The Best Travel Hacks Airlines Don’t Want You To Know
Travel hacks so good, the airlines don’t want to tell you.
Planning on traveling this summer? Then you’re going to want to pay attention.
Since traveling can be a hassle, every hack counts towards making your experience that much better.
Airlines are constantly hiding away these precious travel hacks and money-saving travel tips, but we’re going to give you them up front because we are that nice. And, we want you to save your cash — you’re students after all, save your dollars for the college experience.
Traveling is also, basically, a rite of passage for students. How else are you going to have exotic stories to tell your dorm-mate? To help you save your money for something students really need (pumpkin-spiced everything, please) we’ve got the best travel hacks and money-saving tips to help you travel and live your best life.
In this post:
Best travel hacks
These are some of the best travel hacks for upgrading your travel. Plan your trip around some of the best places to travel around the world for the ultimate vacation.
1. Get your bags checked for free
Sick of paying extra when you have to check bags? Then you’ll need this tip ASAP. Just note it only works for specific airlines (United, American, Lufthansa, Iberia, etc.).
First, check in to your flight online. Then download your ticket on your phone and go through security like normal.
Once you’re at your gate, ask if you can check your bag. More often than not, airlines will ask people at the gate if they’re willing to check their bags due to a lack of overhead storage room on the plane. Then the airline will let it fly for free.
2. Skip TSA checks
TSA “random” checks aren’t nearly as random as you might believe. Did you know there are even ways you can avoid them entirely?
One TikTok user showed her boarding pass marked with “SSSS.” This code means you’ve been flagged by the TSA, revealing why you might get stopped more than other people when you fly.
The solution? You can file a formal complaint with TSA and get a redress number. All you have to do is provide specific information and dates regarding the additional screenings. This is great for people who get stopped frequently, despite always following airline rules.
3. Avoid lost baggage
Lost bags are one of the absolute worst things to happen when you’re traveling, but there is an easy way to ensure your bag makes it to your final destination. Toronto International Airport revealed a tip from one of their baggage handlers that makes sorting your bag much easier.
“Let’s say you flew American and a month later you flew Southwest,” he says. “Well, there’s a little sticker that goes on for American that tells the computer to go there. There’s a chance it scans [the old one] instead of the new one…and not get on the plane.”
TLDR? Remove your old baggage tags before you fly! Obviously carrying your luggage on the plane is the best way to make sure you have it, but when you check a bag, take off those old stickers.
4. Hotel Safety
It’s important to be safe when you travel, especially when staying in accommodation.
When checking in, if the hotel clerk announces your room number out loud while other guests are present, you should request a different room. And while this advice is mainly directed towards women on solo trips, it’s applicable for all solo travelers.
Use our Hotels.com student discount to save an additional 10% on your booking.
5. Take advantage of free-stopovers
If you’re flying long-distance, a cheaper option is to include a layover or stopover. Many people hate the idea of a stopover because it means waiting around for your next flight for some time, even over 24 hours in some cases.
But, layovers don’t have to be a bad thing. If you’re going to be waiting in a country for a few hours you can call up the airlines and arrange an even longer stopover. Why? So you don’t have to sit in the airport and wait, losing brain cells as you stare at the walls. Instead, you’ll have time to check out the area you’re in, book some classic sightseeing while you’re there — it’ll be like 2 trips in 1.
6. Try a Semester at Sea
Semester at Sea allows college students to experience multiple countries while studying abroad. You will travel while taking classes on board a ship as you voyage for around 100 days.
To find out more, check out what is a Semester at Sea.
Money saving travel tips
Traveling isn’t the cheapest activity, but there are a lot of ways to make it more kind on your wallet. These money saving travel tips will help you save extra cash without risking any fun.
1. Clear your cookies
Cookies are essentially the bits of information a website will remember about you when you visit their site — such as any credentials you’ve used, your preferences etc. Cookies remember you.
Cookies aren’t a bad thing, but when you’re searching for holidays and booking travel, Cookies might work against you. If you’ve clicked through to a travel deal on the same device several times, the site’s Cookies might remember you and show prices that are slightly higher than shown to someone else (because the site knows you’re planning a trip).
If you clear your cache and Cookies on your browser, you might start to see lower prices as you’re seen as a ‘new’ user. You can also set your browser to incognito private mode which will work, too.
2. Grocery stores are your best friends
Eating out while traveling can become quite expensive, especially if you’re heading to touristy destinations and popular areas.
When you’re busy on your feet traveling and sightseeing all day, having some snacks packed will be a lot cheaper than stumbling into any restaurant you come across and forking out big bucks on a meal.
3. Night transportation
If you’re hopping from one country to the next, or even across country to see a different city, don’t hop on a flight. Flying is expensive, and there’s a lot of effort and time taken just getting to the airport.
Instead, see if there are night trains available to get you to your destination. They’re typically cheaper than flying, and it means you don’t have to fork out on more accommodation for the night. You also won’t lose a day to traveling, so you’ll have more time to actually explore (and more energy).
4. Travel off-season
A summer trip to a paradise island might sound great, but during peak times? You’ll be lucky to get a space by the beach, and you’d be paying a fortune too.
Find out the off-season and shoulder-seasons of where you’re traveling to and you’ll notice the price drops significantly. You’ll still have the best time, but it’ll be more affordable and less crowded when you go.
Find out the cheapest days for travel in 2025 and try to plan around those days to make things a little cheaper.
5. Book ahead
We know that being spontaneous is the vibe, but it’s a costly vibe at that. Planning ahead should save you money, especially when booking flights and accommodation.
If you’re keen to visit major attractions on your trip, you should also book these in advance where possible. This can help you get a better price (than paying at the door) and also prevents you from missing out on any staple sights.
Need affordable ideas for where to travel? We’ve got the best budget vacations of 2025 to help inspire you.
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