How to Score the Best Deals on Flights

How to Score the Best Deals on Flights

Ever since I was little I've always wanted to travel everywhere. I grew up watching the Travel Channel with Samantha Brown and Anthony Bourdain as my guides to the world beyond my small town. And now as an adult I can say I have traveled a little, but definitely not as much as I had dreamed as a little girl.

And honestly, the biggest roadblock to travel is the cost. And mostly it's the flight cost. Paying almost $1,000 to get to Paris just is not in the cards for me. Especially when you have to multiply that by four people. That’s why I’m so excited to share one of my favorite travel tools: Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights), a game-changing site and app that makes finding affordable airfare easy.

What Is Going?

Going is a flight deal service that tracks airline price drops and mistake fares, then sends curated alerts straight to your inbox or your phone with the app. You just set your home airport(s), and they take care of the rest—scanning thousands of fares each day to send you the best possible deals. You can use it on either the desktop version or they also have an app. And I get notifications on flights right to my phone the second they happen.

They offer both a basic version and a premium membership (which is what I personally use), and honestly, the savings pay for themselves in one trip.

How It Helped Me Book My Latest Trip to Paris

Ever since I went to Nice last year with my mom I had been yearning to take my whole family to France. And so the quest began for affordable flights to France. I even concocted a plan to fly into London for $600 then take the train to Paris. But with little kids that wasn't going to work for us. And direct flights to Paris? No way. Prices were hovering well over $900 per ticket—not ideal when booking for four people.

After obsessively checking my phone every morning and setting up about a thousand Google alerts for flights I finally found one. $497 for direct flights to Paris with Delta. But instead of just jumping on the deal like I should have, I thought, oh I'll wait until nap time when my husband and I can make a firm game plan before booking. Worst decision ever. Within another hour the flight was gone. So I vowed to never miss another deal like this again.

So in my fury filled stated I started researching ways to find affordable plane tickets to Europe. And everywhere I looked I found Going. So to give myself a break from obsessive checking every morning and night I bought a membership and within a few weeks found the deal I was hoping for: roundtrip flights to Paris for just $522 from our home airport. Within ten minutes, I booked all four tickets and saved over $1,500 compared to what I’d been seeing over and over again.

Why I Love Using Going

• No More Obsessive Searching: I used to spend hours refreshing flight sites, trying to game the algorithm. Now, I let Going do the work. It truly does provide peace of mind.

• Custom Alerts: I’ve set preferences for both domestic and international destinations, so whether I’m looking for a long weekend trip or a big European getaway, I get relevant deals that actually matter to me.

• Mistake Fares and Flash Deals: These are the golden tickets—massive discounts that are often only available for a few hours. Going gives you a chance to grab them before they’re gone. And I've seen a few of these come up for some amazing destinations like Tokyo and Sydney.

Tips for Using Going Like a Pro

1. Set Multiple Departure Airports – If you're willing to drive a bit farther to fly out of a major hub, you’ll see even better deals.

2. Be Flexible With Dates – The more flexible you are, the more magic Going can work.

3. Act Fast When a Deal Pops Up – The best prices don’t last long, but Going will always give you the full rundown: how long the deal is likely to last, what dates work, and where to book.

4. Book Even if You're Unsure - I know it sounds crazy, but even if you're only 80% sure you want to go but it's an amazing deal, book it. You have 24 hours to cancel the flight if you book in the U.S. to get a full refund. This is what I should've done before, so please learn from my mistake so it wasn't all for nothing!

Ready to Try It?

If you’re planning travel in the next year, I can’t recommend Going enough. It takes the stress out of trying to find a good deal on flights. It even shows you, on the desktop version, the best and most recent prices found for your destination, aka peace of mind that you are in fact getting a good deal. ✨

You can sign up here—and if you upgrade to the premium membership (which I genuinely use and love), you’ll get even more personalized deals and premium perks. And honestly it's just fun to scroll around on the giant map and find random great flights to places you never even thought you'd want to go to, but the deal is just too good to miss.

Let your next adventure begin with one little click—and maybe you’ll find yourself sipping café crème in Paris, too.