Jan 22, 20234 min read

Cash Back Travel Hack: 3 Programs for Cheaper Flights

Updated: Aug 27

Imagine my surprise (and delight) when I logged in to check some possible flight deals this morning and I see this new banner at the top of my Google Flights screen:

Screenshot of the new Price Guarantee announcement on Google Flights

Note: Always Pack Tissues represents many tried and tested travel sites as what is called an 'affiliate' partner. That means if you click on my ads I may get a commission from a resulting sale.

Of course I needed to learn more, ASAP. Apparently flight tools are offering cash back left and right now, and somehow I've been left in the dust paying full price?! Here I provide details on two of the internet's hottest flight tools offering cash back right now.

1) Google Flights Price Guarantee

Google is offering a new pilot program to give people money back if a flight costs less at some point between the day you booked and the day of travel.

How Does It Work?

Because of their super suave Google algorithms, they stamp certain flights with the colorful dollar sign badge seen above, marking it as eligible for the price guarantee pilot program.

With this stamp, Google believes they are offering you the best price possible and that you will likely not see a decrease in that rate before you travel.

This is cool because if you trust Google implicitly, you can pretty much bank on the flight price you see being the floor price for the dates and destination you are looking at.

What's The Fine Print?

The price difference needs to be more than 5 USD to get cash back
This pilot program is only for folks with a US address booking a flight departing the US using USD
You must have Google Pay downloaded on your cell phone. This is how you would get your refund
You have to book your flight on Google flights (not outbound on the airline website)
You have to be signed in to your Google account when you are booking

Want more details on the new Price Guarantee on Google Flights? Check out their FAQ here: https://support.google.com/travel/answer/9430556?hl=en

2) WayAway's Cash Back Travel Program

Google has their work cut out for them with the emergence of popular flight aggregator tools like WayAway. Booking starts at wayaway.io.

Using the tool is as simple as using any other booking widget. Just plug in your destination and details and search for flights.

Once you book, you'll get a notification that your cash back has arrived. So simple!

So what's the catch?

Interestingly enough, there doesn't seem to be a catch. The new flight booking tool emerged as a program out of Travelpayouts popular affiliate program with the desire to connect travelers to a robust cashback program. This is done simply by providing a portion of the commission (between WayAway and the airline when you book) right back into your pocket.

How Do I Get Paid?

Cashback is sent directly to your PayPal account with the WayAway Plus membership, and you can even get cashback for things like booking a hotel on Booking.com through the WayAway platform.

Is This For Real?

Partnering directly with the affiliates offered on Travelpayouts (like Booking.com, Viator and GetYourGuide), WayAway is able to tap into some crazy deals for the consumer. We're talking 5% cashback on flights upwards to 10% for some of the other programs and a mindboggling 20% off on select Booking.com items.

I don't know what I've been doing wrong all these years, because this sounds like a game changer. The only thing is, you need WayAway Plus to get these extra benefits. The membership starts at an early-bird annual rate of $49.99, so it won't take many trips for that to start paying off in dividends.

Use the Promo Code AlwaysPackTissues to get 10% off a WayAway Plus membership!

Note: it doesn't seem like you get direct cash back without the Plus membership. Without it, you're still getting a really cool and robust booking tool, but not with the bells and whistles of the Plus plan.

3) Walmart+ Travel Booking

My brain nearly exploded when I discovered Walmart's version of Amazon Prime. On top of the perks of free shipping for groceries, products I already love and more, there are perks like Paramount+ membership and so on. It's an amazing, low cost program.

You can sign up by simply going to Walmart's website.

Now here's the mind-blowing part: Walmart+ members get CASH BACK in the form of Walmart Cash for booking travel through their Expedia partnered travel booking tool.

Expedia is already a brand we know and trust, and so is Walmart, so it's a no brainer to me. Simply enter your criteria for searching flights (or hotels, cars, etc) and it will populate a list of options, along with how much money you can get back in Walmart Cash.

Your Walmart Cash can be used for buying the everyday household products you love, and with free shipping from the Walmart+ plan. It couldn't be easier!