Best Discount Travel Sites for Deals: Traveler's Guide! [2024]

Traveling is something you and I probably share the love of. It's such an amazing experience being able to see the world and broaden your perspective on the world.

While traveling is something we all wish we were doing more often, it's often very costly.

Flights across the Pacific or Atlantic often start at 1000 dollars and are slowly increasing year after year.

That's where great travel deals come in! These deals help you plan travel cheaply while allowing you to have just as much fun.

After all, the money you saved from travel deals can go into eating more local dishes or participating in tours of museums and landmarks.

However, as the internet becomes more and more accessible, more and more of these travel discount sites are popping up, each with similar offerings.

How does one know which sites are the best for travel deals? It can get overwhelming. I know it was for me when I first began this journey of travel deal sourcing.

Whether you're looking for flights, hotels, travel packages, or anything in between, there's a site for you.

In order to understand a little bit more about what most of these travel deal websites offer, let's break it down into categories to find the one most suitable for you.

Best Travel Deal Websites - By Category

While I can't cover all of these travel deal websites, I'll cover the most relevant and useful ones today. Feel free to use the table of contents above to jump to the specific category you're most interested in! The categories and respective winners are:

1. Best Travel Deals for Airfares - Skyscanner
2. Best Flight Deals and Alert Subscriptions - Going.com
3. Best Deals for Error Fares - Secret Flying
4. Best Travel Deals Apps - Hopper
5. Best Online Travel Agencies for Deals - Expedia
6. Best Deals for All-Inclusive or Vacation Packages - Orbitz
7. Other Notable Mentions for Deals - Travelzoo

Why are there so many travel deal websites?

The reason why there are different categories for travel deal websites is that different travelers have other preferences, budgets, and timeframes.

It's also precisely why it's so complicated to find the "best travel deal website" because there are different ones for each type of traveler.

It's important to note that while some are featured in one category, it doesn't mean they don't have features worthy of the other categories. For example, most of them have mobile apps, and a lot of services offer mistake and error fares.

While some companies focus on one aspect of travel deals, some, like Expedia, focus on all aspects of travel (hotels, flights, car rentals, bundles.)

Using all of these tools sounds like a headache, which is exactly why I'm excited to be a part of Pilot, a social travel hub that will incorporate all things travel in one platform.

I'll go in-depth into what my recommendations are for each category. Let's discover together what the best travel deal sites are for you in particular!

Best Flight Deals for Airfare Discounts

Let's face it: one of the biggest spend, especially for international travel, is the flight ticket.

Being one of the first expenses you'll incur, it can be a significant downer as flight tickets can drain your budget and de-motivate you from going on your trip.

Fear not, though! Here are some of the best sites for flight deals to save big on your next trip.

1. Skyscanner

For many travelers, Skyscanner is a favorite out of all the flight deals search sites out there. For good reasons, too.

Skyscanner allows you to search for flights from "everywhere" and "anytime," which gives you the ultimate flexibility around finding the best destination for affordable airfare. Advanced filtering options from Skyscanner can also help you filter out layovers, flight duration, amenities, alternatives, and more.

Once you've picked a flight, Skyscanner will redirect you to the website with the best prices to book your flights.

I personally use Skyscanner quite often to look for affordable flights, and I especially appreciate the ability to be flexible with location and time. The website also updates in real-time, so if you get lucky, you might find some last-minute deals on there!

The downsides of Skyscanner include not featuring all airlines on their website and not being able to book directly on their site as it's a third-party affiliated platform.

2. Google Flights

Google Flights is probably one of the most commonly used flight search platforms out there. In recent times, Google Flights has also become really flexible, allowing you to use their "explore" feature to find the cheapest flights for cool new destinations.

I personally juggle between Google Flights and Skyscanner to look for the cheapest flights. One of the best features of Google Flights is the ability to visually see price fluctuations chart between your departure and arrival dates and the ability to see them on a map.

Google Flights also recently launched price-tracking features, which will send alerts to your phone when prices for flights drop.

The downside is that some airlines won't show on Google Flights, like SouthWest Airlines and Thai Airways. Oh, Google Flights is also a third-party platform, meaning it'll redirect you to another site when you're ready to book.

Best Flight Deal Alerts Subscription Service

Aside from powerful platforms allowing you to book flights and search cheap flight deals, there are also flight deal alert subscription services that'll be able to automatically notify you through email or SMS on flights you're interested in.

