Aviasales vs Kayak: Which Gets Me Cheaper Flights?

Aviasales vs Kayak: where do you get the flight cheaper? In the end the price question is settled by the seller you buy from, since both sites are only signposts. For your cashback the picture is simpler: Aviasales has a shop page at daily cashback and Kayak has none. So Aviasales is our pick whenever you would like money back on a flight, and we walk through the whole process with confirmation and cancellation. Status: October 2026.

Two search engines, one clear difference with us

By its own description Aviasales compares flights and hands the booking to the websites of airlines and agencies. Kayak is similar: it calls itself a search engine and not a travel agency, and you book with the provider, in some cases through a Book on KAYAK option with a third party.

We have an Aviasales shop page. There you see the current rate and start your search. For Kayak we run no shop page, so there is no cashback from us for it.

Step by step to cashback

• Sign in to your free account and open the Aviasales shop page.
• Use the button to the provider and run your route again, even if you saw it on Kayak before.
• Choose the fare you identified as suitable and buy in one go at the seller.
• Wait for the itinerary receipt. It comes from the seller, normally within 3 hours according to Aviasales.

The order matters. Matching works only if the click from our page happens shortly before the purchase. If you searched on Kayak first and clicked an offer there, the path is already a different one, and there is no cashback.

When cashback is confirmed

Your purchase first shows as pending in your account. It is confirmed once Aviasales has confirmed it. After that the cashback becomes payable under the offer terms. The shop page states the balance from which PayPal payout is possible. It is normal for this to take a few days or longer.

Kayak's tools and your cashback

Kayak brings useful aids along. They include price alerts and a calendar of daily fares, a search that also checks three days either side of your wish date and, on return trips, a forecast of how the price may move over the coming week. Use them to watch prices if you like. Purchase and cashback then still run through Aviasales and our shop page. On the forecast Kayak itself says it is not guaranteed to be right and shows a confidence level.

A special case is Kayak's Hacker Fares. These are two separate one-way tickets, each with its own booking number and its own rules. With us cashback applies only to Aviasales purchases. With such a construction, do not count on a reward for the Kayak part.

Cancellation and refunds

For cashback, what stays with the seller at the end is what counts. If your order is refunded or cancelled, the related cashback can be declined or reversed. How much of the ticket price you get back is set by the fare and the airline rules, as Aviasales states in its help. On the Kayak side, any cancellation is dealt with by whichever airline or agency produced your ticket. So only buy a strict fare if you are sure to fly.

If your date is shaky, look at what the fare says about changes and refunds before you buy. Aviasales shows the fare rules its partners supply when you open the ticket. A refund from the seller costs you your cashback. Whether a change makes a difference depends on the seller, so when in doubt ask us before you have it changed.

An everyday example

Picture yourself searching in autumn for a flight next spring. On Kayak you set a price alert and look at the calendar to see which weekday would be cheaper. When the alert fires, you do not follow the link in the email to buy. You open the Aviasales shop page, search the same connection and compare the final price with baggage. If it fits, you buy there in one session. That is ten minutes of extra effort that can pay for itself through the cashback.

Cashback compared

Question	Aviasales	Kayak
Shop page with us	yes	no
Buying route	via the seller Aviasales names	at the provider, sometimes Book on KAYAK
Cashback after purchase	pending, then confirmed	none
Refund or cancellation	cashback falls away	not applicable
Watching prices	calendar and app	alert, calendar, forecast
Outside discount codes	can put the cashback at risk	not applicable

In short

Feel free to look at the price trend on Kayak if you still have time. To buy, join us: shop page, Aviasales, seller, one session. That gives you the same flight comparison with cashback on top, and not a penny of extra cost.