Myths and realities when buying a flight online: don't get scammed
Buying a flight online is super simple these days and you can do it in 2 minutes. It doesn't matter if you do it from your computer or through your mobile phone. But it is true that there are certain myths that are worth knowing. Knowing how it actually works will be useful to avoid problems.
Things that don't work when buying flights online
The objective of these myths is to be able to buy cheaper flights. However, at least generally, they're not going to work. You will see that there is no difference when you do a search, regardless of the airline.
Saved cookies and enter multiple times
Without a doubt, it is one of the biggest myths when buying a flight. The fact that you enter a page many times to see a flight is not going to make the price go up. The stored cookies, they are not going to cause that flight to go up or down in price. The system used by airlines is more complex than this and will not distinguish an action of this type.
Therefore, do not worry about entering several times to look for a flight. It's not going to increase in price. Another thing is that price increase right after someone has made a reservation. This is very common, since airlines put seats on sale depending on how many are free and how much is left for the flight. Therefore, you may buy a flight now and a friend of yours looks at it 5 minutes later and the price has increased. It is not because you have entered before to make the consultation.
Access from mobile
Another issue is that many believe that accessing from your mobile or computer, may result in a flight costing more or less. What is true in here? The reality is that it is not like that. You will pay the same, regardless of whether you enter from a computer or through a mobile device. At least, that will be the most normal.
However, it is true that there are certain platforms that sometimes launch a specific offer for you to use the mobile application. What they want is to retain customers and not use another competing program. We have seen this with platforms for booking hotels, for example, which occasionally provide offers when booking from the app. This, with airlines, can happen in very specific circumstances. It is not at all usual, but you could see specific offers.
Buying with VPN is cheaper
This is something super common to see on the Internet. In fact, many influencers promote some VPN ensuring that with this you will be able to buy cheaper flights. The truth is that this is not the case. Nowadays, the airline ticket sales system is very centralized and it doesn't matter where you search from, since it will cost the same.
At most, you can find a small difference due to the currency exchange. Sometimes, when searching for a flight from another country, the local currency will appear. There you could find some variations, although without being relevant. The problem with using a VPN is that, if you use one that is free and malicious, your data could be stolen. They might even apply a block when using VPN on certain apps.
Therefore, these are some myths when buying a flight online. It is important that you keep this in mind and do not make the mistake of, for example, installing any VPN with which your data could be stolen.