Google Flights and WayAway Are Offering Cheap Flights With Cashback - How Do They Work?
Updated: Oct 3, 2023
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:
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.
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
WayAway's Cash Back 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.
The Bottom Line
So think about it like this - Google Flights Price Guarantee sometimes offers cash back on some flights, based on an algorithm indicating that it's about as low as it's going to get.
But it stops there.
With WayAway Plus you can get savings on your whole entire trip - from hotels, taxis, tours, and more, all because it's plugged into this amazing affiliate network called Travelpayouts. So if you want cheap flights with cashback, WayAway Plus seems to be the winner here.
Want To Become An Affiliate For WayAway?
Join the "cheap flights with cashback" affiliate program here. This will allow you to sign up for TravelPayouts, one of the top platforms for travel bloggers to earn income through affiliate marketing. WayAway, Booking.com, Viator, GetYourGuide and all the greats are there, available for you to promote on your travel blog or website today. Being a member of the WayAway affiliate program also gets you a 7 day free trial to try it out yourself. Give it a go and don't forget to use this link!
