Three simple tricks to save money on flight tickets

Whenever I see an email with a subject line like the headline above, I’m immediately skeptical. Too often, I find they’re thinly disguised sales pitches for something of questionable value. But one from VPN provider Surfshark.com had some useful tips, even for those who don’t choose to buy their service.

You may not be aware that, in addition to a multitude of oft-indecipherable factors, the price of plane tickets can also be affected by the buyer’s location and browsing habits.

“Many flight search engines collect user data to manipulate ticket prices,” the email said. “By doing this, they seek to persuade users to make quick decisions, and in most cases, buyers end up paying more than initially intended.”

Methods used to build a buyer’s profile are continually becoming more sophisticated. As a result, a visitor to a particular ticketing website who is searching for flights may share some great finds with a friend in the U.K. However, even on the same website, that friend may see a different price.

‘Visitor information is essential for sales and marketing, as price manipulation is a way to give a potential buyer an extra kick to buy,” Paavo Aalto, head of communications at Surfshark, said. “Many flight ticket systems are carefully programmed to track visitor IP addresses, browser information, and other data. Generally, the website visitor who sees gradually increasing prices is being rushed to make the purchase.”

However, although such systems are becoming more and more intelligent, there are simple ways to save money on flight tickets, and they center on preventing websites from tracking you and your habits.


Clear your browsing history

Clear your web browser's cache, cookies, and history – everything. Anyone can delete such information by going into browser settings. This trick can confuse the ticket system and make it more difficult to identify you.

Switch to incognito browsing

When you turn on private or anonymous browsing mode on your browser, it disables several trackers that are the most common.

If your desired ticket has just got more expensive than it was an hour ago, make sure to turn on ‘incognito’ mode and check again. When browsing in private mode, it is harder for the retailer to identify you and see what you have been looking for before. Thus, it thinks that you are just a different visitor, and shows you the price which you would consider.

Use a VPN

You can save a lot of money when booking flights if you start using a virtual private network (VPN) service. It can help you to avoid paying more just because of your browsing habits or geographical location.

When you use a VPN, you can quickly change your location and mask your actual location. Start searching while connected to the lower-income countries. Then, compare the prices and pick the best option. Sometimes the rates can vary by a few hundred dollars.

“Moreover, if you are using a VPN, you are not only saving money, you are protecting your privacy with the most advanced online security tool,” Aalso added. “It is a ‘win/win’ situation.”

VPNs offer a number of other advantages in addition to greatly reducing the risk of security breaches and cyberattacks, according to this article on Computerworld.com. Surfshark has a variety of VPN plans starting at $5.99 per month for the one-year plan. It also offers a six-month plan that works out to $8.89, while month-to-month access can be purchased for $11.95 per month.

Visit my main page at TheTravelPro.us for more news, reviews, and personal observations on the world of upmarket travel.



Photo by Carl Dombek
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