Most people install a VPN for security reasons, and yes, using one on public WiFi is a smart move. But there is a second reason frequent travellers swear by them, and it has nothing to do with safety – it's about price.
If you have ever noticed that a flight seemed cheaper when you searched from a different device, or that hotel rates vary depending on where you are browsing from, you have already bumped into something called geo-pricing. Travel companies adjust what they charge based on your location which can mean the difference between blowing your entire travel budget on flights, and scoring a deal. A VPN lets you change that location, and the savings can be significant. Here is how it works, and how to actually use it.
For those who are new here, I'm Lucy, a solo travel expert and adventure seeker who is passionate about giving women the tools (and the confidence) to try solo travel. I've travelled around the globe to 60+ countries and I pride myself in giving real, raw, honest advice to help you plan your dream trip, try exploring lesser-known destinations and weave in unique and authentic experiences to every itinerary. Most importantly – I'm all about finding ways to make your travel budget stretch further so you can spend your money on those once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Make sure you check out my other articles sharing travel tips and tricks for saving money when booking trips: How to save money for travel – 10 ways to start today, 17 Tips for Finding Cheap Flights and 25 Ways To Get Cheap Hotel Deals
How to use a VPN to save money on travel? Here's where you'll find:
- What is geo-pricing and why does it affect you?
- How to use a VPN to find cheaper flights and hotels
- Which booking platforms respond best to this
- Other ways a VPN saves money on the road
- A few things to keep in mind
- The bottom line
What is geo-pricing and why does it affect you?
Airlines, hotel booking platforms, and car rental companies do not show everyone the same price. They use your IP address to detect where you are browsing from, and then apply regional pricing based on that location. A traveller searching from the Netherlands may see a different fare than someone searching from Thailand, Poland, or Brazil for the exact same flight. This is not a glitch. It is a deliberate pricing strategy, and it happens across Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Hertz, and many others.
Research with VPN found that a US traveller booking a one-week stay at a five-star hotel in London could save over $170 simply by searching using a UK-based server. In another example, a car rental at London Gatwick via Expedia came in at over $2,100 when booked from a US IP address, compared to just over $1,100 using a UK server. It could mean saving the cost of another trip and that's not just pocket change.
The key thing to understand: incognito mode does not help here. It blocks cookies and browsing history, but your IP address, which is what reveals your location to booking sites, stays exactly the same. A VPN changes your IP address. That is the actual fix.
How to use a VPN to find cheaper flights and hotels
The process is straightforward once you have a VPN set up. First, download and install ExpressVPN to your laptop or phone, then follow these simple steps:
- Clear your cookies and browsing history. You want a clean slate before you start comparing prices. Cached data from previous searches can influence what you see.
- Connect to a VPN server in a different country. Most VPNs give you access to server locations across dozens of countries. Start with countries that tend to have lower purchasing power relative to your home country, as travel platforms often offer lower base prices to those markets.
- Search in incognito or private mode. While incognito alone does not change your IP, combining it with a VPN gives you the cleanest possible search environment.
- Compare results across at least three to four different server locations. Prices vary and there is no single "cheapest country" that works for every route or hotel. Testing takes five minutes and can save you a noticeable amount.
- When you find a better price, book immediately. Fares change fast. Do not close the tab to compare on a different site. Grab it when you see it.
Hot tip: when you pay, make sure your payment method matches the currency or country you are booking from, or use a card with no foreign transaction fees. Some platforms flag mismatches between your apparent location and your card's billing country, which can cause issues at checkout.
Which booking platforms respond best to this
Not every platform uses geo-pricing to the same extent, but the following are worth testing:
- Flights: Google Flights, Skyscanner, and direct airline websites. Switching server locations on airline sites in particular can surface local fares that are not visible from your home country.
- Hotels: Booking.com, Hotels.com, and Agoda. Agoda in particular is known for significant price differences depending on browsing location, especially for Southeast Asia bookings.
- Car rentals: Hertz, Budget, and Europcar via aggregators like Expedia. Research has consistently shown price gaps here when browsing from outside the US.
- Accommodation packages: Sites like Expedia and Kayak that bundle flights and hotels together.
Other ways a VPN saves money on the road
The geo-pricing trick is the headline, but there are a few other ways a VPN is useful for travellers who want to keep costs down.
Streaming subscriptions while abroad
If you pay for a streaming service at home, you may find your library shrinks significantly when you cross a border. A VPN lets you connect to your home country's servers and access what you already pay for.
Avoiding price hikes on other purchases
The same dynamic pricing logic applies to software, online tools, and even some electronics. If you are making any significant online purchase while travelling, it is worth checking the price from a different server location first.
Secure access to your home banking and admin
Some banks flag or block logins from unfamiliar countries. Connecting via a home country server before logging in avoids that headache entirely, which is useful when you are managing finances on the road and cannot afford to get locked out.
A few things to keep in mind
Using a VPN for better travel prices is legal in most countries, but it does sit in a grey area with some booking platforms' terms of service. The practical risk is low, particularly for searching and comparing. Some platforms may occasionally revert a fare if your payment method does not match the location you searched from, so always double-check at checkout.
Also worth knowing: this strategy does not work every single time. Prices are dynamic and influenced by many factors beyond location, including demand, seat availability, and how far out you are booking. Sometimes the prices are identical across locations. But when it does work, the savings are real, and the effort involved is minimal.
The bottom line
A VPN is one of those tools that solo travellers and frequent flyers tend to discover late, and then wonder how they managed without it. The safety benefits on public WiFi are real and well-documented. But the money-saving angle is just as practical, and far less talked about. If you are already planning your next trip and comparing prices, spending two minutes switching server locations before you book is about the lowest-effort travel hack there is.
