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If you’re able to secure a mistake fare and make it work with your schedule, you're in for an incredible journey. These fares are always available for a brief time, so airfare booking decisions have to be made quickly and there’s no guarantee they’ll be honored. Here is everything you need to know about mistake fares and how to take advantage of them the next time your travel.
Budget Travel How to Book Travel with Airline Price Mistakes
While you can’t plan a trip around these fares in advance, you can prepare to strike when one becomes available.
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Use Mistake Flight Report Websites
The best way to find mistake fares is by following sites that specialize in them. Mistake fares often make the rounds on social media, as well as in the Slickdeals forums. Sites like FlyerTalk, Airfarewatchdog, The Flight Deal and Scott's Cheap Flights also share mistake fares.
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2
Look for Mistake Prices on Google Flights
For a DIY approach, you can conduct your own mistake fare search on Google Flights. Simply enter your departure airport, leave the destination blank and enter any travel date.
On the search result page, select "All" under calendar > flexible dates and check off the duration of your trip (weekend, one week or two weeks). From there, you can use the map tool to find the lowest fares worldwide within the next six months. You might find a mistake fare or an excellent airfare deal this way. -
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Be Flexible to "Book Now, Plan Later"
You'll need to be flexible with your travel dates, departure cities and destinations. If you're unsure about your travel dates, it might make sense to book several tickets on different dates and then cancel any that don't work with your schedule. You do have 24 hours from the time of booking to cancel your flight without penalty. This rule applies to mistake fares as well as regular flight bookings.
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4
Wait Until Your Ticket is Issued Before Booking Hotels
Just because your ticket is booked doesn't mean the airline can't cancel it. That's why you'll want to hold off on making any nonrefundable hotel reservations until your ticket is issued. This usually happens within 24 hours of booking.
Once you've received a ticket number, it's reasonably safe to proceed with booking the rest of your trip. Though to be extra sure, you might want to wait up to three days before making further travel reservations. -
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Pay With a Credit Card That Offers Trip Cancellation Insurance
When it comes to mistake fares, there are no guarantees. While you should be out of the woods once your ticket is issued, that's no guarantee the airline won't cancel or something else might come up to get in the way of your travel plans. This is why it's important to book both your flight and hotel with a credit card that offers trip cancellation coverage.
How To Use Google Flights to Find the Best Flight Deals
Airline Price Mistake Tracking Websites
Some of these sites offer premium subscription services that alert you of mistake fares ahead of others. Following these services on Twitter is another great way to find mistake fares.
- Slickdeals Airfare Deals
- Airfarewatchdog
- FlyerTalk
- The Flight Deal
- Scott's Cheap Flights
Fly Now Pay Later Guide: Book Flights Now and Pay It Back Over Time
FAQs
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A mistake fare is an airline ticket significantly discounted due to a pricing error. Mistake fares aren't publicized by airlines. Instead, they're often discovered by savvy travel hackers and shared on social media. Mistake fares aren't protected by Department of Transportation rules, but airlines often still honor them. Sometimes, just the taxes and fees are calculated, generating abnormally low fares. Other times, currency conversion errors explain the discrepancy.
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Mistake fares typically happen due to IT glitches. An airline website or online travel agency mistakenly prices out flights (and sometimes even hotels) substantially less than usual. Sometimes mistake fares pop up on weekends, when the IT department is out or understaffed.
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It's difficult to say whether mistake fares are common since only a small percentage might get noticed. However, there are travel sites built exclusively for the purpose of finding and sharing mistake fares. Some of these sites operate on a subscription model, generating revenue from presumably satisfied customers. So while it's difficult to pinpoint how common mistake fares are, they're common enough to keep these businesses afloat.
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The Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a rule in 2011 prohibiting airlines from increasing airfare after purchase. However, in April 2015, DOT clarified that this rule did not apply to mistake fares. While airlines are no longer bound to honor mistake fares, many still do. There are no guarantees and it will depend on the type of fare and cabin class, but airlines might let you keep your mistake fare booking. If you book a mistake fare, you'll want to wait until your ticket is actually issued before making any further travel plans. Usually, this takes place within 24 hours of booking. If the airline or online travel agency decides to cancel your mistake fare, you'll usually get notified within that period, though it could take longer.
Ariana Arghandewal
Ariana Arghandewal is a rewards travel expert and founder of Pointchaser, an online publication dedicated to rewards travel topics. She brings over a decade of experience writing about travel, points, miles and credit cards. Her expertise includes her roles as an editor for distinguished travel and finance publications such as NerdWallet, The Points Guy and FlyerTalk. She has also authored many articles featured in major financial news & travel channels like Forbes, U.S. News Weekly, Business Insider & Fodor’s Travel.