Here are some of the best flight deal subscription websites out there.

1. Going (Formerly Scott's Cheap Flights)

Ever have that one friend bragging about how they got 50%+ off flight tickets? Some of them probably use services like Going.

Going.com, formerly known as Scott's Cheap Flights, is a travel service that leverages a blend of its internal team and algorithms to scour the internet looking for dips and discounts for airfares.

When they've identified a preferred discount, a notification (email and/or SMS) will be sent to you to book the flight.

On Going, you can indicate your preferences to only receive emails on your chosen routes, and then you'll typically have a couple of days to book those fares.

With premium subscription, you'll also get access to more filters, destinations, and type of fare reductions. This is perfect if you're a frequent traveler or a digital nomad.

The downside to Going is the very limited free plan, which gives you very few options and filters to choose from. There's also no flight search feature, so I recommend combining this with Skyscanner or Google Flights.

I've been following the journey of Scott Cheap Flights and its growth into Going.com, so if you're still wondering, "Is Going.com worth it?", check it out!

2. Jack's Flight Club

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Similar to Scott's Cheap Flights, there's another Flight Club in town: Jack's Flight Club.

Jack's Flight Club operates with an email subscription service just like Scott's Cheap Flights, but instead of showing flights originating in the US, Jack's Flight Club shows fares departing from the UK, Ireland, and Northern European airports.

So, if you happen to live in an area serviced by one of those airports or are traveling onward from there, it's worth subscribing to Jack's Flight Club emails - it's free!

The downside of using Jack's Flight Club is similar to Going.com, where they don't offer search functionalities and won't cover all regions of the globe. I've tried subscribing to both of them so I can get more regions, but I just ended up with a bunch of emails.

If you're interested in finding out the verdict of Jack's Flight Club reviews, we go in-depth on their pros and cons. Check it out for more detail!

3. Dollar Flight Club

Another flight deal service, Dollar Flight Club, allows you to subscribe to their emails to receive fare deals straight to your inbox.

Unlike Scott's Cheap Flights, Dollar Flight Club allows you to select airports outside the US as your primary departure region.

Their free membership gets you deals on mainly international flights, but sometimes you'll get ones that may even feel too good to be true!

Premium and Premium Plus subscriptions for Dollar Flight Club will get you more exclusive domestic and international deals, business and first-class discounts, partner deals, and more!

The deals are often time-sensitive, so you'll need to be quick and watch your inbox closely if you're looking to snag those deals.

While it's free to use Dollar Flight Club's service, I'd prefer Going or Jack's Flights Club over Dollar Flight Club over frequent complaints of billing transparency and refund issues, on top of the same flaws that exist on Going or Jack Flights Club.

Want to learn more? My colleague goes in-depth on what is Dollar Flight Club, what they offer, and what the reviews are like in detail.

4. Matt's Flights

A final flight club for you to use is Matt's Flights.

Claiming to save you up to 90% on flights, Matt looks for the best deals and error fares before sending them out to his email subscribers based on their preferred departure locations.

If you upgrade to the premium version, you'll have access to 24/7 personalized support in finding the best fares for your chosen routes.

Matt's newsletters also occasionally contain giveaways or contests for free airplane tickets, and who can complain about that?

If you'd like to know more about them, make sure to read our review of Matt's Flights!

Best Travel Websites for Error Fares

Airline companies frequently make mistakes on the fares of airline tickets. While they're often quick to revert back, it's become such a well-known phenomenon that services and websites have devoted their business model to catching these error fares for travelers.

While many businesses have features for catching error fares, some have gotten really good at it.

So, if you're flexible in where you go as long as you get incredibly cheap airline tickets, definitely check out these best travel sites for error fares!

1. Secret Flying

Secret Flying, founded in 2014, is a service that finds incredibly cheap flight deals and mistake fares for travelers, claiming to save up to 90% on average for flights.

To use Secret Flying, you'll have to be flexible on dates and destinations. Download the app and start getting juicy notifications on the best flight deals near you!

I've used them before, and a few drawbacks come to mind. Secret Flying is more tailored for spontaneous travelers and isn't for those with inflexible timeframes to work with. Download their mobile app to get started!

Secret Flying also has an outdated design, which may be a turnoff as it doesn't reflect the mood of those traveling.

Wandering what the consensus is from the secret flying reviews, my colleague goes into detail, so check it out!

