Why do I always book flights with Kiwi.com? Because they are cheaper. Hands down, in all my years of travel I have never found such good deals as I do with Kiwi. This isn’t a sponsored post from them – it’s just that I am really like them and want to pass these tips along for how to book cheap flights like I do!
Before I tell you how to book with Kiwi.com and use their cool booking tools, which help you find cheaper deals, I want to just share an example from my recent trip to Bali. I had to fly Goa to Bali and looked first at Kiwi.com, where I was sure I’d find the best deal. For the sake of this blog post I searched the same dates on Cleartrip, Cheapoair, Kayak, and Skyscanner to confirm and show you the proof.
I also used their “Kiwi Gauruntee” when a flight was cancelled, and it worked perfectly without any hassle.
In case you’re wondering if they really are cheaper, here’s a case study for Bali to Goa.
As you go to book your dates, it shows you a calendar with prices already populated. I’m nearly always flexible with my schedule and it’s one of the best ways to save money.
So, looking at the dates I set on the 22nd Feb and returning on the 12th of March (little more expensive but wanted that extra weekend). The price that came up with 29,645 Rs ($443 USD) which is a great price and I know I could have gotten it even cheaper on Kiwi another day.
I took these dates and I searched them on other websites that I used to book with. The first is Cleartrip which was always known as the best in Asia (in particularly India).
Cleartrip Price:$677 USD
Kayak price: $656 USD
Cheapoair price: $687 USD
Lastly, I checked Skyscanner.
Skyscanner is usually really good and used to be the website that I used a lot to book. They actually forward you along to other booking sites, though. Funnily enough, it was a flight I searched on Skyscanner that forwarded me to Kiwi in the first place.
Skyscanner price: $724
So overall when it comes to booking this flight to Bali from Goa, Kiwi came up over $200 cheaper than all the other search engine booking sites I checked.
Basically, they search all the airlines whether it’s budget ones orpopular huge airlines. They then combine them based on the cheapest route, NOT based on who has code shares together (which is what most airlines search).
When you read articles about how people “flight hack” by searching out smaller routes within their route to make the total route cheaper, in the end, THIS is that except Kiwi is doing that for you.
That means you won’t be checked all the way through sometimes but will have to re-check your luggage. Don’t worry though they offer a guarantee that if you miss a connection, they’ll put you on the next flight out for free (more about that later).
Anywhere Function
So, the first one is the Anywhere function which isn’t the most unique since a number of flight search engines now offer this.
I searched from Columbus just out of curiosity (It’s my hometown USA airport). I was pretty shocked to see you can fly to Savannah or New Orleans for just $100 round trip.
Next, I wanted to show you how I would search an international flight like the one I do each year from Ohio to India.
When I fly this route it took so much searching in the past because I had to search Cleveland to Mumbai, Cleveland to Delhi, Columbus to Mumbai, and Columbus to Delhi on multiple flight search engines. That took forever!
Now, I can just search Ohio to India or Columbus to India, etc. So, I did a practice search of Columbus to India.
Using the anywhere function, I did two more blog posts to show you:
- How to travel around Indiafor $200 to all the top tourist cities
- Fly around 9 cities in 7 countries in Europe for $355 using these tips for Europe
Search by Region or Country
It shows me that Mumbai is going to be my cheapest port of entry into India. So, if I click on Mumbai, I can then see the routes and airlines it wants me to take which is United going there and Turkish coming back (I love Turkish Airlines).
It’s also a 23-hour journey one way and 25 going back which is really good for this route. I’ve done 40 before. I did searches on United and Turkish Airlines to see what it would cost to book directly through them,
I did searches on United and Turkish Airlines to see what it would cost to book directly through them, which came up just a tad higher. The thing is had you not known that United and Turkish were going to give you the best route you wouldn’t know to search their sites.
Search Using Radius
You can draw a radius around the area you want to go if you are flexible. This is great if you want to backpack Europe and don’t care where you start or if you want to spend a week in Southeast Asia. You can draw a radius around your departure too if you are flying from say, Europe, to SE Asia and don’t mind the order you go in or know you can take a train to a cheaper airport.
I searched from Ohio (which a radius for all the airports) to Southeast Asia.
