Top 12 Best Websites for Booking Flights

Websites for Booking Flights

Best Websites for Booking Flights tickets will be described in this article. Finding a flight online might be a little intimidating. There are numerous variables, including the dates, times, cost, fare class, airline, and others. Where should you seek for the lowest price, even if you know exactly when and where you want to fly? Sadly, no source regularly offers the best deals.

Although the prices of the majority of well-known OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) are typically comparable, not all of them provide the same advantages or search capabilities. In order to assess rates and show you each site’s advantages and disadvantages, we sifted through a large number of well-known OTAs.

Use the airline’s website to make a direct booking. The majority of the time, booking straight through the airline’s website will result in the best pricing, or at the very least, a price that is comparable to OTAs.

You must make direct reservations because some airlines, like Southwest, won’t even appear on search engines like Expedia or Orbitz. It could also be the simplest way to make a reservation. You don’t need to interact with a third party to remedy a problem if one arises. Utilizing frequent flyer miles to purchase award flights is another benefit of booking directly through an airline’s website. Naturally, you must first determine which airline offers the greatest deals in order to make a reservation through the airline’s website.

You can use a variety of OTAs and travel search engines to locate the greatest offers so you can choose which airline’s website to visit. Some OTAs even provide benefits that might encourage customers to book elsewhere in addition to the airline’s website.

Hot Tip: Some credit cards, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express, give extra points for flights, but only when the flight is booked directly with the airline.

Top 12 Best Websites for Booking Flights at the Cheapest Prices In 2022

Top 12 Best Websites for Booking Flights at the Cheapest Prices are explained here.

1. Momondo

Momondo

Similar to Kayak, Momondo is a travel metasearch engine.

You can enter your travel information in the straightforward search box that is displayed on the homepage.

The graphic manner this site displays the pricing trends for your flight is one of our favourite features.

You can notice right away if you could save some money by rearranging your travel dates.

On the left flank of the screen, there are numerous filtering options as well as a price tracker.

You can rapidly compare the costs for alternative trip dates with those for your own.

If you’re able to be a little flexible, you may frequently save some money.

Picture Source: Momondo

Additionally, it offers “Hacker Fares,” which are just two one-way access from several suppliers connected to give you the most affordable price.

To book these tickets, however, you do need to visit 2 different websites, unlike other services.

Momondo’s benefits and drawbacks

Pros:

  • Great pricing tracking tools

Cons:

  • Mix and Match fares necessitate making 2 separate reservations; on other websites, this is typically handled “behind the scenes.”

Hot Tip: In our guide to using Momondo, we go through the specifics of how to get cheap airfare using this service.

2. Kayak

Kayak

Kayak is a search engine for travel, not an OTA.

It’s also an excellent place to start because it’s a search engine. Also check booking air tickets and hotel 

The website consolidates pricing comparisons from numerous websites into one location so you can quickly identify the most affordable solutions.

To complete your booking, you’ll typically wind up navigating through to a different website.

Kayak

The best option to reduce the cost of your flight is to use hacker fares.

Instead of using a round-trip ticket on a single airline, these itineraries are made by combining 2 one-way tickets (often on different carriers).

These can be excellent offers that don’t always show up in other websites’ search results.

Kayak Pros and Cons Pros:

  • Fares for Kayak Hacker
  • Price Alerts to monitor flight costs

Cons:

  • Kayak works best for travellers with flexible travel plans because many of its most useful features allow you to look for savings; nevertheless, this website may not be as enticing if you have your heart set on a particular flight.

3. Expedia

Expedia

People have been utilising Expedia, another tried-and-true OTA, since the 1990s.

Expedia was the go-to place for finding and booking flights back then.

How does it fare now, though?

When it comes to price, booking through Expedia isn’t always the best option, but you aren’t always paying more than you would on the airline’s website.

Utilizing Expedia has some pleasant benefits, like a rewards programme.

Unfortunately, there is less opportunity for profit from flights than there is from lodging, transportation, cruises, activities, and vacation packages.

Although you can accrue miles for a flight booked through Expedia, you frequently can’t do so in order to advance in status.

Additionally, you might not be qualified for seat upgrades.

