Travel May 16, 2026 0 Comments

How I Uncovered $173 in Hidden Flight Credits This Week—And How You Can Too

Ever gotten that unexpected ping in your inbox that makes you do a double-take? Imagine snagging a future flight credit without breaking a sweat—yeah, that happened to me multiple times last week. Sounds like a dream, right? But with airfares soaring thanks to rising fuel costs, nailing the perfect booking moment has become trickier than ever. I used to agonize over when to hit that “purchase” button, but now? If the fare looks even remotely okay, I grab it. The catch? Booking early always felt like a gamble—what if prices drop afterward? Luckily, there’s a new breed of fare-tracking tools stepping in to smooth the ride. I dove into Junova, letting it secretly keep tabs on my flights, and boom—future flight credits started rolling in, no extra effort needed. Curious how this money-saving magic works and how you can turn it to your advantage? Buckle up and read on. LEARN MORE.

Multiple times this past week, I received a very exciting notification in my inbox: I’d earned a future flight credit … with almost no work on my part.

Here’s why that happened and how you can get in on it, too.

First, some background on why this matters now more than ever. It’s no secret that airfare prices are up in large part due to higher fuel costs.

Because of that, my usual advice on when to book flights has shifted a bit. These days, if I know I’m taking a trip and the fare is even remotely reasonable, I usually go ahead and book it — even if it’s too far in advance or a little more expensive than I’d prefer.

The upside of doing this is peace of mind. If prices keep climbing, at least my trip is secured. But traditionally, the downside to booking early is obvious: You risk overpaying if fares later drop.

This is becoming less of a risk, though, thanks to a growing number of fare-tracking tools that automatically monitor bookings after purchase. These tools track flights you’ve already booked and secure a future flight credit if the price drops.

I’ve been using a service called Junova to monitor the prices of several of my upcoming summer flights for a little while now. However, thanks to the general upward trend in airfare, none of the trips I had booked and forwarded to Junova had dropped in price … until this week.

Recently, I started receiving some exciting notices about future flight credits.

At first, I was honestly confused because the credit notification from United arrived before the notification from Junova did.

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But in the background, Junova had been monitoring the fare the whole time. Every time the price dipped below what I originally paid, I automatically received another future flight credit.

After I received the flight credits, my seat selections were still there, and nothing discernible had changed about the flights at all — except for the fact that I received future flight credits to put toward my next booking.

There’s no fee to try Junova as it only charges you if it finds savings for your flight. If it finds savings, then it charges a fee to your credit card equal to 20% of your savings. However, new users can get a $25 credit, meaning your first $125 in savings shouldn’t cost you anything thanks to that referral credit.

In a world where airfare feels increasingly unpredictable, tools like this can help take some of the sting out of booking early.

If prices rise, you’re protected because you already locked in your fare. And if prices fall? You may end up with a future flight credit without lifting a finger.