This Cheap Flight Hack Felt Better Than Business Class

It's true that if you're a frequent flyer who spends a lot on premium travel rewards credit cards, you can get some fun perks and sweet upgrades. But some of the best airline experiences I've ever had were the times when I spent the least money.

On a recent trip to Europe, I got a super cheap airline ticket for $570 (round-trip). It ended up being one of the happiest, most comfortable trans-Atlantic flights I've ever had. The flight was nearly empty! I had a whole row of basic economy seats to myself! I was able to stretch my legs (I'm 6'3) and take up all three seats, and use all the overhead compartment space I wanted.

Want to see how I got a cheap, comfy airline experience without having elite status or upgrading to business class or using a premium travel credit card? It's all about being flexible (with dates, airlines, and flight times).

Here's how you can recreate this cheap flight hack for your next international vacation.

1. Start with Google Flights

There are a lot of great flight search tools to find cheap airfares, like Skyscanner and Kayak. But personally, I prefer Google Flights. I use Google Flights as the home base and starting point for all of my air travel bookings. Here are a few reasons why I love Google Flights.

Convenient "date grid" for flexible pricing

Google Flights has a "date grid" that shows you different airline ticket prices based on flexible dates. This makes it easy to see how much you save if you fly out a few days earlier, or come home two days later.

Search multiple airports

It's easy to use Google Flights to search for flights from multiple airports in different cities (for your departure and/or your destination). Where I live in the Midwest, sometimes I can save hundreds of dollars on flights by driving three hours to fly into and out of a different airport.

And sometimes you can get cheaper flights by searching for destinations across multiple cities, if you're flexible about where to land and begin your trip. For example, if you want to fly to Europe, you could search for flights arriving in Paris or Amsterdam or Frankfurt.

Filter by airline (and more)

Google Flights also has easy-to-use search filters so you can sort by airline or by airline alliance. You can even zero in on details like "which fares will give me a free carry-on bag" (not all airlines offer this anymore).

2. Be flexible on (almost) everything

I got my cheap flight to Europe by using Google Flights' flexible price "date grid" to find the lowest-cost airfares from my home city of Des Moines to Munich, Germany (where one of my best friends lives).

For this trip, I was flexible on most things. I was flexible about dates; I would happily stay in Europe for a few days longer if it meant a cheaper fare, because I was going to stay with my friend for free. I didn't search multiple airports on this trip, because I just wanted to fly out of my home airport in Des Moines without having to drive to Chicago or Minneapolis.

And I was also flexible about airlines -- I'll fly on almost any international airline, as long as the price is cheap and the connections are doable. I chose an airfare that required me to switch airlines between United Airlines and its partner, Lufthansa -- but it was no big hassle.

When I saw the Google Flights airfare price results come up, I was shocked to discover a $570 round-trip fare -- and I immediately grabbed my credit card to book it. If you want to fly from the Midwest to Europe, that's a really cheap price; I don't even think my first-ever flight to Europe 24 years ago was that cheap. But because I was flexible about (almost) everything, I got a great deal.

3. Go when (and where) other people aren't

Why was my plane ticket so cheap? For one thing, I was traveling to Europe during an off-peak travel season. I've also had good luck in the past getting cheap trips to Europe at unpopular times; for example, I once had a great three-week trip to Europe in February, for $720 round-trip, because most international tourists don't want to travel there during winter.

But you know what? Europe in winter is still Europe -- even if it's cold and gray, you can go to museums and coffee shops and bars, and have lots of fun indoors. And Europe's winters are milder than the frigid cold and life-threatening blizzards of my home city in the Midwest. Traveling during off-peak tourist seasons makes me feel like I'm beating the system.

I also snagged a cheap airline ticket because I was traveling at unpopular times, on less-crowded flights. Not everyone wants to fly out of Des Moines at 6:30 p.m. on a weeknight, apparently -- or connect through Chicago in only 45 minutes. But I made it work! It's part of the adventure! I love racing through the airport for a can't-miss flight connection -- it makes life feel more urgent, more focused, more vibrant.

Bottom line

The more flexible you can be with your travel plans, the more money you can save on airline tickets. If you want to get a great price on international airline travel especially, it's often worth using some extra paid time off so you can fly out earlier -- or come home later.

Be willing to try different international airlines, accept an overnight stopover or long layover at exotic new airports, and fly at times of day (and seasons of the year) when most other people don't want to travel.