New Tool from Google Flights Helps You Find the Lowest Airfares

The estimated reading time for this post is 3 minutes

When you’re planning a trip, the biggest expense may be the cost of the flights. Airfares can be expensive and budgeting for them can be a challenge. Prices change constantly so knowing which flights are the best can be confusing.

If you find a fare you think is fair, how do you know whether the price will drop? Or rise suddenly?

Buying a plane ticket seems to be a guessing game. When you’re traveling with a family, an increase in airfares gets multiplied, making that planned vacation even more of a financial stretch.

If only there were some way to know when you’re getting the lowest airfare and when prices may change…

Google Flights, Google’s flight search service, recently added a new tool to help you find the best airfares. The service can now let you know when the price for a flight is due to expire and when prices are expected to rise.

[tip] => Also see Google Flights Update Helps You Find Your Best Trip! [/tip]

Using Google Flight’s New Tool

Google Flights now compares airfares to historical price data for similar flights to let you know likely price changes and when fares are about to expire. To use this new tool, go to Google Flights and search for flights.

[note] There is no Google Flights mobile app, but you can use the Google Flights website from your computer, phone and tablet. [/note]

You can search for flights by date, airports, number of stops, class and number of passengers. Google Flights will show you the results, highlighting in green the flights it calculates are the best choices, based on price, flight times and number of stops.

After you select a flight, you may also see a notification when the price is set to expire. A tip may also warn you to book soon as prices are expected to rise soon.

You may also see a tip at the top of the results, advising that you could save money by flying on a different date or from a nearby airport.

Track Prices

The results also show a Track Prices option that you can turn on to receive emails about price changes and travel tips. Google Flights lets you choose Track Prices even if you haven’t purchased your tickets or chosen a flight yet.

You can manage your tracked flights and change the search fields, such as number of passengers, airports, dates and more.

You’ll receive emails with notifications from Google Flights if the airfares for your saved flights in Tracked Prices increase or decrease significantly.

Comparing Airfares

Google Flights also has other useful tools to compare airfares. You can see price changes over time on a calendar to learn when you should fly.

You can also see airfares on a bar graph to compare prices easily.

Google Flights can also show prices on a map to help you determine whether a different location may save you money on airfares.

Hotel Prices

Google also has an update to help you find the best rates for hotel rooms. When you search for hotels on Google, you will see deals marked along with the discount rate off of the normal price.

You can also get notifications from Google when savings are available to loyalty members on a hotel’s website.

Your Thoughts

Do you get frustrated trying to find the best prices for airfares? Would you sign up to get notifications about price changes? Are you interested in finding out when an airfare will expire?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!

* Airplane in Clouds image courtesy of Cristian Baron courtesy of Unsplash and Creative Commons