You can see that it’s pretty much the same rate if you fly to Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, but Hanoi Vietnam is about $100 more.
Search with Anytime & Date Range
Not only can you search anywhere to see the best results, but with kiwi.com you can search anytime.
Let’s say I wanted to go to Sri Lanka from Goa this Spring but didn’t care when; only that it was the cheapest time. I would use the Anytime tool. But to make it even cooler, I can then use the “time of stay” to select that I want to be there anywhere from 6-10 days depending on the cheapest flights.
You can also put in date ranges like “I’d like to go to Sri Lanka some time between March 5-10 and stay there for 6 days”,which can really help you simplify your search.
I tried that using New York as a city to fly Anywhere, Anytime. Turns out you NYC folks can go to Myrtle Beach round trip for $83. That’s probably less than you would spend a night out on the town, so escape the winter and fly down for the weekend!
When people talk about how expensive it is to travel, they’re right in many ways but often they don’t know about these amazing tools to use to help you fly cheaper.
Using the tools I’ve outlined above will help you book cheap flights through Kiwi every time. I hope (fingers crossed) that they don’t change and their rates stay the same.
Remember how I mentioned that one of the ways they find cheap flightsare searching the exact cheapest flight for each leg of the journey, regardless of if those airlines are in a code share (aka when airlines partner up to fly places onward that they don’t fly themselves).
When you fly in a code share they usually check your luggage all the way through for you and give you your boarding passes for the whole journey.
When you book with Kiwi, they are not always code-share so you’ll see between each leg if you need to get your bags. They say it clearly on the ticket if you do need to pick up your luggage and recheck it in.
“Recheck your checked baggage – Please note that you will need to collect and recheck your baggage between all flights. This is because you will be travelling with different airlines or on different routes with the same airline.”
So, that might make you worry that you won’t have enough time to do so. When you are code share and you miss a flight because the previous flight was delayed, they will put you on the next flight out.
Kiwi offers the same promise.With their Kiwi Guarantee, they promise that if you miss a flight because there was not enough connection time due to a delay, cancellation, or rescheduling and there wasn’t enough time, they will book you on the earliest flight out for FREE. If that means you have to stay overnight at an airport, they will pay for it under 50 Euros. They’ll also give you $10 to eat if your flight is delayed more than 4 hours.
That means, if you “travel hack” to find these deals alone, this is no company helping you with a guarantee. if you miss a flight, that’s on YOU and you alone – and you’ll have to book another. Let Kiwi find them for you.
If it’s a delay before you take off, you are meant to get ahold of them and let them know so you can sort something out. But, sometimes there isn’t time to call.
“In exceptional cases when your flight(s) is cancelled or you miss the flight connection(s) due to a flight delay and you are unable to contact us in this matter, you may purchase the ticket(s) for the alternative transportation without prior agreement between you and us and we will refund you the price of such ticket(s) for alternative transportation up to twice the original price of the unused flight(s) en route to your destination.”
You MUST keep the paperwork for this and paperwork that the other flight was delayed or canceled and you had to do this.
My Air India flight from Chennai toSingapore was canceled and I missed my connection to Bali, so I called Kiwi from the airport to see what to do.
I was nervous that there would be a catch, but when I called from Chennai saying they haven’t told us when they were rescheduling, they offered to put us on a Singapore Air flight the next am from Chennai out then also reschedule the flight we missed in Singapore to Bali.
Technically, Air India had to get us to Singapore, so it was over and beyond that they offered to get us on another airline.
In the end, our flight was rescheduled on Air India for 3 am, so we stayed with Air India and they put us on a later flight out of Singapore to Bali.
The rules are that they will put you on any flight that isn’t more than double the cost of the one you already booked, for free. If it is over double, you pay the difference. We got a flight with our same airline, just later in the day.
Why it was so easy to use their gauruntee:
- They answered their phones off hours with no waiting
- They took our Indian numbers and called us back so we didn’t use all our data
- They emailed within 30 minutes to tell us our options when our phones were out of signal and they couldn’t reach us.
- When Air India kept changing things and it was chaos at Chennai airport, Kiwi was patient and helpful with us.
- They weren’t trying to get out of it, they didn’t even ask for proof of the cancellation or paperwork from us although you should have this just in case they do.
