Secret Flying Review [2024]: Are their travel deals legit?

We all want the best bang for our buck – at least that’s the motto of every budget backpacker who wishes to see the world without going broke. If you are one of them, you, like us, would prefer travel logistics to be cheap as possible.

Cheap hotels, cheap food, and especially cheap flight tickets! H

Secret Flying is a service that helps you score cheap flight deals and travel affordably. But, as there’s a number of similar services preaching themselves to be the best travel deals website, it’s reasonable to think...

Is Secret Flying actually the best? What makes Secret Flying different from other flight deal alert services? 

In this review, we are going to spill the beans about Secret Flying and talk about its strengths and weaknesses as a flight deal alerts service. 

What is Secret Flying?

Secret Flying is a free service dedicated to finding “the most incredible flight deals around the world” and notifying travelers about them. It was founded in 2014 by Tarik Allag, who wanted travelers to benefit from mistake fares that often go unnoticed. Secret Flying utilizes a mobile application, email, and social media channels to provide its audience with all necessary details regarding each deal. 

In the beginning, there were actually three paid membership options until its founder decided to merge them into one free membership! You don’t have to sign up as a member to receive flight deal alerts from Secret Flying.

But if you need a more personalized service as opposed to generic newsletters, you can become a member. It’s also required to create an account to use the Secret Flying app, which is available for both iOS and Android devices. 

How does Secret Flying Work?

So how does Secret Flying work for free? Let's walk you through what Secret Flying offers.

1. It’s free to use, and membership is not compulsory.
2. It offers open-jaw flights, which refer to roundtrip flights that depart from one city and arrives at another. These are considered the best deals.
3. It sends out cheap deals via daily email newsletters, mobile app alerts, and social media account updates.
4. It offers flight deals on basic economy, premium economy, and business class.
5. Its mobile app can be used to customize deals by departure cities.
   

Here are two other main features that Secret Flying offered in the past but not at the moment. We are putting them on our list because they may be offered again in the near future!

• Flight Request service: Secret Flying will search for flight deals for its users individually upon request. You have to specify the departure and arrival destinations, duration of the trip, and preferred dates.
• Fuel Dumping Tool – Read more about it here.
  

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How can Secret Flying be so cheap?

Secret Flying finds mistake fares and other deals from around the web and aggregates them for you on one place!

If you click on the deal that’s mentioned on the site, email, or app, you will be directed to its source. You can place the booking directly from there. Many users have recommended using a specialist card to avoid high currency conversion fees. Also, many deals posted on Secret Flying don’t last long, so it’s important to book it as soon as possible!

Where Can I Find Mistake Fares?

All you have to do is visit Secret Flying’s website and search for deals by country and month of departure. You can also follow its Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts for updates as well. If you are a member, download the app to receive notifications about flight deals from your departure cities.

What We Like About Secret Flying?

• It’s Free!: Yes, Secret Flying provides its services free of charge, and it’s not mandatory to create an account either. So, if you don’t want to spend money on a flight deal alerts service or are too broke to sign up for Scott’s Cheap Flights, this could be a great option. 

• Omni-channel presence: One of the primary factors that set Secret Flying apart from its counterparts is its availability on multiple channels. This is also because the service is free, and they don’t have to police who gets to use their service. If you don’t check your emails regularly, you can use their app to receive instant notifications or follow their social media accounts!

• Global coverage: The flight deals aren’t limited to U.S departure airports, unlike Scott’s Cheap Flights. If you visit their website, you can search for deals by region and look for flights from departure airports around the world. This makes Secret Flying a great option for non-US residents. 

What We Don’t Like About Secret Flying?

• Deals are disorganized: As the customization feature is only available on the mobile app, you would find it difficult to find interesting deals via email. This is because deals sent out via newsletters aren’t specifically based on your preferred departure cities. They can be from any airport. You have to go through the entire list to figure out deals that match your expectations. 

• The app is quite glitchy: Many Secret Flying reviews complain the mobile app is glitchy and difficult to use at certain times. If you encounter an issue while browsing deals, it could be really inconvenient.

• Comparatively fewer deals: As Secret Flying exclusively focuses on mistake fares, the number of deals that you get might be lower in comparison to other similar services that also focus on promotional discounts by airlines. 

• Allegations: We came across a serious allegation against Secret Flying, claiming that the flight deals published are actually snatched from other sources without crediting them. This is a concerning aspect regarding the ethics of the company.

So, Is Secret Flying Worth It?

Are you planning a trip to somewhere wonderful or somewhere you have been dreaming of for a long time? Then, checking for flight deals via a service like Secret Flying can help you grab a cheap ticket to the particular destination – if you are lucky!

However, it’s not the only one. You can read our previous reviews on Scott’s Cheap Flights and Dollar Flight Club for comparison and determine which works best for your needs. 

Plan a trip with Pilot!

Scoring cheap deals alone doesn’t make up for a great vacation. You also need to invest time planning and organizing logistics to ensure you have a smooth time there. For this, why not give the brand new social trip planner we've been building a try?