Surely you have ever read on the Internet about the use of VPN to buy cheaper flights. It is something that we also see a lot on social networks, YouTube videos, etc. Now, is it really so? Can we buy cheaper flights if we have a VPN program installed on our mobile or computer? I am going to tell you, based on my experience, what I have found after having tried it on numerous occasions and see if it is true or not.
A VPN what it does is simulate that you are connected from another place. That is, you can be in Spain, for example, but you connect to a server located in Germany or Japan and it is basically as if you were physically in those countries. The IP address changes and websites detect that you are connecting from somewhere else.
The reality of cheap flights with VPN
In my experience I can say that this is not as pretty as it may seem. We see videos where they announce that you can buy a flight of, for example, €800 for €200 less. The truth is that this is not the case or, at least, it is not usual. Although it must be said that you can find certain price differences rarely.
So what happens when you buy a flight with a VPN? What can happen, basically, are two things: that there is a specific offer to attract customers from a certain country or, more frequently, that the currency exchange is favorable for you due to the typical rounding that they usually do.
The first will happen especially with long distance routes. For example, a flight from Spain to Latin America or Asia. Perhaps a company has recently opened that route or in its strategy between promoting travelers who go from one country to another. For this reason, perhaps by connecting to a VPN that has an IP from that particular country, you could find certain offers. As I said, it is not common at all and you will really only see it on long-haul flights.
The second option has to do with the currency exchange. If you enter the websites of Low Cost companies, especially, you can see prices of the type €50.99, €75.99, etc. Of course, the airlines adapt to the local currency of each country. For example, if you connect to a UK VPN, the price will appear in pounds; if you do it from a server hosted in Turkey, it will appear in Turkish lira. It is possible that, in order to put a more attractive price, they do the same as with those two examples that we have given, but in their currency. With that change, you could save a few euros.
Advantages of a VPN when traveling
Regardless of whether it is useful for buying flights or not, a VPN is certainly interesting when traveling. On the one hand, you can use it to connect to public Wi-Fi networks and avoid computer attacks that may affect you. For example, if you connect at an airport or train station, you don’t really know if that network is reliable or there are intruders. Apps like Surfshark or NordVPN are very useful.
It is also useful to use programs or social networks normally. There are countries where platforms like Facebook or Google are blocked, but if you use a VPN with servers hosted in another country, you won’t have any problems connecting. You can even continue watching your Netflix series just as if you were at home.
In addition, there are programs that, for security reasons, are blocked when opened in another country. I have verified this with some banks. When it detects that the IP is from another country, especially from outside the European Union, it does not let you log in as it detects that it could be a malicious attempt. With a VPN, this does not happen.
As you see, the reality of buy flights with VPN cheaper is not as many claim. There are really very specific cases in which you could save some money, but it is not common at all. Maybe at one time it was more common, but at least it isn’t today.