So now that I’ve raved about them, what sucks about them? I’ll tell you the two things I wish I could change about Kiwi.com.
Luggage concerns
When you check out, it will say what luggage is allowed. This day and age, check in luggage is hardly ever allowed. When you want to add luggage, you add it just as a set price. They’ll say do you want to add a 15 kg bag (or more) and you just can select it. It will be one price and you don’t see a breakdown of what airlines that is for. If you are fllying multiple legs or multiple airlines you can’t see the real prices. I checked for my flight to Bali and it worked out okay (as some airlines let you have 15 kg free, but other legs charged about $4 per kg) and Kiwi.com luggage was a fair price.
But, when I flew back from Morocco to London with Ryanair I wanted to add luggage. You cannot add it on Ryanair (you must do EVERYTHING through Kiwi) and it was indeed cheaper on Ryanair than Kiwi.
I actually emailed their customer service to ask why and they explained that it’s just too complicated to break down each airline cost as they are always changing and they have every carrier in their system and combine so many airlines into a journey. So with some bookings you might lose $20 and with others you might save. But, it does end up being cheaper this way then waiting until you’re at the counter to purchase at the airport.
Booking roundtrips as a set
When I book a round trip, I wish I could look at the outgoing flight and choose my favorite one, then look at the return flight and choose it to make my own set.
Kiwi, like nearly every other search engine, makes the set for you.
There is good news, though, as this is just an inconvenience. If you were to book a round trip on United instead of two single journeys separately, you’ll always get a better deal on a round trip. Because Kiwi searches the cheapest routes for each leg, it doesn’t matter if you book round trip and the price will be the same if you go ahead and search the outgoing and return flight separately and book separately if you don’t like the set that shows up.
It’s just not as easy and I wish I could make up my own sets! I am getting too picky, now, though.
I asked about this and they said that it’s best to book a round trip in case anything goes wrong it will keep you in the kiwi.com guarantee.
I reached out to Kiwi to join their affiliate program after I started using them. If you like Kiwi and use my link to book, I’ll get a small commission from the sale at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
Planning a big trip?
- How to plan a tripfrom scratch without any stress with my step by step guide
- Read this article about what is and isn’t included in the world’s most popular travel insurance.
- Check if you need visas for where you are going and don’t leave home without them.
- If you want to travel using Airbnb, make an account with this link to get $40 off your first stay!
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FAQs
Is Kiwi legit booking site? ›
Is Kiwi legit? While Kiwi is a real business, there are a myriad of poor reviews and concerning customer feedback surrounding the company. This includes a one-star customer review rating on the Better Business Bureau website and 1.5 stars from over 60,000 reviews on TrustPilot, an online review platform.
Is fly Skyscanner legit? ›Skyscanner is a metasearch engine that scans the internet and pulls the prices for your flight, hotel and car rental search from thousands of online travel agencies and airlines around the globe. So is Skyscanner Reliable? The answer is Yes! Skyscanner is highly reliable.
Is Kiwi com a travel agent? ›Kiwi.com is a leading travel tech company.
Is it safe to book directly through Skyscanner? ›Think of it as a “metasearch” site. They find you great deals, and refer you to the site to book the flight. You won't generally purchase tickets directly on the skyscanner website. That being said, Skyscanner is a very legit site with a good reputation.
How long does it take Kiwi to process booking? ›When will my booking be confirmed? Our booking process is automated and usually only takes around 20 minutes. However, some carrier reservations need to be made manually and this can take longer — for example, if there's a surge in bookings or if the carriers' booking system has temporary technical difficulties.
Where is Kiwi com located? ›Our headquarters are in Brno, Czech Republic, but you'll find us all over the world. In some countries, we've established branches, and in others, we cooperate with local vendors.
What day of the week is the best day to buy airline tickets? ›Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to fly domestically. The cheapest days to depart if you're flying within the U.S. are midweek — generally Tuesday or Wednesday. For economy tickets, Tuesdays are about 24% lower than peak prices on Sundays, which translates to savings of about $85 per ticket.
How far out is the best time to book a flight? ›According to a 2021 survey by CheapAir.com, on average, the best time to purchase plane tickets for a domestic trip is 64 days before your departure date.
