Pulling the trigger on an $800+ flight isn't exactly an easy thing to do.

No matter how many times I do it, and no matter how exciting the destination in Asia seems, sometimes getting your finger to click that final "purchase" button takes Herculean strength.

• See some insider tips for finding cheap flights to Asia.

Most people know to shop around for flights well in advance, however, what you may not know is that too much shopping around in advance may actually hurt your prices rather than help!


Flight booking sites are savvy enough to leverage technology -- without your knowing -- to increase their chances of landing your business. Some booking sites will increase all the prices after the date for which you searched, just to pressure you into thinking that flight prices are going up if you wait to buy.

Other sites -- even big names you would certainly recognize from advertisements -- are more nefarious: they save your previous flight searches to figure out just how much you really want that flight!

Let's say, for instance, you check a flight price on Monday. The booking site will save the search as a cookie in your browser. If you return later that week and search for the same flight several times, as many people do to see if the price has dropped, they will actually increase the flight price by a marginal amount.

• This is step-by-step how I find the cheapest flights to Asia.

After planning and planning, would you not purchase an international flight if it had only gone up $25? Call it conspiracy theory or not, but insiders know to clear their browser cookies or to turn on anonymous browsing before each new flight search. Doing so makes the booking sites think that this is your first look at a flight price.

Other than clearing cookies, you can also try using a completely different computer, your phone, or turning on anonymous browsing.

Paranoid? Maybe. However, I've personally booked scores of flights and have seen this cookie scam play out several times. I first realized the difference in identical fares after searching for prices between two different computers.

So why not take a chance and save that extra $25+ for some shopping in Asia?

• Avoid these 10 newbie mistakes on your trip.
• See expert advice for planning a trip to Asia.