Kiwi.com – a flight booking website you probably know about.
They are one of the biggest and most popular flight booking websites on the internet. One of the biggest things about them is that they can combine flights from various airlines to create itineraries. These may not be the most convenient flight itineraries, and there are things you should know about when buying these flights – but they are cheap. Often super cheap.
In this article, I’ll talk about Kiwi.com travel hacks.
Check flight compensation online.
1. Kiwi.com Travel Hacks
Kiwi.com Travel Hacks include various strategies that use smart algorithms to find budget-friendly travel options and assist in saving on flights.
1.1 Self-Transfer Hack
The most popular travel hack is the self-transfer flight option.
Unlike traditional connecting flights with one booking, self-transfer flights need separate tickets for each leg of the journey. This offers more route choices and cost savings, but you must manage layovers and luggage transfers on your own.
Kiwi offers a self-transfer hack by combining separate tickets into an itinerary.
- You won’t need to search for each flight leg individually, as Kiwi.com bundles the flights together. While the flights are sold as a package, the connection is not protected by any airline.
- You remain accountable for making it to the next flight on time.
- Remember to check in for each flight, retrieve and recheck your luggage, and pass through passport control if needed.
To reduce financial risks and inconvenience linked to self-transfer flights, Kiwi provides a special service called Kiwi Guarantee.
The Kiwi Guarantee is designed to give travellers peace of mind when using self-transfer flights. This guarantee ensures that if any part of your journey gets disrupted – whether due to flight cancellations, delays, or changes – Kiwi.com will step in to assist you. The assistance can include booking alternative flights to your destination, providing meal vouchers, arranging accommodation if required, and offering refunds where necessary.
The Kiwi Guarantee covers all modes of transportation on your trip, including buses and trains, as long as it was booked via Kiwi.com.
The Kiwi Guarantee, however, is not for free.
To benefit from it, you need to purchase it.
Kiwi.com travel hacks are smart algorithms built to find more affordable travel options and save you money on flights.
1.2 Hidden Cities Ticketing
This technique involves booking a flight with a layover at your intended destination, rather than as the final destination. By not flying the final leg of the journey, you can sometimes find cheaper tickets compared to direct flights.
This method uses pricing differences where connecting flights are cheaper than direct ones to your destination. However, airlines usually disapprove of this practice, and there are risks like issues with checked luggage and potential penalties from the airline.
- Yes, a connecting flight may be cheaper.
- Yes, airlines know about this and you risk with getting a penalty or later boarding denial. Take this into account.
- Don’t ever do it if you have a return flight and you plan to take it. It may get cancelled after you skip this one flight.
For example, if you want to fly to Chicago but discover that a flight to New York with a layover in Chicago is cheaper, you would book the New York ticket and simply get off the plane in Chicago without boarding the final flight.
1.3 Throwaway Ticketing
Similar to hidden cities, throwaway ticketing involves purchasing a round-trip or a multi-city ticket but only using a portion of the ticket. This can often be cheaper than booking a one-way ticket.
While this method can be cost-effective, it comes with certain risks.
Airlines usually disapprove of it and may penalize you for not using all segments of your ticket. Additionally, checked luggage can be an issue since it typically goes to the ticket’s final destination.
For example, if a one-way ticket to your desired destination is more expensive than a round-trip ticket, you could buy the round-trip ticket and simply not use the return flight. Similarly, if a multi-leg journey costs less than a direct flight, you might buy the multi-leg ticket and not complete all the segments.
1.4 Nomad (an Advanced Multi-City Search)
One of the most popular Kiwi.com Travel Hacks is the Nomad feature.
Launched in the summer of 2018, Kiwi Nomad is a useful feature for those travelling to multiple destinations. It’s also great for those who don’t mind stopovers or layovers along the way. Although these are self-transfer flights, Kiwi Guarantee protection makes them safer.
With Nomad, you can simply choose your origin, the places you want to visit, and how long you want to stay at each spot. You can book a return flight or travel one way.
The Nomad feature works similarly to multi-city flights, but with self-transfers (booking separate flights, often from different airlines) instead of booking all flights under one reference number.
Check flight compensation online.
2. Kiwi.com – Flight Compensation
Kiwi doesn’t compensate for missed connections.
If you miss a self-transfer flight connection, you won’t get compensation for the missed flight. You might get compensation for the disrupted flight, but not for the whole journey.
For instance, if you have booked two separate flights, such as a short Ryanair flight and a Turkish Airlines flight, and the Ryanair flight is significantly delayed, causing you to miss the Turkish Airlines flight, you would need to arrange a new flight (book it and pay for it yourself). You may be entitled to compensation only for the first flight, and only if the delay is the airline’s fault (for example, technical problems).
For short-distance flights like this, the compensation amount is limited to €250.
You are getting compensated only for the first flight.
While you can’t get compensation for a missed self-transfer flight, you might qualify for right to care and other types of compensation.
Depending on your circumstances, you might be entitled to:
- Flight delay compensation – if your flight is delayed for 3+ hours due to the airline’s fault;
- Flight cancellation compensation – if your flight is cancelled at the last minute due to the airline’s fault;
- Denied boarding compensation – if your flight is overbooked, and you are denied boarding.
Read more:
- How Much Is Flight Compensation in Europe?
- Why Should You Use a Flight Compensation Company to Claim Compensation?
3. Right to Care (and Kiwi.com Guarantee)
If you miss your connection, you’ll have to arrange and pay for a new flight, meals, and accommodation yourself. If you have travel insurance, it may cover the costs.
However, you are entitled to care if your flight is delayed, cancelled or overbooked, even for self-transfer flights. In case of a delay, cancellation or overbooking, the airline should provide free meals and accommodation for that disrupted flight, not the missed connection.
If you have a Kiwi Guarantee, reach out to Kiwi.com and describe your situation. With the Kiwi Guarantee, you have added protection compared to other passengers on self-transfer flights. Kiwi will arrange a new flight for you and could offer meals and accommodation.
Contact Kiwi as soon as possible.
Do you have more questions about Kiwi.com travel hacks? Ask in the comments.
Featured photo by RDNE Stock project from Pexels