A few years ago I wrote a blog post about flying cheaper with low-cost airlines overseas that received thousands of clicks and was one of the most read posts on this site. Since then technology has continued to evolve (hello Google Trips) and new low-cost airlines rapidly have come (Wow) and gone (Primera Air). But one constant has remained. Google Flights continues to save me and other travelers big money on airline tickets.

Take for example my experience just a few weeks ago. I had several days of vacation that I wanted to burn before the Christmas vacation. I thought about driving from Detroit to Montreal and Quebec, but the hotels one week out were going to cost me a fortune. That’s when I turned to Google Flights.

I am fortunate to live in Detroit, home of one of the United States’ main air hubs. We have many international flights from Detroit Metro (DTW). Unfortunately, Delta has a huge price control in this market since it dominates the market, much like American Airlines in Dallas (DFW) and Qantas in Brisbane (BNE). That means I often pay more from DTW than I would pay out of other international and more diversified airports such as Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD). By using Google flights, I can search by map instead to see what are the cheapest destinations from each of these cities.

For example, I wanted to escape the cold to the Caribbean, but the airfare slotted in at $500 or more only one week out on Google Flights from DTW to Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, Curaçao, Mexico and most Caribbean destinations. When I searched flights from YYZ, I first saw flights that were about $350 to Costa Rica. But the price was about to get even more beautiful thanks to Google Flights. I was able to see other destinations on the map including $164 roundtrip to Cancún, so I ended up flying from Toronto to Cancún.

I booked an even more amazing deal earlier in 2018. In February, I used Google Flights to book $410 tickets that took me from DTW to Shanghai and Hong Kong back to DTW. After Shanghai, I wanted to fly to Singapore, but the airfare was going to be $500 from Shanghai. However, the airfare from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur was only $79. I could spend 24 hours in the Malaysian capital then take the five-hour bus ride to Singapore from KL City Centre.

So if you are flying overseas and you are flexible on your destination, make sure you shop your airfare on Google Flights. You could save big money!