How I saved $400 by tracking my flight after booking
I figured out this hack during COVID once airlines shed their strict rebooking policies. This hack honestly should have gotten me a job at The Points Guy. I probably should have made a Tik Tok when I figured this out so I could have gone viral and quit my corporate job. It was years before I saw anyone publish a video or article about it. But here it is:
Track your flights after you book them.
Disclaimer: to make this work, you have to book a Main Economy seat or higher. Don’t try this after booking a Basic Economy seat! It’s not going to work.
I have noticed around holidays (and recently since flight prices have been insane), that flights have been fluctuating A LOT. I don’t like risking potentially waiting too long to book a flight, so as soon as the price is reasonable, I book it. And then I immediately go to Google flights and track the flight.
I have done this for my flights home for Christmas every year. Last year alone, I saved $400 on two one way flights by rebooking them.
If you realize the flight has dropped, you can rebook it one of two ways:
The quick way
Cancel the flight and get the airline credit. Once recieved, rebook the flight. The remaining credit will stay on your airline profile (for a year).
The slight insane, but cautious way.
Pull up the flight you want to rebook in one tab so you can secure the price. Don’t go through all the steps yet (you don’t yet want to get to the checkout page). Then, pull up the flight you want to cancel in another tab. As soon as you cancel the flight, you will get the e-credit number. Go back to you original tab, and continue, and when you are asked to checkout, input the e-credit number.
I have rebooked flights both ways before, and you truly have nothing to lose. The airline credits normally stay on your profile for around a year. If you don’t fly that airline often, don’t go through the hassle. If the different is over $100, I will typically try and rebook it for a credit.
My preferred airline that has made this super easy is Delta. Right now, they are offering 80,000 miles to sign up for their Delta Skymiles Gold Card. If you want to learn more about this credit card, check it out here.