Why is Skyscanner so cheap? ›because it does not fly on that date or to/from that specific airport. Also the prices Skyscanner first shows you aren't "live" but based on previous searches made by other people. They can lag behind the current price by several days, depending on the destination and how popular the route is.
What happened to Kiwi Airlines? ›...
Kiwi International Air Lines.
| IATA ICAO Callsign KP KIA Kiwi | |
|---|---|
| Ceased operations | March 24, 1999 |
| Hubs | Newark |
| Secondary hubs | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Chicago Midway |
| Fleet size | 4 (March 1999) |
Is Kiwi com'a New Zealand company? ›
Kiwi.com (previously known as skypicker.com) is a Czech online travel agency founded by Oliver Dlouhý and Jozef Képesi in 2012.
Is Kiwi com reliable in India? ›I think Kiwi is safe and legit, so roll the dice if you want, but the only thing they did well was leave alot of time between flights, cuz you're going to need it to sort things out on your own and deal with delays. Paid for checked bag, second airline didn't honor.
Can you choose seats on Skyscanner? ›ANY third party site such as skyscanner, expedia, travelocity etc DO NOT allow you to choose seats or specify meals as they are brokers to the airlines.
Is Hopper a legit app? ›In short, you can trust Hopper! If you're traveling on a very tight budget, Hopper can be a great app to scan for cheap flights and hotels. That being said, many online comments have indicated it's an app best used to see what the best rates are, and then to book directly with the airlines or hotels themselves.
Does Skyscanner show all flights? ›First things first: Skyscanner does not cover all airlines and all flights in the world! Even the famous Google Flights does not do this.
Are Kiwi good for you? ›Kiwis are high in Vitamin C and dietary fiber and provide a variety of health benefits. This tart fruit can support heart health, digestive health, and immunity. The kiwi is a healthy choice of fruit and is rich with vitamins and antioxidants.
Where is my confirmation number kiwi? ›You can find your PNR on your e-ticket in the relevant segment of your itinerary. Each part of your trip and each passenger can have a different PNR. When your connections have different PNR numbers, you have a self-transfer layover.
How do I get my Kiwi confirmation code? ›Once your booking is confirmed, we'll send you a confirmation email with your e-ticket attached. It can take some time to process your booking with the carriers, so if you don't receive confirmation immediately, don't worry.
What is the kiwi app used for? ›The Kiwi app is a Q&A social network that connects to your Facebook account or simply works with an email address. You can ask questions of your friends and other people in the community. You can also answer questions that people ask everyone on the network.
Why are New Zealanders called Kiwis? ›Why are New Zealanders called Kiwis? The name 'kiwi' comes from the curious little flightless bird that is unique to New Zealand. Māori people have always held the kiwi bird in high regard. Their feathers were used to make 'kahu kiwi', valuable cloaks worn by tribal chiefs.
What time do flight prices drop on Tuesday? ›
Tuesday Around Midnight is the Cheapest Time to Book
We found that travelers who search for flights on Tuesday at midnight save about 6% on their flights, making this the cheapest time of the week to book. In general, flights were slightly cheaper at midnight earlier in the week (Monday through Wednesday).
Cheap days: In the U.S., Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are usually cheapest. For international travel, weekdays are usually cheaper than weekends. Expensive days: Fridays and Sundays usually cost more, especially in the U.S.
Do flight prices go down on Tuesday? ›On Tuesday mornings, they look at what competitors are charging for routes, and adjust their fares accordingly. By the afternoon, they've settled on the most competitive pricing, and that's why Tuesday afternoons are the cheapest time to buy a plane ticket.
What day of the week is best to book a flight 2022? ›In 2022, the cheapest day of the week to fly is Wednesday. Flying on Wednesday will save you $57 per airline ticket versus the most expensive day to travel, which is Sunday.
What is the cheapest month to fly in? ›♦ Cheapest month to fly: January
For the lowest fares on domestic flights, travel in January. But for international trips, you'll find the cheapest fare in August.
Timing Matters: Not Too Early, Not Too Late
The general rule is that for domestic flights, travelers should start searching for flight tickets one to three months in advance. For international flights, the best prices are typically available from two to eight months in advance.
Hopper released a report earlier in 2022 predicting that fares would decrease by the end of July—and, according to CNBC, the average cost of domestic roundtrip flights dropped from $413 in May down to $375 by July 14. In August, the average round-trip fare is predicted to drop to $286.
