Google Flights new feature can save you big bucks on airfare

One of Clark’s favorite ways to search for flights is now offering another feature — the ability to be notified when a fare changes price!

Read more: Want the lowest holiday airfares? Book by these dates!

Google Flights’ new feature can help you save

Now when you go to Google.com/Flights, there is an option to have Google Flights track the airfare you’re searching for you.

After you enter the to and from destinations, there is a ‘track prices’ option just below that — switch it to ‘on’ and you will start receiving email updates when the airfare changes price!

This feature can be turned off and on, and Google will alert you whenever the flights for the selected destinations on this date change price, or when the fare is about to expire.

Also, the algorithm will let you know whether or not the fare your searching is a good deal based on past flight information.

Added travel tips and suggestions

According to Nabil Naghdy, a product manager for Google Flights, the service will now provide travel tips and suggestions if you know where you want to go but you haven’t selected a flight yet.

‘Tips can include things like recommendations for alternate airports or dates. You may also see a new tip telling you about an expected price jump based on historic prices for that route,’ he wrote in a blog post about the new feature rollout.

Naghdy wrote that Google has now also made it easier to search for deals on hotels, by offering a ‘deals’ option when searching. ‘Now if you want to only look at hotel deals — say, to ring in the new year in Paris — just tap in the upper left to filter for Deals and voilà!’

Other travel tips

Note that when searching for flights on Google Flight, Southwest Airlines is omitted from the search results, so if you want to search for Southwest fares, you’ll have to go directly to Southwest.com to check prices. It may well be worth the inconvenience, however. Southwest always offers two free checked bags on every flight and the ability to change your flight with no change fee — just the difference of the fare you want to switch to is higher. No other major airline allows its customers to change flights without a fee, so this offers added flexibility can definitely help when arranging travel plans!

Read more: 5 simple tips to stretch your travel budget

If you’re traveling for Thanksgiving this year, the most expensive fares will be the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving, returning the Sunday or Monday after. But, if you can stand to travel on Thanksgiving and return on Saturday night, you’ll find much better deals.

As far as Christmas and New Year’s travel, using Google Flights to search fares can really help you see when the best fares are, and you’ll save the most if you can be flexible with departure and arrival dates and times.

Clark mentioned on the radio show that visiting a city during the Christmas travel season is generally the best deal, as many people opt for beach destinations during this time.

‘It’s the best time to go to business and convention markets in cities, and the accommodations are near their lowest during the year,’ he said.

Read more: 10 ways to survive holiday travel

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