Travel is, hands-down, my favorite thing to spend money on. I’ll gladly negotiate my bills and shop at the dollar store if it means I’ll have more money to see the world.

But if I can save money on flights and rental cars and hotels, then that’s even better. Recently, I’ve come across a few unconventional ways to save money on flights. Travel “hacks,” if you will (will you?) It involves some unusual booking strategies and a little outside-the-box thinking. Let’s get to it, buddies.   

Going Round-Trip? Two One-Way Tickets Could be Cheaper

A few months ago, I booked a trip to Houston for a friend’s wedding. A round trip flight was $350. But when I booked the flights separately, it was only $305, total. Boom! I saved nearly fifty bucks.

Kendal Perez of Hassle Free Savings wrote about this tactic, too. For her trip, she found that two one-way flights were $100 less than round-trip.

Sometimes, it’s the exact same flight on the same airline. Other times, you’ll find that different flights, around that same window, are cheaper. Or you might even mix and match airlines, depending on their prices.

This trick doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a shot.

Going One-Way? A Round-Trip Ticket Could be Cheaper

Conversely, booking round-trip is sometimes actually cheaper than booking a single one-way flight. A friend, let’s call him Bruno, recently told me about his own money saving experience, and it kind of blew my mind. It’s a little confusing, but it’s worth figuring out.

Bruno was traveling from Destination A to Destination B. He only needed a one-way ticket (he planned to travel from Destination B to a different city, later). But the price for that one-way ticket was a whopping $1,200. 

But, if he booked that exact same flight as part of a round-trip ticket, its price dropped to $640–only for that leg, though. So, to make the hack worthwhile, he’d have to find a cheap return flight to Destination A–a flight he’d never take. The cheapest one he could find was $199, making the total for a round-trip flight $839. 

Despite the wasted ticket, that would still be significantly less than the original $1,200. But Bruno had another idea…

Price Flights in the Opposite Direction

Since round trip was cheaper anyway, Bruno looked at flights going the opposite direction–from Destination B to Destination A, then back to Destination B. That second flight was the one he actually needed. The round-trip price? $579. Yes, the first flight from B to A would be a waste. But now, he’s saved more than half the cost of the original one-way flight. And all he did was check the price of a round-trip flight going the opposite direction.

Of course, this only works if you have a one-way trip.

The Hidden City Method: Get Off During a Layover

I thought I was good at saving money, but Bruno makes me look like Imelda Marcos in a DSW. He gave me yet another tip.

For the end of his vacation, he needed a one-way ticket from Destination B to Destination C. That one-way ticket was $700. Instead, he booked a $200 ticket from Destination B to Phoenix. He has no business in Phoenix, but that flight has a layover in Destination C, where he will then get off the plane and go home.

And here’s the thing–it’s the exact same seat on the exact same flight that was originally $700.

Disclaimers: Naturally, I asked Bruno if I could share his experience. He warned me that he’s read this type of thing might violate the rules of certain airlines. So, obviously, read the airline’s fine print if you try to “hack” the system for cheaper flight prices.

There’s also a part of me that’s concerned doing this somehow raises the bar for flight prices in general. Booking a flight you don’t need makes the flight more crowded and in-demand, right? I’m not sure if it works that way, but I think it’s at least worth considering.

But damn, what a deal. And here are some resources that will help with your research:

• ITA Matrix
• Google Flights
• Kayak Hacker Fares

Have you guys saved money on flights by getting creative with your flight search? Divulge your secrets in the comments.