How To Find Cheap Last-Minute Flights

Many people think that flights are cheaper if you wait until the last minute to book them, but this is a costly travel myth. 

Unfortunately for free-spirited flyers, data from major travel search engines indicates that flights are, on average, cheapest from about three weeks to three months before takeoff. 

They get pricier as departure day approaches.

But for every average, there are outliers. And last-minute flight bargains are out there if you know how to find them.

Here are the most effective strategies for getting cheap airfare at the 11th hour.

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If Your Plans Are Inflexible

Responding to a family emergency or taking advantage of a time-sensitive professional opportunity doesn’t have to cost a small fortune. 

Start with these money-saving air travel tactics if your destination is fixed and you have to get there soon.

Fly into adjacent cities

Last-minute airfare can be painfully expensive for some destinations yet relatively affordable for others. 

The price difference is particularly pronounced if you need to fly into one of the world’s business capitals — since business travelers often book flights with little advanced warning, and their companies have deeper pockets than leisure travelers. 

That demand allows airlines to charge more for certain cities.

For example, one-way airfares from Los Angeles to Geneva were astronomical when we searched Google Flights and tried to book on the day of departure:

But given Western Europe’s extensive rail connectivity, you could take a cheaper flight into a nearby city and then a train into Geneva.

One of the best tools we’ve found for expanding your flight search to include adjacent airports is the “Advanced Airport Search” feature by ITA Matrix. 

After entering basic details (origin, desired destination, flight date, etc.) into the flight-finder field, click the + symbol in the “Destination” field to add nearby airports.

In the pop-up form, slide the “Distance” bar to a train or bus-friendly range (e.g., 150 miles) and choose “Select all” in the bottom left corner.

For our trip, the tool identified much cheaper same-day flights to nearby Milan:

And from Milan, a train to Geneva takes just a few hours.

In this case, the total cost of the plane-train combo was about half the price of the flight-only itinerary. 

RELATED: Best Business Travel Tips for Your Next Work Trip

Request a bereavement fare

Minimizing costs might be the last thing on your mind when you’re grieving. 

But if you need to pay final respects to an immediate family member, a handful of airlines — including Delta, Alaska Airlines, and Air Canada — offer special bereavement fares that can ease financial stress in trying travel circumstances. 

Bereavement fares usually apply only to travel that occurs within a limited number of days after booking — usually 7 to 10. And you may need to send the airline supporting documentation, like a death certificate or the name of the hospital that treated your loved one. 

Potential savings vary, with discounts generally ranging from 10% to 50% or more. But if you qualify and have the emotional bandwidth to handle some bureaucracy, it’s worth calling the airline and asking if these fares are available.

Check award fares online

Whether your desired departure date is five months or five hours away, you should always see if award travel — i.e., booking flights with points or miles — is an option for your destination.

Some airlines have better reputations than others for releasing affordable award space close to their flights’ departure dates. 

This Chicago-Paris Delta flight required 310,000 SkyMiles when booked on the day of: 

But we found a similar United Airlines flight for only 40,000 MileagePlus miles:

Just remember to calculate the value per point that an award fare gives you before you redeem, even if you’re anxious to book. 

That United flight was sold for a cash price of $689, giving a redemption value of 1.7 cents per point. Generally, 1.5 cents per point is a good deal, so this flight is good value. 

Call the airline’s rewards center

Sometimes an airline’s website will show plenty of cash fares available for last-minute flights…

…while refusing to provide award fares.

When this happens, call the airline loyalty program’s customer service center. An agent may see available award fares that aren’t showing online, or you might convince them to convert a cash-only seat into an award fare by emphasizing the urgency of your travel.

If the first agent you reach seems apathetic, ask to speak with a supervisor and tactfully mention your airline elite status (if you have it). Customer loyalty can make the difference between buying a pricey flight in cash versus a modest number of miles.

If You Have Some Wiggle Room

The list of cheap flight-finding strategies is even longer when you aren’t tied to specific destinations, flight dates, or airlines.

Sign up for deal alerts 

Flight deal alert services like Going Travel App track hundreds of airlines and send subscribers daily or weekly alerts when they spot flights selling 30% to 70% below their average prices. 

While most alerts are sent at least two months before a flight’s departure, you may periodically receive alerts for short-notice deals. 