Why booking with Skyscanner is cheaper than the airline? ›There are many websites that do the dirty work of searching through airline providers to find the perfect flight at the cheapest price. Of all the flight-buying websites, Skyscanner is almost always the cheapest due to its multi-city searches, price trend tracker, and secret “everywhere” feature.
Who owns Aunt Betty? ›| Type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Key people | Graham Turner and Charlotte Blake |
| Services | Travel agency |
| Number of employees | 6,000 (July 2020) |
| Subsidiaries | Discova StudentUniverse FCM Travel Solutions Liberty Travel Aunt Betty Flight Centre Exclusives |
There are about 68,000 kiwi left.
What does the kiwi eat? ›
Kiwi are omnivores which means they eat a bit of everything. Worms, beetles, leaves and berries feature heavily on the menu, but some Brown Kiwi have been known to eat fungi, frogs and even freshwater crayfish too.
How much is from Takoradi to Accra? ›The distance between Sekondi-Takoradi and Accra is 194 km.
Is kiwi a Maori word? ›Spelling of the word Kiwi, when used to describe the people, is often capitalised. The bird's name is spelled with a lower-case k and, being a word of Māori origin, normally stays as kiwi when pluralised. As an English word, the nickname normally takes the plural form Kiwis.
Why are Kiwis endangered? ›Kiwi are being driven to extinction by three main threats: predators, lost habitat, and fragmented kiwi populations. Kiwi have few defences against introduced predators like stoats and ferrets, and their native forest habitat has been dramatically reduced to make way for human habitation and farmland.
Is Kiwi com a member of ABTA? ›...
Unauthorised use of the ABTA Logo.
| My Round Trips Ltd | myroundtrips.uk |
|---|---|
| Wild Kiwi | wildkiwi.com |
| Travelmarket | travelmarket.co.uk |
| Gifto Travel Ltd | giftotravels.com |
| The World Tours | Logo is shown on emails and paperwork |
Wizz Air, one of Europe's fastest growing airlines and the leading low cost carrier in Central and Eastern Europe was named top ten safest low cost carriers of 2019 in the world by the world's only one-stop airline safety and product rating agency AirlineRatings.com.
Is booking .com legit? ›Is booking com reliable and safe? Booking.com is reliable and safe. They are in the business for years now and they are one of the biggest booking websites out there. If you need to book for your next trip, Booking.com is a very safe platform that you can use.
Is Expedia safe? ›Yes, it is absolutely safe to book through Expedia. In fact, Expedia is one of the most trusted travel booking websites out there. Millions of people use Expedia every year to book their flights, hotels, and other travel arrangements, and there have never been any major safety concerns.
What are the best seats to pick on a plane? ›Your best chance of an empty seat next to you is towards the back since most passengers choose seats in the front of the plane in an aisle or a window seat, not a middle. The last seats to be chosen are the middle seats in the back of the plane.
What are the best seats on flights? ›Exit rows, aisle or window seats, and anywhere close to the front are typically considered the best seats on a plane. On a short business trip, you might want an aisle seat near the front of the plane so you can debark as quickly as possible on arrival.
How do I get better seats on a plane? ›
- Compare planes and seats online. To increase revenue, some airlines have added seats to their planes, making the plane more cramped. ...
- Join the frequent-flier program. ...
- Book early. ...
- Use a travel agent. ...
- Get a better seat later. ...
- Plan ahead with travel buddies. ...
- Suck it up and pay the price.
Hopper collects flight pricing data and its algorithms analyze pricing trends to predict how flight prices will change based on past pricing. This is how Hopper is able to predict whether to buy the flight now or wait for a better deal. This feature is similar to the Google Flights prediction feature.
Does Hopper charge a fee? ›Hopper is always free! When using the app for this Hopper review, we didn't come across any hidden fees. You can't pay for a membership that offers access to better rates or more flight and hotel deals. Of course, you must pay for any hotel, car rental, or flight you book through the app.
How good is Hopper prediction? ›Hopper predicts with 95% accuracy saving you an average of $65 per trip.
How can you get cheap airline tickets? ›- Start early: Image Source: ...
- Be flexible with the date: ...
