Find the Best Flights

Always use a comparison website to find a ball park cost
- Skyscanner is good because it allows you to see peak and off peak times to see if it worth moving your schedule slightly (assuming it doesn’t interfere with what you plan to do when you arrive)
Once a comparison site is used then go direct to the airline as sometimes they can be cheaper
Do you have air miles you could redeem against a flight to make it cheaper? Don’t write off airlines you have miles for based on them being the highest price when you initially compared them because often they will be the cheapest if using airmiles correctly
Again for airmiles; discounts are often applied in blocks eg 10k, 25k, 50k, 100k, so if you are close to a milestone it can often be worth buying the deficit in airmiles to reach the milestone. I did this myself spending £130 on airmiles to save another £500 in ticket costs, overall I was £370 in pocket!
Companion vouchers through air miles schemes – an often overlooked benefit of air miles rewards on credits cards is if you spend over a certain amount in the year you receive a companion voucher entitling another person to travel with you completely free. I did this recently when my wife and our two children and I flew premium economy to Johannesburg return for less than £1k!