11 Flight Booking Tips That Save Money Every Traveler Should Use

5. Mix one-way tickets and use open-jaw routes

Buying two one-way tickets often beats a single roundtrip price, especially when different carriers or alliances compete on outbound and inbound legs. Open-jaw itineraries—flying into one city and returning from another—can also reduce cost for multi-city trips. Search one-way fares across multiple airlines and compare the sum to roundtrip pricing; include checked-bag fees when relevant because they can offset small fare differences. When using this strategy, be careful about minimum connection times and separate tickets that don’t protect you if a delayed inbound causes you to miss the outbound on a different carrier. For international travel, check whether a multi-city search gives better pricing than separate one-way bookings; sometimes the booking engine bundles legs in a favorable way. The mix-and-match approach is especially useful for flexible travelers who can accept different carriers and slightly varied schedules for meaningful savings.