Let’s face it: Travel can be expensive. Whether you’re planning a solo trip or a family vacation, even economy flights can set you back thousands of dollars. However, there is a way to save money on your biggest travel expense.
As a frequent traveler, I am constantly looking for tips and tricks to get me from point A to point B without breaking the bank. And one travel app does most of the busy work for me — well, aside from actually booking my flight.
Going is a subscription-based travel tool and app that helps users find the best flight deals. From cash fares to points and miles redemptions, here’s everything you need to know about using Going to help book your next getaway.
Related: Traveling in 2025? These 12 apps and websites make award redemptions easier to find
What is Going? Details on the travel app and tool
This travel app offers three membership tiers, which track flight prices via Google Flights:
Limited membership
- Cost: $0 (no credit card needed)
If you want to try out Going and see deals solely within the continental U.S., start with the Limited plan. This basic plan does not cost any money and will alert you to economy-class deals within the U.S. (with the exception of Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories).
This membership tier also includes a weekly newsletter, which hits on topics such as travel advice, destinations, travel experiences and more.
Premium membership
- Cost: $4.08 per month/$49 annually
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For a mid-tier option, the travel app offers a Premium plan, which will send you economy flight deals within the U.S. — including for Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories — international economy deals, low mistake fares, points and miles redemption deals, custom destination alerts, and a “curated” selection of partner discounts.
What stands out about this particular plan is that you can create a “watchlist” of up to 10 preferred destinations. If Going finds a great deal from your desired airport to this specified location, you will receive an alert via email, or you can view it on your account page.
The app also tracks great award redemptions.
For example, I received an alert that I can book a round-trip flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Mexico City International Airport (MEX) on select dates from May through January via Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for as few as 18,000 points or via Delta Air Lines for as few as 20,000 SkyMiles plus applicable taxes and fees.
The app outlines the deal and also shares a breakdown of eligible credit card transfer partners (including whether an issuer is offering a transfer bonus). Plus, it gives a step-by-step guide on how to book the award flight.
Elite membership
- Cost: $16.58 per month/$199 annually
Those wanting to snag premium-cabin deals should sign up for the Elite membership. This elevated tier has all of the same perks as the Premium membership, plus deal alerts on premium economy, business-class and first-class flights.
So, if snagging an international, lie-flat, business-class seat is a top priority, this membership tier is for you. Plus, you can try the Elite tier for free for 14 days.
Related: The best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare in 2025
How does Going work?
After you sign up for one of the three membership plans, you can start filtering the deals to suit your travel needs. On your profile, you can add your home airport as well as additional airports for Going to check; click if you want to be notified about domestic deals and international deals, or just one or the other. Currently, I have Orlando International Airport (MCO) listed as my home airport, as well as other airports around South Florida.
Plus, since my family lives in the tristate area, I also added Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to my airport list. As someone who is always searching for a great deal, I’m not above taking a positioning flight to get a better price.
How to find flight deals using Going
After inputting your desired airports, you can click on the “Deals” tab to see a dashboard of active flight deals. If you don’t feel like scrolling through hundreds of deals, you can filter your search by specific departure airports, airlines, number of stops, month of travel, price and even the travel experience you want.
Under the “Experience” filter, you can click on the following destination themes: beach, mountains, foodie, national park, family-friendly, wine tasting, arts and entertainment, shopping, nightlife, outdoorsy, history and architecture, tropical, and accessibility.
As someone who recently had a baby, I tailored my search to a family-friendly destination close to a national park. Going matched me with several economy flight deals, including to Bangor, Maine, and Phoenix. There were round-trip flights to both destinations for less than $150.
Users who have Premium or Elite memberships will also see international deals.
Related: 6 key tools and tips to find the cheapest airfare
Add destinations to your ‘watchlist’ on the Going app
Since I have the Premium membership, I also have eight “watchlist” destinations on my profile. If you have either the Premium or Elite membership, you can add up to 10 destinations for the app to “watch.”
For example, Japan is a bucket list country of mine; therefore, I added it to my destination list for the app to search for flight deals. It alerted me to a round-trip economy flight from PHL to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) for $888 between September and December.
What I like about this app is that it offers concise information. It tells me not only the current deal price, but also the average deal cost (based on previous deals for this route), the last deal this route offered and the best deal that has been offered on this route. It also lets me know the airline and layover times. All of this information allows me to make an informed decision on whether I think it’s worth it to book the cash price.
If you find a deal that interests you, you can start the booking process by clicking “Book on Google Flights.” This will open an additional Google Flights tab. If you are unsatisfied with the chosen trip dates, click on the calendar within Google Flights to see additional dates and prices.
Get points and miles deal alerts
If you currently earn transferable rewards with your travel credit card, you can save your cash and book your flight using points and miles. Since I have a Premium membership, I am able to check out active points and miles deals.
However, these award flight deals are not filtered to only your preferred airports.
Note that with a Premium membership, I can only view points and miles deals in economy class. The Elite membership lets you view premium economy, business-class and first-class award flights.
Related: Deal alert: Points and miles travel deals for 2025
Best travel credit cards to book flights
Travel rewards cards can help you save your cold, hard cash and instead use reward points to book flights.
Here are TPG’s favorite travel credit cards offering strong welcome bonuses:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Offer ending soon.
- American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months of card membership.
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 ThankYou Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.
Bottom line
Going takes the busy work out of searching for flights. Whether I input my desired destination or get alerts about flight deals that pique my interest, it’s a nice tool to have in my back pocket — especially if I want to take multiple vacations a year or find the best deal for my bucket list destination.
Looking at all of the flight deals on my Going profile, it’s easy to start planning my next destination itinerary. And, as a first-time mom, a girl needs to dream a little, right?