2. Airfarewatchdog

If you're able to be a little flexible with your travel and snag spontaneous deals, AirfareWatchdog is the travel site for you!

AirfareWatchdog, which has been in the industry since 1998, has employees and algorithms searching the internet and airlines to find error fares or discount deals. You'll learn about them as soon as they appear.

Airfarewatchdog's gotten so good at it they're acquired by Expedia, which has since only gotten better at finding error fares.

Fares are also tracked so you can see if there are any trends. You can set up alerts to receive any of the discounts via email, but the more flexible you are with your travel, the more likely you'll be able to take advantage of one of their deals.

We've written an in-depth review on Airfarewatchdog, so definitely check it out if you're interested in using their services!

Best App for Travel Deals

Nowadays, I find travel inspiration in the most unusual places. For one minute, I'm at the office working, and the next minute, I'm secretly on my phone scrolling through destinations to travel to. (Luckily for me, I work in travel 🤩)

I'm not alone, either. Mobile apps have increasingly become the go-to place for travel inspiration. Correspondingly, the best way to facilitate impulse travel bookings on mobile is travel deal apps designed specifically to source the best travel deals for you all on your phone.

Let's talk about some of the biggest mobile apps specifically for travel deals, shall we?

1. Hopper

Hopper is a travel deals app that's designed to help you find the best prices on hotels, flights, and rentals.

If you prefer using an app rather than having to check your emails for travel deals, Hopper is an app you should add to your phone. I've personally used Hopper before, and it's a great platform for spontaneous travelers to look for and set targets for deals and prices for destinations that you'd like to visit.

With a motto of "spend less, and travel better," Hopper provides travelers with great deals on hotel bookings and flights. Hopper's algorithm focuses on predicting fares so you can choose to travel when costs are at their lowest and save as much as possible.

What I like about Hopper is its color-coded calendar and the "watch" feature, which helps you find the best rates per date and track price fluctuations.

The drawback I've found with the app is the refunds not being actual cash but with in-store "Carrot Cash" credits. They've also struggled to maintain competitive pricing and customer service problems.

There's actually a lot more to Hopper than what we've covered here, so if you'd like to learn more about Hopper, including a frequently asked question of "Is Hopper legit?" check out our comprehensive guide on the travel deals app now!

2. Super Travel (Formerly known as SnapTravel)

SnapTravel, recently rebranded to Super Travel, leverages AI to help travelers find cheap deals online.

Super offers a self-serve travel agent platform that helps with accommodation booking, namely hotels and flights, and aims to use machine learning to bring the cheapest deals to customers.

All you'll need to do is to send them a message with your city and date preferences, and you'll get a reply with Super Travel's tailored travel deals, which you can then easily take advantage of with a few clicks.

I've personally tried out SnapTravel before the rebrand and found it less useful than Hopper. To be fair, the reason for their rebrand has lots to do with the overwhelming negative snap travel reviews online, so I doubt Super Travel is any better.

I'd personally recommend checking them out, but be wary of price fluctuations between the app and the providers the mobile app's pushing you towards.

Best Online Travel Agencies for Travel Deals!

If I were to ask you to name a company in Travel, you'd most likely call out brands like Expedia, TripAdvisor, or Booking. These platforms hold a majority market share for a good reason, as their global inventory remains uncontested.

But are they good at finding deals? The answer isn't as clear-cut as you think.

Most platforms that search for deals will bring you to OTA (Online Travel Agencies) to book. That's because these companies hold inventories and can adjust prices accordingly.

Using other travel deal websites to track price fluctuations on these providers, in my opinion, is the best way to go about researching and sourcing great travel deals.

Plus, these big OTAs often offer great perks when booking with them, such as free room upgrades for loyalty programs, package deals for travel, free airport pickups, and more.

Let me run you through the most relevant OTAs in the market today.

1. Expedia

Expedia is one of the biggest travel marketplace providers in the world, available for flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, vacation packages, and more. They're also on both web and mobile apps.

Expedia Group owns the likes of Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Trivago, Hotwire, and more. I'll quickly run you through each platform and what they focus on.

But for now, Expedia.

One of the bigger website names in travel discounts, Expedia has long dominated as a top booking platform for discounted travel.

Using Expedia, you can find great deals on flights, hotels, car rentals, travel packages, and more.

The best thing about Expedia is their One Key rewards program, where you can earn 1 credit per dollar spent on the platform. The reward program can then be redeemed on most of Expedia Group's subsidiary companies, like Vrbo and Hotels.com.

