest redemption rates but will identify the best transfer programs and factor transfer bonuses into the total cost.
Use point.me to compare award fares across airlines and programs
As previously mentioned, point.me doesn’t just search for award space; it tells you the cheapest way to book it. Sometimes, this doesn’t involve transferring points but rather booking directly through the credit card portal. For example, you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase travel portal at 1.25 cents each if you have a Sapphire Card or 1.5 cents with a Sapphire Reserve.
Doing so is easier but not always cheaper. For example, let’s say United has a $202 round-trip flight for sale. You’d need either 16,160 or 13,467 points when booking through the Chase travel portal, depending on the card you use. Meanwhile, the same flight is available on the United site for just 12,900 miles round-trip. In this case, it’s cheaper to transfer our Chase points to United MileagePlus rather than redeeming them through the Chase travel portal.
Take advantage of discounted awards
Some airlines offer discounted award flights that can save you tons of points. For example, Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program offers monthly Promo Rewards, discounting select award flights by up to 25%. Delta Air Lines lists their discounted award flights on the SkyMiles Deals page, allowing you to search for deals by airport. Meanwhile, Southwest and JetBlue both have low-fare calendars that let you find the cheapest fares (both cash or points) on selected routes.
Share "How to Find Cheap Flights with Cash or Points"