Expedia’s benefits and drawbacks

  • Expedia Bonuses (although the earning potential is better on hotels, cars, packages, activities, and cruises than it is on flights)

Cons:

Booking through Expedia may reduce the number of miles you accumulate toward elite status and may reduce your eligibility for upgrades.

4. Priceline

Priceline

Popular online travel agency Priceline invented the Name Your Own Price feature and opaque bookings.

Discounts may be available with certain bookings, but many of the specifics are not disclosed until after the booking. This is another Websites for Booking Flights.

Since Priceline no longer offers the Name Your Own Price feature for flights, it now functions like the majority of other OTAs.

One of the benefits of using Priceline to search for flights is that it includes a great color-coded calendar that makes it simple to determine which days have the best deals. Also check trust in your ad campaigns

You can quickly determine which days will save you money on your flights.

Picture Source: Priceline

On Priceline, the search results are straightforward to understand and explore.

Check out the less costly options directly above your search results if you have any flexibility with your vacation dates.

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Then you can scroll to quickly view the lowest nonstop options as well as features like flights with no change fees or early bird flights.

The search results on Priceline are labelled to make it simple for you to find what you’re looking for.

Picture Source: Priceline

Examining Priceline’s Express Deals is another method to save money.

Select flight data, such as the departure and arrival times and even the airline, are concealed until the booking is complete in these so-called “opaque bookings.”

Priceline’s benefits and drawbacks

Pros:

  • If you have some flexibility, Express Deal flights can provide a good price; but, many flight specifics, such as the airline and arrival and departure times, are concealed until the booking is done.

Price Match Guarantee

  • Gratis online cancellation within 24 hours of booking
  • Color-coded calendar and easy-to-read search results (except for Express Deal flights)

Cons:

  • No rewards programme
  • Express Deal flights can be inexpensive, but they can cost even more than a conventional reservation

5. Orbitz

Orbitz

Another trustworthy OTA that has been around since 2001 is Orbitz.

This is another Websites for Booking Flights. This website differs slightly from others in that it has its own rewards programme, Orbitz Rewards.

When you use Orbitz to make hotel, airfare, and vacation package flights, you can earn Orbucks.

But you can only use Orbucks to pay for lodging.

You can receive 1% back as Orbucks (or 2% if you use the Orbitz mobile app) when you book a flight through Orbitz.

You can use $5 toward a hotel reservation by earning 5 Orbucks for a $500 airfare booking.

The Orbitz Rewards programme is open to everyone.

On each flight you book using Orbitz, you can accrue Orbucks.

Picture Source: Orbitz

Sadly, Orbitz occasionally levies a 1% booking fee.

Before completing your purchase, keep an eye out for these on your trip summary page and use them in your calculations to see whether you’re getting a good price or not.

Earning Orbucks is fantastic, but paying a booking fee can negate all of the advantages.

Beware of booking costs when purchasing a flight via Orbitz.

Picture Source: Orbitz

Orbitz’s benefits and drawbacks

  • Low Price Guarantee: if you discover a flight for less on another website within 24 hours, Orbitz will refund the difference.
  • Earn Orbucks with Orbitz Rewards, which may be used to pay for hotel reservations.

Cons:

  • Booking fees for flights

Summary: For additional information, see our Orbitz travel booking guide.

6. Agoda

Agoda

Priceline is the owner of the OTA Agoda.

When looking for flights, this website doesn’t provide much more than a straightforward search with a few selectable filters.

Agoda is worth looking into if you’re seeking for unusual lodging options like an apartment or private villa, but it doesn’t have much to offer when looking for flights.

The fact that Agoda is multilingual is a wonderful feature.

By selecting the flag in the top menu bar, you can change the language.

By selecting the flag icon located on the top menu bar, you may quickly switch the language on Agoda.

Picture Source: Agoda

Agoda’s benefits and drawbacks

  • Easy-to-use search capabilities
  • Multilingual support

Cons:

  • Fewer flight filtering choices

Check out our overview of booking travel on Agoda for additional details.

7. Hotwire

Hotwire

Save 40% with Hot Rate Flights on Hotwire

Popular OTA Hotwire has been in business for almost 20 years.

The straightforward home page provides a major search field where you can enter your chosen travel dates and cities of departure and arrival.

To access the flight search, you must click on the third tab in the main search box.

