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How to Find a Cheap Flight
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Unless you’re Paris Hilton or someone that has their own private jet and an unlimited budget, you’re probably looking for cheap flights every time you’re traveling. Well, there are so many sites out there, so where do you start? We’ll share some tips and tricks with you – hopefully you’ll find them useful.

1) When you’re looking for cheap airfare make sure you check several sites before buying.

2) Student travel sites should be part of your search – just because you see the words student discounts in an ad doesn’t mean they actually give you a discount.

3) Be flexible, search for alternative departure and return dates – it can make a big difference.

4) Don’t procrastinate! We know it sounds like a tall order, but don’t wait too long – tickets get more expensive and you might not even find seats.

5) Watch out for hidden costs, like student identification cards (can cost you more than $22 extra)

6) Explore! How about looking for deals instead of destinations?

7) Avoid popular travel periods and you’ll find great offers.

Looking for Cheap Flights?
If you’re looking for cheap flights to one of these top destinations, you should check out our student travel guides before you leave:

Popular Cheap US Flights:
Cheap flights to LA
Cheap flights to Memphis
Cheap flights to Madison
Cheap flights to New York
Cheap flights to Detroit
Cheap flights to Houston
Cheap flights to Honolulu
Cheap flights to Fort Lauderdale
Cheap flights to Columbus

Popular Cheap European Flights:
Cheap flights to Barcelona
Cheap flights to Brussels
Cheap flights to Prague
Cheap flights to Valencia
Cheap flights to the Algarve
Cheap flights to Porto
Cheap flights to Lisbon
Cheap flights to Nice
Cheap flights to Reykjavik
Cheap flights to Helsinki
Cheap flights to Copenhagen
Cheap flights to Innsbruck
Cheap flights to Budapest
Cheap flights to Bruges

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9 Comments »

  • Constantino Vicentte said:

    I AM VERY IMPRESSED WITH YOUR COMPANY

  • UCISTUD said:

    You flite search results are 2X more than everyone else!!

  • Phil said:

    UCISTUD,
    I work for StudentUniverse, and would be happy to respond.
    The short answer is that we are a discount travel agency (for students) but not every single price will always be the lowest. Since you didn’t note where you were looking to travel or when, I cannot comment much beyond that. StudentUniverse, like every other travel site, will have some that are less expensive, some the same, and some more expensive.

    We are always aware of our prices, and how price sensitive students are. We run reports to compare our prices to our competitors ongoing, and know where we are strongest, and where we are less competitive. We know that if we do not have competitive prices, students will purchase elsewhere. A couple of notes about airline prices:

    ·To answer your question another way, students should always buy the ticket that is the least expensive and best flight times they can find. We always recommend that you check at least three to four sources every time you look to travel. This is a different philosophy than most other companies, but we believe it’s in your best interest to spend 45 minutes and get the best fare. We know that we won’t win every time, but we will win more than our share

    ·We run reports ongoing that show where our prices are the lowest, and where they are not. In areas they are not competitive, we contact our airline partners to see if we can get them lowered. Given that airlines frequently do short-term sales, this is not always possible. Plus, an airline may wish to offer the lowest fare on their website for a period of time for their own reasons

    ·As you know, prices change constantly; airlines have sales, price wars, etc., and our fares can go from being the least expensive in a market to non-competitive overnight. Since we negotiate our fares individually with each airline, our fares do not change as quickly. This works to your advantage when fare prices go up, less so when they go down

    ·Since our site will only show you available fares, we may have had cheaper fares at another time, but they just may have sold out

    ·I always like to note that the tickets we sell are generally less restrictive than published fares on the major carriers — you can buy them closer to departure date, buy one way, stay for shorter or much longer periods, etc. Given how frequently plans change, you should consider this in your decision-making process

    I hope this helps you understand some of the differences in airline prices, I would welcome your suggestions at any time.

    Regards,

    Phil

  • Marina said:

    We all know how expensive it can be to study abroad. I’ve been looking for air tickets to US, I looked the same date on over 5 websites. Student Universe has the best price! I am so buying my ticket on Student Universe. I highly reccommend it!

  • Sara said:

    I am very pleased with Student Universe…. When it comes to being easy to book and to find good
    flight plans and costs… i highlly recommend this to anyone who has a student in college and need to get them home for a visit or family emergency.

  • Alex said:

    I am very pleased with Student Universe. I am flying LAX-LHR this summer for $700 roundtrip on Virgin Atlantic. THe same ticket on Virgin Atlantic’s website was $1220. Nothing beats saving $520, except saving maybe $521

  • Ari said:

    Hello,

    I am traveling to France to study and work for one year. I recognize that there are very interesting fares in this website. However, yet I have not recieved my VISA, but I cannot wait longer to book a ticket cause the prices might just go too high if I wait until the last minute or with very few time in advance. So I need to know if it is possible in this website:

    1-To book a ticket round trip for one year (365 days)?
    2-To buy it with insurance (money refound)?
    3-Where can I find city tours?
    4-If I buy a ticket here, the maximum baggage weight will be the same as if I purchased a ticket directly from an airline bureau?
    5-How can I know if I must pay any tax before leaving an airport (because in some countries it is not included in the ticket price)?

