This Google Flights Hack Will Show You the Lowest Price for Your Next Trip
Updated: Apr. 05, 2023
Here's one way to save when booking your next flight. Try this hidden feature in Google Flights.
With summer quickly approaching, the time to book flights is now. Especially since summer flights are particularly subject to changing suddenly this year. And, preferably, we’d all like to find tickets for as cheap as possible.
However, finding a cheap flight isn’t always easy. Even with deals like Frontier’s GoWild! Summer Pass, flights will oftentimes be the largest expense of any trip.
That’s where this genius hack comes in. TikTok creator @sam_jarman, explains a tip to help find the cheapest flights possible using Google Flights. However, it will only be helpful if a few factors align with your trip.
What is the Google Flights hack?
The Google Flights search hack that Jarman discusses is simple. He advises that if you’re searching for the cheapest flights for your next trip to never search directly from an airline. Instead, accessing a few hidden search features in Google’s flight booking service can help you save big.
@sam_jarman Google flight hack has saved me BIG $$$
Here’s how to find the cheapest flights on Google Flights:
- Head to the Google Flights website
- Select “round-trip” and input the city or airport you’re flying from. However, make sure not to enter your destination location.
- Hit explore and and navigate to the map setting to see all available flights around the county.
- To refine the timeframe for your trip, click the calendar option and navigate to “flexible dates”. If the timeline of your trip is flexible, try “all” to search one-week trips within the next six months. This will give you access to the cheapest flights. You can also choose other customizable flight options like “non-stop” to ensure you won’t be on a long layover.
In the example Jarman uses in the video, he is able to find a flight that would have originally cost $217 for just $177. A steal!
Does the Google Flights hack really work?
So is this just one of those hacks that sounds too good to be true? Well, that depends.
The hack certainly works, but there are some caveats to it. On one hand, many travelers may not have the flexible schedule to change their travel timeframes to save the extra money when choosing flights.
Plus, when booking flights using the hack, only economy fares will be shown, which means there may be additional travel restrictions, such as limited seat options or checked baggage. If the flight is non-changeable and if it needs to be cancelled, it could end up costing travelers more than they paid for.
However, if you are a flexible traveler—a digital nomad, perhaps—then this hack may be the perfect choice for you. Additionally, you can add a carry-on into the Google Flights customizations to book beyond basic economy fare in order to generate more options.
And whether you use this hack or not, these are our picks for the best places to travel in 2023.