- Use and compare multiple search engines: ...
- Try budget airlines: ...
- Go incognito: ...
- Look for frequent flyer miles and points: ...
- Use alternative routes: ...
- Search the price for a single person:
A handful of airlines choose not to list their flights through Google – or other search engines, for that matter. Most notably, Southwest Airlines is not available through Google Flights. Nor are some popular Asian carriers including Air China, China Eastern, and Thai Airways aren't always available.
Is Skyscanner a legitimate site? ›The answer is Yes!
Skyscanner is an independent company with the sole goal of helping you find the best option for your personal travel plans. Every month, over 100 million customers trust Skyscanner to help them find the best deals on flights, hotels, and car rentals.
I think Kiwi is safe and legit, so roll the dice if you want, but the only thing they did well was leave alot of time between flights, cuz you're going to need it to sort things out on your own and deal with delays. Paid for checked bag, second airline didn't honor.
Is booking .com legit? ›Is booking com reliable and safe? Booking.com is reliable and safe. They are in the business for years now and they are one of the biggest booking websites out there. If you need to book for your next trip, Booking.com is a very safe platform that you can use.
Is Kiwicom Atol protected? ›None of their practices are legally compliant, no wander they are not members of any organisations such as ATOL, they would not be allowed.
Is Expedia trusted? ›
Is Expedia reliable? You might be cautious of go-betweens or third-party booking sites, but Expedia is a legitimate, well-known online travel agency that's been around for years. Microsoft originally launched the Expedia website in 1996.
What is Kiwi app? ›The Kiwi app is a Q&A social network that connects to your Facebook account or simply works with an email address. You can ask questions of your friends and other people in the community. You can also answer questions that people ask everyone on the network.
Is Wizz Air Safe? ›Wizz Air, one of Europe's fastest growing airlines and the leading low cost carrier in Central and Eastern Europe was named top ten safest low cost carriers of 2019 in the world by the world's only one-stop airline safety and product rating agency AirlineRatings.com.
What is Kiwi dot com? ›Kiwi.com (previously known as skypicker.com) is a Czech online travel agency founded by Oliver Dlouhý and Jozef Képesi in 2012. Kiwi.com provides a fare aggregator, metasearch engine and booking for airline tickets and ground transportation.
Does booking com have hidden fees? ›Booking.com has no hidden fees. Hosts will only be charged the commission rate.
Has booking com been hacked? ›A hacker working for a US intelligence agency breached the servers of Booking.com in 2016 and stole user data related to the Middle East, according to a book published on Thursday. The book also says the online travel agency opted to keep the incident secret.
Do you pay immediately on booking com? ›While in-store purchases are immediately charged and deducted from your available balance, pre-authorizations are temporary holds. The length of the hold will vary, and your credit card company can advise how they handle this.
Does Kiwi refund Cancelled flight? ›If the carriers cancel or change your trip
If you have the Kiwi.com Guarantee, we'll issue you a full refund for the unused parts of your trip. We'll either refund you in Kiwi.com Credit, which you can use for future bookings, or through your original method of payment.
...
Here are all of the possibilities:
- Kiwi.com Credit — we issue Kiwi.com Credit that you can use to book another trip with us within the next 2 years. ...
- Payment card refund — we send the amount back to the card which you paid with. ...
- PayPal — we send the refund to your PayPal account.
Each unique licence number is four to five digits long, and may include a T at the start; ATOL holders' trading names and website addresses are registered with the CAA; these can be checked on the Check an ATOL facility.
Do you get a better room if you book direct with hotel? ›
Advantages of Booking a Hotel Directly
You can often find better rates by booking directly, too — a concern for budget-conscious travelers. By calling a hotel directly, you find out about any specials perks or packages they have available. In some cases, you can get a better room for the same amount of money.
Expedia claims that U.S. travelers on average save up to 10% by bundling their flight and hotel. A perk of booking travel through Expedia is that you select your hotel, airfare and car rental in separate steps in the process.
Is Hopper a legit app? ›In short, you can trust Hopper! If you're traveling on a very tight budget, Hopper can be a great app to scan for cheap flights and hotels. That being said, many online comments have indicated it's an app best used to see what the best rates are, and then to book directly with the airlines or hotels themselves.