Traveling around the world has always been a dream of mine. Eight years ago, that dream made the transition from imagination to reality when I packed up and moved overseas to South Korea. I’ve managed to keep that dream alive — living in Korea, New Zealand, Mongolia, Georgia, and now China… with no plans of slowing down. But a huge part of travel is having the money to afford it. How the heck do I manage that?
The biggest part is work. I work sporadically, but when I do work, I work hard. By doing lots of contract-based jobs, I’m able to work for a year, then take some time off for a new trip. As much as I’d love for this blog to be my sole source of income, it’s not. Not yet, at least! But another huge part of how I manage to travel so much is being able to sniff out great travel deals on the internet. And that’s where using a Flight Deals Site comes in handy…
Here are some of the top options, and some brief reviews of their service!
Scott’s Cheap Flights
Scott’s Cheap Flights is the undisputed king of this space. With nearly 2 million subscribers, a robust (and well-moderated!) social community on Facebook, and world-wide flight offerings, it’s a contender for the best overall value. Not only is their free service pretty valuable in its own right, but their premium subscription is well-priced and tweakable enough for most. A long money-back guarantee (30 days) on the premium service makes taking the plunge less intimidating, and the online account management and support database are easy to use and functional.
That said, SCF doesn’t have the payment options that DFC does (see below) and doesn’t provide text notifications when a particularly hot deal goes live.
| Free Service: | Yes (limited) |
| Cost for Premium Plan: | $39 per year |
| Trial Period for Premium: | 30 days |
| Monthly Payment Option: | No |
| Text Updates: | No |
| Ease of Account Management: | Easy |
| International Departure Points: | Yes |
| Referral Program: | Yes |
Next Vacay
Next Vacay is the new kid on the block and has a few things going for it. It’s a mere $25 per year, compared to the ~$40 annual cost of the two other services listed here. In addition, the Next Vacay team will send flight deals for nearby airports — a feature I really appreciate. I’m between two large international airports, and it’s nice to get deals for Vancouver and Bellingham in addition to Seattle.
That said, Next Vacay feels like a fledgling service compared to the other two in this list. International departure points aren’t available (yet), and there is no free basic service for people looking to start on a low rung before committing to premium.
The deal-breaker for me, however, is the lack of an account dashboard. Any modifications to your subscription or departure preferences needs to be done through the customer service team, who can be a bit slow to respond sometimes. I expect any subscription service to allow me to manage my subscription on my own. Contacting customer service is an inconvenience, and there are a wealth of choices in this niche.
| Free Service: | No |
| Cost for Premium Plan: | $25 per year |
| Trial Period for Premium: | 30 days |
| Monthly Payment Option: | No |
| Text Updates: | No |
| Ease of Account Management: | Difficult |
| International Departure Points: | No |
| Referral Program: | No |
Dollar Flight Club
Dollar Flight Club is another heavy-hitter with great name recognition and a robust offering. There are a number of reasons I really like their service. The account management dashboard is easy to use, and it’s very easy to set multiple departure airports in different regions. This is great for me, because I’m often looking for flights for the next several stages of whatever trip I’m planning.
They also push text notifications through on the best deals, making it more likely that you’ll be able to pull the trigger while the price is still valid. Finally, they have a cool referral program that rewards you with one year of premium membership if 5 or more friends sign up through your referral link. That’s a pretty decent ROI — $8 per referral!
With a well-developed support section, responsive customer support, a monthly payment option for those averse to paying annually, and a burgeoning Facebook community, DFC scratches all the itches I want scratched, in addition to providing lots of good flight deals.
Downsides? The trial period is only 7 days, compared to the 30-day trials of SCF and Next Vacay. It’s also the most expensive option, just $1 more expensive than SCF. And, honestly, that’s about it!
| Free Service: | Yes (limited) |
| Cost for Premium Plan: | $40 per year |
| Trial Period for Premium: | 7 days |
| Monthly Payment Option: | Yes |
| Text Updates: | Yes |
| Ease of Account Management: | Easy |
| International Departure Points: | Yes |
| Referral Program: | Yes |
What’s My Preferred Choice?
While all of the above options have sent me some good flight deals, I think Scott’s Cheap Flights and Dollar Flight Club send the most quality results. Next Vacay gets points for preemptively sending results from nearby airports, but I feel like their team is a bit smaller and just doesn’t have the capacity to stand toe to toe with the big dogs.
As awesome as Scott’s Cheap Flights is, Dollar Flight Club gets my vote. There are two reasons for this: I love their text push service, and their referral program is straight-up awesome. It makes sense from a business perspective — encourage people to share your service with others and reward them for doing so. The target of 5 referrals is VERY easy to attain, placing free premium membership for one year within easy reach of anyone with 5 or more internet-savvy family and friends.
I’m quite picky with premium apps — ones requiring any sort of subscription. I expect quality results, good UX design, and solid account management capabilities. Dollar Flight Club ticks all of these boxes and makes it easier for me to get cheap flights around the world. That’s why it wins my recommendation for the Best Flight Deals Site!
How about you? What flight deals site do you use? Would you recommend it? Share your recommendations in the comments below!
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