“For example, on November 11, 2024, we alerted subscribers to cheap flights from various small and midsized U.S. airports to Tokyo with multiple departure dates, some as early as the following week,” said Going spokesperson Katy Nastro. 

Skip the last leg

Data from Google’s Travel Trends report indicates flights with stops are, on average, 25% less expensive than nonstops. 

In some circumstances, it’s cheaper to buy a multi-stop fare than it is to buy a direct fare to its connecting airport, despite the multi-stop itinerary being much longer. 

For instance, we used the airfare search engine Skiplagged to find this next-day Houston-Boston itinerary with Spirit Airlines. Notice it has a layover in Orlando.

And it was cheaper than buying just the Houston-Orlando leg.

If our end goal was to party with Mickey Mouse, we could have bought the full Houston-Boston itinerary, disembarked from the Orlando airport during the layover, and saved over $100 on last-minute airfare. 

But think carefully before trying this risky tactic. Though legal, “skiplagging” is frowned upon by airlines. And the fine print in Spirit’s contract of carriage entitles the airline to refuse future tickets to travelers who have engaged in “prior misconduct.”

If that’s a risk you’re willing to take, remember that skiplagging is usually only feasible if you’re traveling with just carry-on luggage and your return flight is with a different airline.

Explore Google Flights’ Explore

As budget travel aficionado Chris Hutchins said on the Erika Taught Me podcast, nothing keeps travel expenses low like an open mind. 

And you can cut last-minute airfare costs in half by using Google Flights’ “Explore” feature to travel to affordable destinations you forgot were on your bucket list.

Start by entering “Anywhere” into Google Flights’ destination field (or just leave it blank). You can also be semi-specific by inputting a continent or region, like South America or Central Asia.

You’ll be taken to a global map dotted with airplane icons over cities you can fly to for your selected dates. 

Google won’t always highlight the cheapest fares it finds, so zoom into your region of interest and check prices for all the airplane icons shown. 

If the map is overcrowded with potential flights, narrow down the options using filters on the left side of the screen. 

“You can say, ‘I only want one stop,' or ‘I don't want to fly on this airline,' and it will update this global map of anywhere you can go,” said Hutchins.

READ MORE: Use This Google Flights Trick To Find Cheap Flights

Check point transferability

You might assume award travel is out of reach if you’ve been an airline non-monogamist, accumulating miles here and there across a smattering of loyalty programs. 

But you may actually have lots of award flights at your fingertips, depending on which credit card you use for your day-to-day spending. 

Some of the best travel credit cards’ points transfer to dozens of partner airlines’ loyalty programs. 

While this may not be a useful feature for same-day bookings (some transfers can take a couple of days to complete), it can save your travel budget if you spot award fares with some advanced notice.

For instance, this United flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu cost a reasonable $209.20 when we found it a few days before its departure.

But it was also bookable for only 10,000 miles and less than $6 via United’s airline alliance partner, Turkish Airlines.

Capital One miles transfer 1:1 to Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles, so that award flight was accessible if you’ve accumulated only 10,000 Capital One miles via any of these credit cards:

• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business
• Capital One Venture X Business

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FAQs

Are last-minute flights cheaper?

No, last-minute flights are usually more expensive than flights booked comfortably in advance. 

A researcher from the University of California, Berkeley, who studied airline pricing trends, concluded that flight prices tend to significantly increase 21, 14, and 7 days before departure. 

Do airlines use cookies to raise prices?

According to the air travel experts at Going, sudden increases in a flight's price are usually due to its approaching departure date, not the airline using cookies to exploit your interest. 

“One thing I can't stress enough is that airfare is one of the most volatile products you can purchase. That great price you see could last maybe 1-2 days, sometimes more, sometimes less,” said Nastro. 

“And no, the airlines aren't watching your every booking move. So a sudden price jump isn't attached to whether your cookies have been cleared.” 

TL;DR: Booking Last-Minute Flights

Last-minute flights are typically more expensive, but savvy travelers can still find deals.

Compare prices across different airlines, consider nearby airports, and check if you can transfer credit card points to reduce your airfare costs.

Ultimately, booking 3-12 weeks in advance remains the most reliable way to secure affordable flights. But with creativity and the right tools, you can snag a budget-friendly ticket even when time is short.

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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.