Going Alternatives: 5 Flight Deal Services Compared

• $0

  Free tier published by each main U.S. deal service compared

• $49–$249

  Standard annual paid prices in the comparison

• 200+

  U.S. and Canadian departure cities published by Thrifty Traveler

• 16 Oct 2026

  Date prices and official terms were checked

The best Going alternative depends on your trip

Choose the product shape before comparing prices. A curated service is useful when Miami, Madrid or Tokyo could all work. A route tracker is useful when the only acceptable trip is Chicago to Rome on a specific week. Paying for a destination feed will not make it monitor one family itinerary unless that feature is explicitly included.

This page focuses on U.S. alternatives because Going’s published membership coverage is organised around U.S. departure airports. For a broader market comparison, read our guide to the best flight deal alert services. Our separate guide explains when flight deal alerts are worth paying for.

Going alternatives at a glance

These plans are not interchangeable. Hotel deals, points alerts, SMS, premium cabins, destination preferences and worldwide coverage all sit in different tiers. A higher price may buy features you do not need; a lower price may omit the airport or cabin that matters.

Use Going as the comparison baseline

Going currently publishes three tiers. Limited is $0 and provides a sample of continental U.S. deals. Premium is $49 per year and adds all domestic and international economy deals plus custom destination alerts. Elite is $199 per year and adds premium economy, business and first class cash and points deals.

Going’s help centre says eligible people who have not previously redeemed a trial can try Premium or Elite for 14 days. It also explains that coverage differs by feature: Premium points-and-miles deals and mistake fares can draw from all U.S. airports, but that does not mean every member receives every deal from every airport.

Treat those published features as the baseline. An alternative is better only when its usable airports, cabin, notification timing and terms better match your travel. There is no responsible way to infer which service will save you more from provider testimonials alone.

Dollar Flight Club for airport and destination preferences

Dollar Flight Club publishes Basic as free, Premium at $69 per year and Premium+ at $99 per year. Basic includes domestic economy deals from one departure airport. Premium adds domestic and international deals, four departure airports, ten dream destinations and mistake fares. Premium+ adds premium and business-class alerts, SMS, partner perks and priority support.

Its help centre says a trial lasts 14 days when one is offered, then changes to the annual plan unless cancelled. It also describes paid memberships as automatically renewing and non-refundable; discounted memberships do not include a free trial. Save the date and price shown in your account instead of assuming that stopping emails cancels billing.

Dollar Flight Club is a sensible Going alternative when four airports and a shortlist of ten destinations describe how you travel. It is less persuasive if a single regional airport or exact date pair is the real constraint.

Thrifty Traveler for cash, points and many airports

Thrifty Traveler’s current page lists Limited as free, Premium flight deals at $129.99 per year and Premium+ flight-and-hotel deals at $189.99 per year. Premium covers domestic and international cash fares, premium-cabin fares, points-and-miles award alerts and mistake-fare text alerts. The company publishes more than 200 U.S. and Canadian departure cities.

That breadth is useful to travellers who can use points and who want to include both a local field and nearby hubs. It can be unnecessary for someone who only wants economy cash fares. The company says first-time subscribers have a 100-day money-back period. Its Price Lock Guarantee applies to the full $129.99 or $189.99 subscription price, not a promotional or discounted rate.

Thrifty Traveler also tells users that Google Flights alerts are a better option for very specific dates. That is the right distinction: curated breadth is not the same as continuous monitoring of one trip.

AirfareWatchdog for route and regional tier choices

AirfareWatchdog currently lists Fare Finder as free for economy alerts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Jetsetter is $149 per year and adds premium-cabin flight deals and member hotel rates in those markets. Globetrotter is $249 per year and extends flight and hotel deal coverage worldwide and across cabins.

This tier structure makes geography explicit. A traveller interested mainly in regional economy fares can start free, while a frequent international traveller pays for broader reach. Confirm that its route and airport alerts reflect the places you can actually use before upgrading for worldwide inventory.

Use a free tracker for one fixed trip

For one known trip, start with a free tracker rather than a newsletter. Google Flights can track searched dates, Any dates for one origin-destination route or a selected flight. Skyscanner alerts follow a route and specific date. KAYAK accounts can create alerts from flight results and add a seven-day forecast to the timing decision.

Free exact-route alerts still do not reserve anything. They tell you to check again. Set a maximum all-in fare, include bags and choose a date by which you will book even if the alert never fires. Our guide to flight alerts without fixed dates explains when a flexible feed is more appropriate.

Trials, refund windows and renewals are different

A trial delays or reduces the first charge. A money-back period permits a qualifying refund after payment. Cancelling renewal prevents a future charge. Those are three separate promises, and a checkout can combine them differently from a marketing page.

Billing through Apple or Google can move refund handling to the app store. Read the terms at the exact checkout you use, take a screenshot of the renewal price and set a calendar reminder before the decision date.

Where Blame the Fare fits

Anyone can preview up to five current deals on Blame the Fare. Members unlock the full daily feed and can create an exact-trip Watch. Each Watch records one origin, destination, outbound date, return date and maximum return fare. A membership can hold up to 50 active Watches, checked hourly.

The Departures Club costs $9 USD per month or $79 USD per year. Where available, the founding annual offer is $49 USD for the first year and renews at $79 USD per year. Eligible new annual members receive a 7-day trial with a card required. Check the current membership terms.

The current public network is UK-led with selected U.S. scouting, so it is not presented as a full U.S. replacement for Going. A U.S. traveller should inspect relevant public airport previews and compare the exact trip workflow with free route alerts before paying.

How to test a flight deal subscription

1. List usable airports. Include driving, parking, rail and any positioning flight.
2. Choose cash, points or both. Do not pay for award alerts if you cannot transfer or redeem the required currency.
3. Inspect relevant recent deals. Count only dates, cabins and destinations you could realistically book.
4. Record the billing terms. Save the trial end, refund route, renewal date and standard price.
5. Judge the service before the deadline. Compare useful alerts received, not advertised average savings.