If you’re like us, you’re always on the lookout for a good flight deal. And when it comes to finding flights, there’s probably no better tool than Google Flights. Powered by ITA Matrix, a search engine developed by computer scientists at MIT, Google Flights makes it easy to find flights from different airlines, airports, and dates. The filters let you narrow down your search by details like number of connections, departure and arrival times, and even emissions. Plus, you can track flight prices and view historical pricing data to help you decide when it’s time to book. Here’s what you need to know about using Google Flights to save money on airfare.

Google Flights search features

Google Flights has an exceptional number of search features, yet has a fairly intuitive interface that makes it easy to use.

Seek

The basic search allows you to find flights by simply entering your departure and destination cities and your travel dates. You will then be presented with a list of available flights, which you can sort by characteristics such as price, duration and departure or arrival time.

Explore

If your travel plans are flexible and you want to see where in the world (and when on the calendar) you can travel to get the best deal, use the Explore tool. “Just enter your home airport, which may already be filled in depending on your location, and leave the destination blank,” explains Sophia Lin, head of product management at Google. Travel + Leisure. “Click the Explore button to go to the Explore map.” You can filter by specific dates or choose the flexible option to see the cheapest flights.

Date grid and price chart

These are two other tools that are helpful in determining the best time to travel, as long as your plans are flexible. “The date grid shows how prices change if you slightly adjust your departure or return dates — for example, leaving on Thursday instead of Friday,” says Lin. “The price chart shows how prices for an X-day trip change over several months. You can scroll from page to page and see what today’s prices look like for a trip of your desired length.”

Insights

Google Flights offers insights into the price history of different routes, provided there is sufficient data. “These insights will show you whether prices are low, typical or high compared to what we’ve observed for similar trips over the past 12 months,” says Lin. Google Flights also offers insights into whether or not you should book now based on historical data. “For example, these insights might tell you that the cheapest time to book similar trips is usually two months before departure, and you’re currently in that cheap range. Or they might tell you that prices have usually dropped just before departure, so you decide to wait to book,” says Lin. “Either way, you can make that decision with a greater sense of security.”

Price alerts

Once you’ve decided on a particular route, you can set up flight price alerts to monitor any changes over time. Learn more about price alerts below.

How to search for flights

If you’ve been using Google’s regular offering, you shouldn’t have any trouble getting used to using Google Flights – the interface is easy to navigate.

Start searching for flights by entering your departure city, destination city, and travel dates. Google Flights will display a list of flights that match your flight. The first results are usually sorted by a combination of factors—such as price, duration, and number of stops—to show the best options first. But you can also sort by these factors individually.

If you have specific preferences – for example, specific airlines or even airline alliances – you can use the filters to narrow down the list of available flights. You can also set a price range here.

When it’s time to book, Google Flights directs you to different websites. Google Flights is a flight search engine, not an online travel agency, so you don’t book directly with Google Flights. “We want to show as many options as possible, including booking directly with the airline as well as other prices offered by third-party booking sites,” Lin says.

Explore alternative airports and routes

One of the best ways to save money on flights is to be flexible with departure and/or arrival airports. Luckily, Google Flights lets you include multiple airports in a single search. “For major cities with multiple airports, like New York City or London, we include flight options for in-market airports by default,” says Lin.

But you can also manually add more airports to your search to expand your options. For example, you might want to search for flights to both Miami and Fort Lauderdale, since the airports aren’t too far from each other. “Just enter your first airport in the search box and then click the plus sign to add more airports as you wish. This way you can mix and match airports to get the best deal,” says Lin.

Lin also points out that you can customize your search even further by selecting “multiple cities” instead of “round-trip” in your search. This way, you can specify airports for each leg of your trip. “This could be helpful if you have flexibility on either side of your itinerary,” she says.

How to set up price alerts and track flight prices

Google Flights makes it easy to keep track of flight prices so you can book as soon as you see the price drop. You’ll need a Google account to use this feature.

“On the Google Flights results page, you can turn on price tracking for your specific destination and travel dates, and you’ll receive an email alert when flight prices drop significantly,” says Lin. You can also track specific flights instead of entire routes, and you can even track prices for routes without entering your dates, so you can take advantage of the best deals year-round.

“You can view and manage your tracked fares by tapping the menu at the top left of the page and selecting ‘Tracked Fares,'” says Lin.

More tips for using Google Flights

To optimize your Google Flights experience—and save as much money as possible—follow these additional tips.

Stay flexible with your travel dates.

If possible, travel outside of peak travel times, such as during the week or off-season for popular destinations (Google Flights offers such information through its Insights).

Note that Google Flights displays basic economy fares.

The cheapest fare that automatically appears on Google Flights is likely to be a basic economy fare. We usually advise against booking basic economy as it is a very restrictive fare class. Don’t be surprised if the price of booking a standard economy fare ends up being a bit higher. But don’t worry – you can also filter for higher fare classes.

Find out about baggage fees.

Some airlines, especially budget airlines, may offer cheaper flights but charge high fees for checked baggage or even carry-on luggage. Because of the baggage, you may end up paying more than the displayed price.

See the CO2 emissions of your flight.

“For environmentally conscious travelers, Google Flights also shows the approximate carbon footprint for almost every flight in the search results – right next to the price and duration of the flight,” says Lin. “So when you’re selecting flights with similar costs or times, you can also factor carbon emissions into your decision.” Google Flights also tells you whether those emissions are higher or lower than average for that route.

You can change the currency at the bottom of the page.

When you search for flights abroad, Google Flights uses the local currency by default. You can change this by scrolling to the bottom of the page and selecting a different currency.