Question about those flight alert apps everyone raves about

I paid $49 for a year of a popular flight alert app and it never caught the $200 round trip to Dublin that I found just browsing Google Flights myself. Am I missing something or are these apps mostly just hype for the average traveler?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_robert1mo ago

Did you set up alerts for specific dates or just a general look out? I've had the opposite experience honestly. I snagged a $180 round trip to Reykjavik last spring that I never would have caught just browsing, the alert popped up at like 2am and I booked it right then. Google Flights is great but it doesn't always show the mistake fares or the weird routing deals that these apps dig up. I think a lot of people expect them to magically find cheap flights without being specific about their wants.

gibson.sean1mo ago

Those alerts are really only as good as how you set them up... @the_robert nailed it with the specific dates thing. I paid for a year too and the only steal I got was a $130 flight to Mexico City, but I had to be super precise about my home airport and flexible dates for it to even work. Most people just set a general "find me cheap flights" alert and expect miracles, but these apps need you to really dial in your starting point and travel windows to do their thing.