When booking a hotel and airfare together, Hotwire can save you a lot of money.

You’ll frequently encounter pop-ups or prompts during the booking process promoting significant savings for booking a hotel at the same time.

We put it to the test, and each time we compared the cost of a Hotwire vacation package offer to booking a ticket and hotel separately, the package deal came out on top.

Booking a hotel & flying at the same time on Hotwire can frequently result in savings.

Picture Source: Hotwire

In conclusion:

Booking your flight and hotel together on Hotwire can help you save money if you require both.

You might find a Hot Rate flight when looking for your flight.

These are flights whose precise departure and arrival times, number of stops, and carriers are not disclosed until after your order has been placed.

We discovered that the price difference was as little as $20 and that these call for a reasonable bit of flexibility.

It can occasionally provide a fantastic discount, but frequently, there aren’t much savings.

Another thing to bear in mind while utilising Hotwire to locate fantastic travel prices is that a booking fee may occasionally be assessed.

Hotwire’s benefits and drawbacks

Pros:

Savings opportunities include: low price guarantee, 24-hour cancellation policy, and package packages that include hotel stays.

Cons:

Hotwire occasionally levies a booking fee; Hot Rate flights don’t always provide substantial savings.

Bottom Line: Read our comprehensive guide to booking travel on Hotwire for more information on how to discover amazing discounts.

8. Skyscanner

Skyscanner

Another online travel agency that doesn’t offer direct flight flights is Skyscanner.

It displays a list of flights and provides links to the airline’s website or OTA where you can make your purchase.

For flexible travellers, this website excels. This is another Websites for Booking Flights.

You can choose Everywhere in the search box to look for the least expensive places to go on the specified dates.

The search everywhere option on Skyscanner can help you save money if you’re flexible.

Skyscanner provided the photo

Skyscanner works like the majority of other travel search engines if you have a predetermined destination and particular dates.

Skyscanner: Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • Flexible searches
  • Simple language and currency changes
  • Cost alerts

Cons:

  • This site doesn’t offer many distinctive features; all of the functions it does offer may be found on other websites.

Hot Tip: Read our in-depth article on Skyscanner for additional details.

9. Travelocity

Travelocity

Another well-established OTA that is very comparable to the other websites we’ve been looking at is Travelocity.

The good news is that you can use some wonderful filtering options to pick the ideal flight for your needs.

This is another Websites for Booking Flights. The costs may alter between selection and booking, which is a drawback.

When we made a fake booking, the price of the flight had increased from $157 to $338 by the time we reached the payment screen!

When booking tickets through Travelocity, be aware of price changes.

Picture Source: Travelocity

Keep an eye out for booking fees in the payment part of the booking process because Travelocity, like other online travel agents, may impose them.

Your flight may be subject to a booking fee from Travelocity.

Picture Source: Travelocity

Travelocity’s advantages and disadvantages

  • Price Guarantee: Travelocity will refund the difference in price if you discover a better price on an identical itinerary within 24 hours.
  • Free revocation on flights within 24 hours of booking (on most airlines)
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Cons: Prices can change between flight selection and payment; Travelocity occasionally levies a booking fee;

Conclusion:

For further information, see our Travelocity vacation booking guide.

10. Google Flights

Google Flights

An OTA is not Google Flights.

Instead, it’s a metasearch tool akin to Kayak.

Google Flights will connect you to the airline’s direct website or an OTA to finalise the purchase once you’ve located a flight.

It is a potent search engine based on the ITA Matrix, which was made for travel brokers initially.

This website displays price trends and how your departure date may impact the price of your ticket.

Additionally, it enables you to keep tabs on a route’s costs so you may take advantage of low pricing when they appear.

These characteristics make Google Flights an excellent tool for ensuring that the price you’re being offered is a fair one. This is another Websites for Booking Flights.

You may view price trends on Google Flight’s price graph so you can pick the most advantageous time to fly.

Picture Source: Google Flights

Google Flights: Pros and Cons

Pros:

Price tracking will mail you an email when the price of your ticket increases or falls. There are numerous filtering options so you can tailor your search. Price graph lets you view pricing trends for your route and determine which days of the week might be more affordable to fly.

Cons:

For a tourist without much experience, this sophisticated search engine’s abundance of alternatives may prove to be challenging.

