Airfarewatchdog Review [2024]: How Do the Deals Rank?

If you're anything like me, you never settle for paying full price for a plane ticket. Especially for overseas travel, flights are one of the biggest expenses when planning a trip. Finding a good airfare deal can mean purchasing those few extra souvenirs or bumping up the quality of your hotel stay.

Nowadays, there are tons of excellent travel deal sites out there, and most of them offer the function to create alerts for your next trip. So what makes airfarewatchdog different? How does airfarewatchdog work, and are the company's alerts worth using? 

In this honest airfarewatchdog review, I'll discuss those questions and find out. Is this dog all bark, or does its savings have some bite?

What is airfarewatchdog?

Founded in 1998 by travel journalist George Hobica, airfarewatchdog is a website and travel app that aims to make it easy for savvy travelers to find the best flight deals and discounts from various airlines.

Acquired by Expedia in 2016, this travel deal finder has only improved in helping travelers find fantastic deals over time.

It's important to keep in mind that airfarewatchdog is what's called a "deal aggregator." That means the site hooks you up with the airline or agency offering the deal, and it's not a travel agency in itself. And since the deals are found by a human team scouring the web, there's always the chance that the deals might expire or get booked before you can act on them.

That said, it's comforting to know that airfarewatchdog is run by humans instead of algorithms. But how does that save you money on your next trip?

How Does airfarewatchdog Work?

As mentioned, airfarewatchdog is unique in that it has a specialized team of passionate and professional travelers actively searching for the best deals.

Every day, the airfarewatchdog team searches 20,000 routes, double-checking airline websites, agencies, and more to find you the best possible deals – even infamous mistake fares. And with over 10 years of experience in the industry, you can trust these guys to know what they're doing.

airfarewatchdog is also very easy to use, with a simple five-step process to book your flight:

1. Search for flights. You can search on airfarewatchdog by entering your departure and destination cities, travel dates, and the number of passengers. Or choose from one of the curated travel destinations listed on the site.
2. Find the best deals. Airfarewatchdog will sniff out the best deals and discounts on airline and travel websites.
3. Get alerts. Don't see anything yet? You can set up alerts for specific routes and dates, and airfarewatchdog will notify you via email or mobile app when prices drop, or new deals are available.
4. Book your flight. Once you find a deal you like, you can book your flight directly through the airline or travel website. Deals can expire quickly, so it's a good idea to decide on your group's budget and plans beforehand. 
5. Additional Information. airfarewatchdog also provides airline fees, baggage policies, and other travel-related information to help you make informed decisions.

Simple, right? 

So what makes airfarewatchdog different compared to the dozens of other travel deal apps and sites we've reviewed, like Skyscanner or Momondo?

Why Choose airfarewatchdog Over Other Travel Deal Sites? 

airfarewatchdog stands out from its competition in quite a few ways. Having used lots of travel deal apps myself, here are a few features that I think make airfarewatchdog unique: 

Catches Unadvertised and Website-Only Deals

Since airfarewatchdog employs a dedicated team of searchers instead of just algorithms, you can find deals that might otherwise go undetected.

Curated Selections

The site lets you set filters so that you won't be bothered by flights with aspects you don't want. No more getting excited by a deal only to notice an unreasonable 30-hour layover! 

Real-Time Alerts

Rather than just getting an automated, bulk update on all of your alerts simultaneously every day, airfarewatchdog alerts are sent out as the team finds the deals. That can be important, as good deals and mistake fares get snapped up quickly.

Is airfarewatchdog Worth it?

For me, it's a resounding yes. 

Unlike most airfare apps, I love that airfarewatchdog has a live team of real people behind every search. They consider flight quality, number of stops, flight time, length of stay, historical pricing, and many other factors to ensure they find you the best possible deal.

Of course, no site is perfect, and airfarewatchdog does have some downsides.

Some users report that deals expire extremely quickly, sometimes before they can even complete the signup process with whatever airline or service is offering it. 

There are also some limited filtering options outside of your departure and destination. No filtering by specific airline or layover destinations, for example.

Ultimately, I think airfarewatchdog is worth it for what it does best—creating alerts to find deals and maximize savings. 

Our Rating: 4.2/5

Pros:

• Live team searching for deals
• Alerts option for best deals
• Over 20,000 routes scoured daily
• Flights with minimal layover time

Cons:

• Deals get snapped up fast
• Limited filtering options
• No direct booking 

Confirm Your Trip with Pilot 

Booking a plane ticket is one of the most exciting parts of travel. The rush of excitement when you click "confirm" is really indescribable! 

Of course, getting to that point takes hours of searching and doing your due diligence. And each travel site or app has different features to appeal to different travelers. So the choice is really up to you!

Whichever way you go, snagging a ticket is only the beginning. Why not let Pilot help you the rest of the way?