If you are searching for the cheapest economy flight available, Jetstar’s Price Beat Guarantee is a great way to book some seriously cheap flights. Essentially, Jetstar will take 10% off the price of a similar flight with another airline or their own flight advertised on a third party website. This is a great way to make a cheap flight even cheaper.
In this post:
What is Jetstar Price Beat Guarantee?
If you find a cheaper flight with another airline or a Jetstar flight advertised on an eligible third party website, Jetstar will beat it by 10%.
Price beat bookings are always ‘economy starter’ fares. This is Jetstar’s lowest fare class, and is the that is displayed when selecting a flight. Extras such as checked baggage, seat selection and meals are notprice included, although you will have the option to add these after payment. You can’t add a bundle to a price beat booking.
What’s the catch?
Needless to say, there are some terms and conditions that apply to price beat bookings, and the process can be a little complex. Despite this, it can be well worth the extra time taken to research and book a price beat flight when considering the possible savings up for grabs.
You can request a price beat on economy class flights operated by Jetstar, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific and Jetstar Japan. The full terms and conditions are available on Jetstar’s website, however, the main requirements are as follows;
Competitor flights must be:
- A direct one-way flight between the same airports
- Departing within one hour of each other, or on the same day for international flights (excluding within Asia and between Australia and New Zealand)
Jetstar flights on a third party website must be:
- Visible online (Jetstar will check the fare)
- Exactly the same flight
- Available for purchase directly through the third party website
Your claim is ineligible if:
- The website you wish to price match does not accept direct bookings
- The flight departs in less than seven days
- The cheaper price does not include all fees, surcharges and taxes
- The flight is priced in a currency other than that of the departing country
- Jetstar is unable to reasonably verify the cheaper price
How to Book a Price Beat Flight
Booking a price beat flight requires more time and patience than a regular booking. After you have found a cheaper flight with another airline or a cheaper Jetstar flight on a third party website, you can follow the below steps to complete your booking:
- Visit Jetstar’s Price Beat Guarantee page and review the terms and conditions.
- Click on the ‘Apply now’ button.
- Fill out the form providing the details of the flight you would like to price beat.
- Check your email for a response to your application. This only takes a few minutes.
- If successful, follow the link provided to complete the booking and payment.
- You can add extras in ‘manage your booking’ after you have paid for the flight itself.
Some examples
For popular routes with lots of competition, finding a cheaper comparable flight for the time you want is often simple enough.
Melbourne to Sydney is a great example of this. Searching for mid-Feburay dates, I found a Jetstar flight departing at 11am for $96, while Tigerair had a flight departing at 11:05am for $59. By submitting a price beat claim for these flights, you could score the Jetstar flight for $53.10, a saving of $42.90.
For an International example, I tried Perth to Bali Denpasar. Searching for flights departing mid-Feburay I found a Jetstar flight departing at 5:15pm for $169, while AirAsia had a flight departing at 8:05pm for $130.50. By submitting a price beat claim for these flights, Jetstar offered me their flight for $117.45, a saving of $51.55.
My final example is for a flight I took last year from Melbourne to Hobart. I was surprised to find a flight for just $12 on eDreams, an online travel agency which allows users to browse and compare flights. It is likely that this insanely low price was a mistake fare, and was probably intended to be $120. Despite this, Jetstar offered me the flight for $10.42 including card payment fees, which is slightly more than the 10% they regularly offer.
Conclusion: is this a good deal?
If price is your main consideration when booking a flight, taking the time to compare fares and submit a Price Beat Guarantee request with Jetstar may be well worth your time. Likewise, if the Jetstar flight has a more desirable departure time or offers an improved flight experience, then a Price Beat Guarantee booking also be useful to you.