If you're looking for a place to search for last-minute deals and other travel packages like cruises or all-inclusive luxury travel, Expedia is likely your best and most reliable bet. The downside to Expedia is the variety of cancellation and date change policies per listing.

1a. Travelocity

Travelocity is an OTA powered by Expedia that helps you book everything together in one place. Using the global inventory powers of Expedia, Travelocity offers price match guarantees and an extra 10% off Travelocity members.

While the 10% off is great, there are no rewards or loyalty programs associated with Travelocity.

2. Booking.com

Booking.com is another OTA and travel provider conglomerate offering millions of listings, from hostels and apartment rentals to hotels and luxury resorts across the world.

Booking Holdings also owns platforms like KAYAK, Priceline, Agoda, and more.

I like using Booking.com more than Expedia, but that's my preference. The feature I particularly like is the free cancellations that Booking.com offers compared to Expedia, as well as their tiered reward system (Genius points).

The drawback of using Booking.com is that they don't relay my information to Hotels, so sometimes my notes get missed.

If you'd like to learn more about Booking.com reviews and whether they're worth booking with, my colleague wrote a review, so check it out before booking with them!

3. Airbnb / Vrbo

Airbnb is a household name when it comes to OTAs for vacation rentals, homestays, and other experiences.

Airbnb started as a place for travelers to source cheap alternatives to hotels and resorts, effectively serving as an OTA for homestays. I'd definitely check them out for great deals on stays, especially in areas where hotel prices are high.

The best thing I like about Airbnb is its filtering ability, which lets me get into the specifics of what kind of accommodations I want to stay in.

While Airbnb has gained fame and popularity, there's also Vrbo, featuring more vacation rentals and private stays. If you're looking for these accommodation types, I'd switch between the two to look for the best deal and place to stay.

While Vrbo reviews are comparable with Airbnbs, I think they're pretty different.

The biggest drawback with Airbnb, Vrbo, and other vacation rentals is the rising prices of the stays, some even comparable to hotels and resorts. This added to expensive and strict policies, has lost their initial appeal, at least to me.

If you're looking for in-depth explanations of the reviews of Airbnb and what they mean, we go further into detail in a separate article.

4. Momondo / KAYAK

If you're looking for an easy way to compare prices across hotel bookings, flights, car rentals, and more, Momondo is an excellent resource for you to use.

Momondo is powered by Booking Holdings and is currently managed by Kayak

It's most famous for comparing flights and even has a "fly anywhere" button if you want to be spontaneous and travel to wherever is cheapest.

You can also set up flight alerts for your chosen routes to be notified if prices drop. As with any flight deal site, be sure to check directly with the airline to ensure that the price you're seeing is the lowest.

Check out how we feel about the travel deals site in our Momondo review here!

As for KAYAK, they're a meta-search engine for travel, hosting tons of listings, flights, and services worldwide, with advanced filtering options to get really specific on what kind of accommodation you'd like to stay at or what kind of flights you'd like to book.

KAYAK offers price alerts where you'll receive notifications whenever the price fluctuates, which also makes it a good site to track travel deals.

Check out our full KAYAK review for more details!

5. Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor used to be my favorite place to look for inspiration and recommendations on where to go. Still, they've become more of a booking platform than a community-driven travel site.

What is Tripadvisor? The platform has changed so much; they're apparently also now a go-to place for travel deals. Tripadvisor highlights the cheapest days to book on their platform, with powerful filtering capabilities to help you find a good deal.

What's great about Tripadvisor is that you can filter your search to only accommodation between certain price points, helping you stay within budget while potentially finding some good surprise deals.

Personally, I don't go to Tripadvisor for travel deals, but many others do, so that's why it's featured. A big reason is that prices are often higher on checkout than on what is displayed.

Tripadvisor will also tell you whenever you're receiving a discount, so you know you're getting the best price.

If you need a refresher on what Tripadvisor is, including why or why not book with them, check out our detailed review now!

OTAs vs. Direct Hotel Bookings: Which is better?

There are a lot of questions and assumptions made around booking through OTAs like Booking.com or Expedia versus booking directly through the hotel, so as a travel veteran who's booked from both many times, I'll provide some tips on which is better.

In general, if you're looking to get the most out of your stay, compare the prices of both before booking. Direct booking have greater chances of better deals, but that's not always the case.