  • Darlene said:

    Hi Ari:

    I work with Student Universe and would be happy to answer your questions. Please see below:

    1. You could book a round trip ticket maximum 300 days in advance depending on availability.

    2. We always suggest to purchase trip insurance with your flight as many unforeseen events can add unplanned costs and stress to a perfectly planned trip. In order for you to check on more information about trip insurance coverage, click this link: http://www.travelguard.com/studentuniverse/faq.aspx

    3. Go to the main page, then click the Activities tab and you’d see over 5,500 sightseeing tours and activities in over 400 destinations.

    4. We currently do not offer any services for extra luggage. Airlines will charge you for extra bags, or if the weight of an individual bag exceeds their limits, so please check ahead of time with your airline directly for all questions about baggage, weight limitations, and carry-on questions.

    5. Taxes and fees are already included on the total amount we post for the chosen flight. In order for you to check the breakdown, click the amount and then taxes and fees and a window would pop up with all the details.

    If you have more questions, please don’t hesitate to ask or you could also email us at helpdesk@studentuniverse.com

    I hope I was able to answer all your questions.

    Darlene

  • Stasia Fomenko said:

    Yaay you guys are great, I’m super impressed!!! Prices are way cheaper than other sites.

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Student Travel

Millions of college students from all over the world use StudentUniverse every year. Our student flights are cheaper because we verify that you're a student - so when we negotiate with our airline partners they give you better prices. Not only do students deserve a student discount, they deserve better terms. So before you buy airfares like your parents make sure you know the difference. Student tickets are often more flexible, which makes it cheaper to change or cancel. If you're looking for cheap flights we recommend reading our article How to Find a Cheap Flight. Flights for students are not always cheaper, but you can only find them through student travel agencies - so make sure you compare before you buy. Sometimes you can even save more on student airfares with StudentUniverse promo codes (coupon codes), which will be sent to students that subscribe to our newsletter.

Hotels and Hostels

Looking for cheap hotels? We have hotel deals all over the world for students on a budget. Whether you want a room at a four star hotel or a chance to meet other students at a youth hostel. Hostels in Europe are perfect for backpackers and they're increasingly popular. Our cheapest hostels start at just a few dollars per night. If you want to learn more about hostels you can read our articles on Busting Hostel Myths or 10 Tips for Staying at a Hostel. If you're not quite sure what a hostel is we recommend reading our What is a Hostel article before you search for cheap accommodation.

Services

StudentUniverse is an online student travel agency with cheap tickets. We're the largest online travel agency for students in the US and we're proud to be the number one destination for cheap student travel and especially cheap airline tickets for students. Student discounts are important to us, it's what we do. You can book airline tickets, rail tickets, hostel rooms and travel insurance. Why use StudentUniverse? When you are looking for cheap travel you should make sure you get your student discount. Student airfares are not only cheaper, they can give you more flexibility and better terms. We don't care if you call it college airfares, student airfares, student ticket, student fares or student plane tickets - we've got a deal for you. Other Student Travel Agencies charge $22 for an identification (ISIC) card, we don't. Did you know that StudentUniverse offers discounts for teachers as well? That's right - we have cheap faculty flights and special teacher deals! Search and find your teacher discount now.

Corporate

StudentUniverse is the largest online travel agency for students in the US. We were founded as a student travel agency in 1992, but we launched our site in 1999 and we have been online since then. We're a technology company that loves clean, easy-to-use, efficient services. We offer airfares, hotels, hostels, travel insurance, car rental, rail passes and more. Millions of students use our site every year and we negotiate with all of our partners to give our customers the best possible deals. We are the preferred student partner for Orbitz.com. If you would like to work with StudentUniverse please contact us.

Users

Thank you for using StudentUniverse - how may we help you? Most questions have been answered in our FAQs, so check that out before you send us an email. We offer 24/7 customer service, but if you're looking for your itinerary then please go to your stuff. Got some feedback? You can rate your experience on our Facebook page or you can leave it here. You may already have bought your cheap ticket, but if you are looking for your next trip you should try our new search service; FarePlay. It lets you search for student airline tickets by theme. Also, if you want more student discounts and cash back for students, check out our partner Edhance.

Youth Travel

Are you between 18 and 25 years old? Then you qualify for our youth deals. With our youth travel discounts you'll save on youth airfares and youth hostels. That means that you can bring your friends too. If you're between 18 and 25 you're good to go. Buying youth flights does not require the purchase of any ID card (like the $20+ ISIC card) and StudentUniverse membership is free. You can save even after you graduate! Youth and travel goes hand in hand. Search for your next adventure now.

Group Travel

Our Group Travel Team offers special discounted group airfares to destinations all over the world for students and faculty members. High school group travel, mission group travel, club trips, youth group travel, or sports travel - we do it all. We will help you find cheap group flights. Traveling with a group? Contact us.
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