Hot Tip:

While frequent flyer miles on flights booked through an OTA are possible, elite status-qualifying miles may not be earned.

11. CheapOair

CheapOair

An OTA that provides its own credit card is called CheapOair.

We advise finding a better travel rewards credit card for more profitable and flexible travel benefits before you go ahead and apply for the card. This is another Websites for Booking Flights.

This website might not be as cheap as you might believe.

That’s because it has the potential to impose high “agency fees.”

Although the fees for the majority of flights might be up to $35, if you read the fine print, you’ll discover that they can actually be as much as $200 per ticket!

Fees from CheapOair can reach $200 per ticket!

Picture Source: CheapOair

This is another Websites for Booking Flights. Additionally, CheapOair charges a price to modify or cancel any ticket, even one purchased within 24 hours, although many other websites offer these services free of charge.

CheapOair’s advantages and disadvantages

  • Price Match Promise: If you discover a lower price on the same itinerary on a significant OTA within 24 hours of booking, CheapOair will refund the difference.

Cons:

  • In addition to high booking costs, CheapOair also levies charges for flight changes and cancellations.
  • The Price Match Promise has very few restrictions; it only applies to flights booked through Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, and Travelocity.

Conclusion: CheapOair might not actually be that cheap.

it promotes inexpensive base tickets, the booking fees it levies typically cause the price to exceed that on the airline’s website.

Check out our CheapOair guide for additional details.

12. Hopper

Hopper

An app called Hopper aims to foretell the best moment to book a flight.

It asserts that you may save up to 40% on flights by utilising its app.

You can see the cheapest and most expensive dates to travel to your desired location using the straightforward interface and color-coded map. This is another Websites for Booking Flights.

Hopper has a fantastic graphic calendar that makes it easy to find the cheapest days to travel to a specific location.

Picture Source: Hopper

If your travel dates are variable, you can also set up alerts to monitor costs for an entire month or for your precise dates.

Hopper’s benefits and drawbacks Pros: It’s simple to use; you may opt to monitor pricing for a single trip or for the entire month.

Cons:

No desktop search functionality

Limited filtering choices

Hot Tip:

A lot of credit cards include travel insurance along with added safeguards like trip interruption and cancellation insurance and luggage delay coverage.

Comparisons of prices

To compare prices side by side, we looked for flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to New York City (JFK) on various ticket booking websites.

The cheapest ticket each website provided is listed below.

We weren’t considering anything other than pricing in our search.

There will probably be more considerations when choosing a flight when you are actually making the booking.

In this case, the same fare on the same airline was made available on Kayak, Hotwire, Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, Travelocity, and Google Flights.

The cost was highest on CheapOair.

Final Thoughts

There exists’t a single place where you can always discover the best deals on flights.

When it comes to pricing, the majority of OTAs are comparable.

Many of these websites can assist you in locating the most affordable travel dates and locations if you have some flexibility.

If you want to make a more conventional booking, start by searching all of the other websites using a travel search engine like Kayak or Google Flights.

That will help you determine which website will enable you to make the biggest savings on your upcoming flight.

Do you attend school?

Don’t miss our article on the top resources for cheap-cost, discounted flights for students.

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Image courtesy of shutterstock and muratart

A lot of people have questions

Which website is the most effective for finding cheap flights?

There isn’t just one website where you can always find the best deals on flights.

However, when looking into opaque bookings or holiday packages, you can discover some really excellent offers. The majority of travel search engines and online travel providers all have similar prices.

An opaque booking is what?

An opaque booking is one where the majority of the flight information, such as the airline, arrival and departure timings, is concealed until the booking is complete.

These bookings are available on many websites, including Hotwire, Orbitz, and Travelocity.

When I make a reservation through an online travel agency, will I receive frequent flyer miles?

In general, yes, frequent flyer points can still be earned on flights booked through an online travel agency.

However, unless you make a reservation directly through the airline’s website, you might not get the miles you need to attain elite status.

Which websites offer the best deals on cheap flights to Europe?

Sadly, there isn’t a simple response to this query.

Starting with a travel search engine like Kayak or Google Flights would be your best bet.

You may compare costs across numerous websites in one location and keep tabs on flight pricing to assist decide when to buy tickets.

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