In cases where OTA has better prices, make sure to check the hotel page itself, as they sometimes offer exclusive perks to direct booking travelers, like room upgrades or hotel credits.

If you book through an OTA, chances are information may be concealed from the hotel, so they're not able to curate a better experience for you. When I travel for special occasions, I always either book directly with the hotel or call them up to give them notes on my stay so they can better prepare for my arrival.

Oh, get a good travel credit card so you can earn points from your accommodation and travel expenses for cool perks!

All-Inclusive or Vacation Packages Deal Sites

Who says all-inclusive deals or vacation packages have to be expensive?

It certainly doesn't.

If you're looking for luxury travel or all-in-one vacation packages, I've got you covered as well. A lot of companies we've covered thus far offer decent vacation package deals, such as Expedia and Travelocity, but we'll cover more here.

1. Orbitz

When it comes to vacation bundles or all-inclusive packages, Orbitz is often the go-to for this particular service.

On Orbitz's main site, you'll be able to search from a combination of flights, hotels, and car rentals, with additional filtering options. Orbitz also has its own rewards program called Orbucks, which you'll be able to use on flights, packages, and hotels booked through Orbitz.

The biggest value for Orbitz is the bundles, as the rewards aren't as good as some of the deal sites mentioned here.

Learn more about Orbitz Hotels & Flights before you book with them!

2. Gate 1 Travel

Not many people know about Gate 1, but they're known for some cool, organized tours around the world.

While they're not exactly branded as an all-inclusive or vacation deal package, their tours come in different travel styles, which range from Value to Deluxe, depending on which suits you the best.

They're also offering flash sales or last-minute deals, some of which are all-inclusive or vacation packages, with extra savings. I'd check them out if booking organized tours is your thing!

The biggest downside is that Gate 1 is not meant for solo travelers and people who like to take control during their trip.

Find out about Gate 1 Travel reviews before booking tours with them through our review!

3. Secret Escapes

Secret Escapes is a service that helps travelers find luxury hotels and deals in the UK and other countries. They act as travel agents, helping you source the best online luxury deals and saving time and money.

They also have collections to search for trips based on keywords (i.e., boutique hotels, all-inclusive holidays, Lake District breaks, or Northern Lights holidays), as well as experiences.

Some downsides include geographic restrictions for memberships and varied experiences. If you're looking for luxury accommodations, packages, or bundles, feel free to check them out. The membership is free!

If you're looking for more details like how does Secret Escape work, check out our detailed guide!

Other Notable Mentions for Travel Deals

Here are some more great travel deal sites that I think you should check out! I don't think it's a fair comparison to put them against the likes of Booking and Expedia, so here are some travel deal websites that travelers have come to love.

1. TravelZoo - Great for last-minute deals

Travelzoo is a great place if you're looking for last-minute deals.

Pulling together all kinds of deals from providers, you'll be able to go through their top 20 list of deals or filter by "deal kind" to find what fits your travel goals best.

Travelzoo is a great way to see what's out there, but be mindful that it's a third-party company and is not directly responsible for any bookings.

Learn what TravelZoo is and if they're legit in our detailed review!

2. Priceline - Great last-minute vacation packages

While Priceline offers all of the basic travel deals that most other platforms on here feature, similarly to Orbitz, they also offer bundles and packages.

Perhaps the best feature of Priceline is its map-focused search, which is very useful for quick scans of which accommodation is the best within a given area. What's great is that you're also able to add on and customize for selected packages (at a cost).

With Express Deals on Priceline, you can save on hotels up to 60%, which is why they're featured on this list.

While they don't display the hotel brands until after you book with them, you'll see general features like star ratings, guest ratings, and the general area of where the accommodation is located.

If you're still wondering, "is Priceline Legit?", we cover that and more in detail on our blogs!

3. Holidu - Great Vacation Rental deals

Holidu is a great vacation rental place to source deals from.

Using your travel dates, you can search for your chosen destination, and Holidu will pull up the best deals across multiple sites.

There's an option to filter through different types of properties, and you can even view the property using Google Street View.

Their list of budget-friendly accommodations means you'll be able to find your perfect fit at the right price point.

I'd say Holidu's biggest drawback is its extent of listings and the varied customer service.

Learn more about what Holidu reviews say before you book!

Secure your deals & plan the next trip with Pilot!

With so many ways to get the best travel deals out there, you're now on your way to planning that next dream vacation.

Once you start making some bookings, be sure to check out Pilot!