San Francisco Travel Deals - How to Get Cheap Flights to San Francisco

I’ve visited San Francisco many times over the past several years, and it’s truly a magical place. I’ve developed a few tips on how to find a cheap travel deal when it comes to finding flights to San Francisco.

When it comes down to it, there are three types of airline websites:

Scrapers - These scour the major airlines and collect the prices they list. They usually don’t charge a fee, but rely on hotel deals to turn a profit.

Booking Sites - These guys charge a small fee (somewhere around $6) and process the sale for the airlines.

Airline Websites - Here you can forgo the booking fees by going straight to the horse’s mouth. (Note: Some airlines like Southwest do not offer their prices to
Scrapers or Booking sites, so you will have to check their prices on their own website to find some cheap travel deals.)

There is no single website that you can go to to get the best San Francisco travel deals every time because of all the fluctuating factors that need to be considered, but here is a process I’ve used that has served me well over the years to help me get the best cheap flights to San Francisco.

Start with a scraper like Kayak or Sidestep

Check Southwest and Jet Blue (which don’t offer their prices to other sites)

Looking at the booking sites that have been around for some time like Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, etc.

And just to make sure you’re not missing anything, go to Hotwire and Priceline.

If you feel up to it, manipulate your departure and return date by a few days if you have the flexibility to see if you can save some by changing the dates of your trip. Also try searching two one-way tickets instead of a round-trip ticket--you never know... you might find a cheap travel deal. Also look into alternate airports around the Bay Area. Often times the Oakland Airport or the San Jose Airport are better deals for flying into the San Francisco Bay area.

Because there’s a lot of money to be made in the travel industry, be on the look out for scammy fly-by-night websites out there that are just trying to get your e-mail so they can subscribe you to their shady service.

Follow the above advice and you’ll be sure to find some great San Francisco travel deals that will save you plenty of money that you can put to better use having fun in San Francisco.