Tiger Airways and Jetstar are the cheapest airlines for domestic travel in Australia. Tiger is usually the cheaper option but, you really get what you pay for: bad service, uncomfortable seats, and a miserly baggage allowance. Jetstar is the better option although it’s usually pricier. But there is a way around that.
Jetstar has a little known offer called Price Beat Guarantee which I have used many times before. If you find a comparable flight that is cheaper than Jetstar’s price, the airline will beat it by 10 per cent. There are a few conditions to this, one being the domestic flight you request a price match for has to be depart within one hour of a comparable Jetstar flight.
So if a cheaper Tiger flight leaves at 4:15pm and there is a Jetstar one leaving at 4:45pm, then the Price Beat Guarantee will be valid. For popular routes such as Sydney to Melbourne, finding a comparable flight for the time you want is usually quite easy. Other local routes may require you to adjust your travel schedule a bit. You also need to make sure you book 72 hours before the schedule flight for the deal to be valid.
Price Beat Guarantee isn’t readily advertised on Jetstar’s website so to cash in on the offer, you’ll have to navigate to a specific page (we’ve saved you the trouble; here’s the link). From there, you’ll have to start an online chat with a Jetstar customer service representative and input information about the flight you want Jetstar to beat the price on.
The whole booking process is done through the online chat and usually takes no more than 15 minutes. Price Beat also applies to international flights but I’ve found it the most useful when I’m making regular trips around Australia.
This offer isn’t new, but it’s surprising how many people are unaware of it and how many of my friends thank me profusely when I tell them about the Price Beat Guarantee. Now go spread the word!
Want more advice on how to nab cheaper airfares? We’ve put together a list of the five cheapest booking sites here.
Comments
7 responses to “Avoid Flying Tiger Airways With Jetstar Price Matching”
Other important caveat: You need to book 72 hours before your scheduled flight.
This doesn’t sound like it should be a big deal, but it left me flying Tiger a number of times last year (and swearing ‘This will be the *very* *last* *time*’ nearly every time).
Oh, startup life. Sacrificing my dignity and personal comfort for investors since 2014.
That’s a good point! I’ll amend the article to include it. I usually book a month before I go on a trip so it doesn’t bother me but I’m sure a lot of people who do have to book last minute.
I have to disagree Jetstar has far worse customer service than Tiger since Tiger has been taken under Virgin’s wing.
Yeah, I agree. If you’re looking to avoid “bad service, uncomfortable seats, and a miserly baggage allowance. “, I don’t think flying Jetstar is the right strategy.
Especially if you also value getting to your destination safely and on time.
I didn’t know that Tiger was part of Virgin now. Interesting to see if their service improves as a result.
The problem I’ve found is jetstar rarely fly within that window to avoid the price match (only managed to get it once and that was because the person i was speaking to looked at the wrong day, and i corrected him at the end when confirming everything, he didn’t go back and check the price match).
Also make sure they don’t charge you any booking fees if you have to speak to someone to book for a price match like the guy i spoke with tried to do.
I fly every second weekend and if I am not quick enough to nab some cheaper seats on full service airlines I often find myself flying Jetstar or Tiger. I have to say Tiger’s service has improved dramatically and so too has their on time performance. They are still not my first choice, but they are no longer the burden to fly with that they once were. The only thing that I dislike is that Tiger can and will cancel a flight for a variety of reasons, Since their flights are not as frequent as most of the large carriers there will often not be another flight on the same day. Jetstar has the power to put you on another flight and even put you on a Qantas plane if need be, particularly if you have a high status with Qantas Frequent Flyer.
At the end of the day though, all of the airlines in Australia follow strict guidelines and all will get you to your destination safely. Some just do it better than others