A Beginner’s Guide to Booking International Flights

Embarking on your first international trip can be an exhilarating experience filled with anticipation and excitement. Even if you’re a seasoned local traveller, it can be a bit daunting to book your first trip overseas. Take a tour of this handy guide that covers all the checkpoints you must consider before booking your flight tickets. From the best time to book your tickets to finding the best deals, we’ve got you covered.Read on for a step-by-step guide.

How early should you book your tickets?

First, you should look for international tickets around 6-8 months before your trip window and book them about 3-4 months before the travel date. This window gives you enough time to take into account price changes and get the best deals before prices go up as the trip date gets closer. Moreover, the latest booking should be made two months before the planned travel date, as anything later than that can result in higher prices or even a lack of availability in the desired class of flight seating.

What are some top platforms to book tickets?

With new travel booking platforms popping up every other day, keeping track of them while planning for your trip can become difficult. Here are some of the best platforms:

1. MakeMyTrip

A well-established platform with a wide range of flights, hotels, and holiday packages. What’s more, is that it offers good deals and discounts, whereas some may find the user interface a challenge to navigate.

2. Goibibo

A user-friendly platform with a focus on mobile bookings. In addition, it offers cashback and other incentives but may have different flight options than MakeMyTrip.

3. Ixigo

In addition to its clean interface and powerful search filters, Ixigo offers a “lowest fare alert” feature and price tracking. The customer service, however, can sometimes be a bit tardy.

4. Yatra

Offers good deals on domestic flights and often has exclusive offers with airlines. The user interface is decent; however, the customer service is claimed to be rather hit or miss.

5. EaseMyTrip

Offers a wide range of travel products and services, including flights, hotels, and car rentals. Furthermore, it can be cheaper than other platforms for specific routes and dates, but the booking process is slightly complex.

Don’t forget to check for vouchers and offer codes provided by the booking platform of your choice. A lot of platforms offer discounts on select credit cards. Check the OneTrips section on the One credit card app to plan your trip and access exciting offers!

ALSO READ: Trending International Destinations With Easy Visa for Indian Travellers

What are some tools to track price changes?

When finding the best flight, it becomes difficult to keep track of all the platforms and their various prices for the destination. Therefore, the following price trackers can come in handy, providing a bird’s eye view of all the price changes in real-time.

1. Skyscanner

This is a metasearch engine that compares prices across hundreds of airlines and travel agents, consequently giving you a comprehensive overview of available options.

2. Kayak

Kayak is another popular metasearch engine with a focus on finding the best deals while displaying them visually.

3. Google Flights

This is a flight search engine integrated within the Google database, offering a clean and intuitive interface.

4. Ixigo

Ixigo is an Indian travel platform with a strong focus on flight search and booking.

5. Airfarewatchdog

A website and app specialising in finding and sharing airfare deals and error fares.

What are some common offers that people avail?

Every platform listed above runs offers and discounts, especially during certain travel dates, which have a lot of frequent flyers. Hence, it’s advisable to check for these offers and deals on the platform’s website and during checkout.

You can use your One credit card app to find deals on flights, hotels, and travel in the form of brand offers or giftcards. You can also convert your transaction to an EMI to make it more affordable.

ALSO READ: Top 5 Ways To Save Money on Hotels While Travelling

General Safety Tips

In order to ensure a seamless travel experience, be mindful of some general tips before you book your international flight.

1. Avoid taking deals that seem too good to be true from non-trusted booking platforms and websites that don’t seem safe. Pay the right price using the tools listed above, and ensure you book tickets from a trusted platform.
2. Ensure that your VISA and passport are ready before you book your tickets.
3. Emergency expenses can start stacking up very quickly when in a foreign territory. That is to say, meticulous planning is key to ensuring no loose ends on your trip itinerary.

We hope you have a seamless international flight booking experience with this information. You can also use your One credit card app to check for all offers across booking platforms for the best possible price.

*Offers may vary from time to time. Please check the One credit card app for the latest information.