7 Cebu Pacific Seat Sale Hacks That 100% Worked for Me!

I’m living proof that Cebu Pacific’s seat sales are real! And that it’s possible to travel without breaking the bank. I’ve been to many countries thanks to Piso fare flights. Believe it or not, I’ve traveled to Japan twice and only spent less than Php 4,000 for each round trip fare. Unbelievably cheap, right?

Here’s the breakdown:

Tokyo, Japan 2018 = Php 2,204.98 all-in (Php 1.00 base fare)
MNL – NRT – MNL

Nagoya, Japan 2019 = Php 3,711.06 all-in (Php 11.11 base fare)
MNL – NGY – MNL

Osaka, Japan 2020 = Php 3,808.74 all-in (Php 1.00 base fare) – CANCELED HUHU

NOTE: Go to this post if your Cebu Pacific flights are canceled due to COVID-19. You’ll find more details and options for you.

My friends know that I’m such a thrifty traveler who thinks traveling shouldn’t cost a fortune. So my heart (and wallet) is super happy every time I score seat sale tickets.

Today I’ll share with you the seat sale hacks that I learned along the way and which actually worked for me. So keep on reading!

7 Cebu Pacific Seat Sale Hacks That You Should Do Next Time You Book Online

Plan ahead

Prepare a list of destination/s you want to visit. In case your top choice ran out of seat sale already, you can check your next dream destination.

The reason I was able to book my Japan trips successfully is that I know from the beginning I wanted to travel to Japan. It’s my first choice so that’s the country I immediately selected from the drop-down list. I know some people who check Cebu Pac’s seat sales aimlessly and only deciding they want to visit this or that destination after a good 15 minutes or so. Guys, please don’t waste precious minutes (more on this later).

Also, if booking another person/s with you, make sure you all agree on the travel dates. Remember, you cannot change the dates once you have successfully booked your seat sale fares. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead and discuss these things in advance.

💡 PRO TIP: Ask your companions the dates they are NOT available, it’s easier to schedule this way. Trust me. 😉 Once you know their unavailable dates, scheduling will be a breeze.

Keep in mind also the season/weather when choosing your travel dates. If you wish to see the cherry blossoms, then check which months it’s best to visit and start your seat sale search from that travel period.

Seat sales usually start at midnight

I know this one’s pretty obvious, but surprisingly many people are unaware of this so they end up checking seat sales in the morning when there’s little to no chance of available discounted fares anymore. So it helps to be an abangerz, guys!

Also, it’s worth noting that in the recent Cebu Pacific seat sale, they had different routes on sale on different time slots (e.g. 12:00 AM to 8:00 AM for all domestic destinations only. 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM for East Asia destinations). Not sure if they will implement this for good moving forward. But still the same, ALWAYS be the first on those time slots.  

Subscribe to Cebu Pacific’s newsletter and follow them on their social media accounts so you won’t miss any Cebu Pacific seat sale dates! They usually send Cebu Pacific seat sale promos via email and through social media posts.

Go incognito on your browser

I dunno why but this trick usually works wonders for me! Also, I usually try to book on both my laptop and my mobile phone at the same time. For more chances of winning, este booking successfully. Haha! This is where I put my multi-tasking skill to good use.

Book one person at a time

I noticed that if I change the number of people traveling to just 1 instead of 2 or 3, there’s suddenly more seat sale options available. The downside to this is that there’s no guarantee you will be able to book your companion after you successfully booked yourself. But seriously, this hack works all the time for me!

💡 PRO TIP: Book one person using your laptop, and then your companion via your mobile phone or tablet.

Skip all the add-ons and skip the travel tax online (if international flight)

Choosing seats and other add-ons like meals can take so much time. Skip all of them. Think of this as a game of speed and whoever crosses the finish line (payment page) first wins the coveted discounted airfare!

Remember there are only limited seats available, so the moment someone else pays ahead of you, the lesser there will be left for you. You can always go back to these add-on options anyway.

Also, I highly suggest NOT paying for travel tax yet; you can do so in the airport on your actual departure date. At least if for some reason your trip didn’t push through, only the cost of the airfare will go to waste (seat sale fares, travel tax, and add-ons are non-refundable).

Skip the passport details too!

If booking international flights, you can also skip the part where you have to input your passport details. You can complete that part in the “Manage My Booking” tab after. Super time saver, promise! So skip lang ng skip!

What you can’t skip though is the part where you have to input the name, birthday, and nationality. So if booking with loved ones, make sure you know all their correct information. Or better yet, input in advance all the details of your companions and just select them from the drop-down list.  

Ready your credit card

And lastly, make sure your credit card is readily available. Also, make sure that it can be used for online transactions. Most of the time, an OTP (one time pin) will be sent to the mobile number recorded in your bank’s system, so make sure you have access to that too.

You don’t want to be the first in the finish line only to find out you can’t pay after all, right? It happened to me before! My credit card wasn’t activated yet for online purchases, and I super regretted that I let a good Piso fare go to waste because of it. So learn from my mistake, guys!

That’s it! Thank you for reading this post about the seat sale hacks that worked for me. Traveling the world can be affordable if you know how to score cheap fare deals. If you have any more tips to add, please feel free to comment down below.

💡 PRO TIP: Learn more travel tips in this Ultimate Guide To Planning Your Trip In 8 Easy Steps! I covered the basics of planning a trip and also included the tried and tested websites and apps I normally use to score cheap deals.