The Hopper App - How to Save Money on Flights & Hotels [2021]

There are tons of different websites out there to help you book your next vacation. You can book directly, through an online travel agency like Expedia, Orbitz, or Priceline, or start your search in a metasearch engine like Google Flights or Kayak.

But how do you know you’re getting the best deal? The Hopper mobile app is a bit different because it offers predictions to help you find the best time to book. They’re so confident in their app, they claim 95% accuracy!

In this post, I’ll walk you through booking a flight and hotel, plus we’ll take a closer look at how Hopper predictions work.

Table of contents

What Is Hopper?
How to Use Hopper
- Download the App
- Create an Account
Hopper Flights
- Set up a Flight Watch
Hopper Hotels
Hopper Predictions
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

What Is Hopper?
How to Use Hopper
- Download the App
- Create an Account
Hopper Flights
- Set up a Flight Watch
Hopper Hotels
Hopper Predictions
Final Thoughts

What Is Hopper?

Hopper is a mobile app that helps you book flights and hotels at the right time to save you money — claiming 95% accuracy, up to 1 year in advance.

How to Use Hopper

Download the App

The first thing you need to do to use Hopper is to download the mobile app. Hopper is NOT available for desktop computers.

Go to the App Store or Google Play to download the app.

Create an Account

You can search for flights and hotels on Hopper as a guest, but you must create an account to make a booking.

To create an account on Hopper, go to the Trips icon on the bottom of your screen. Then click Log In/Sign Up.

You’ll be required to enter your name, email address, and phone number. Once you do that you’ll receive a verification text with a link to finish creating your account.

If you need to make any changes to your information (or want to change your bunny icon!) click on Trips then click on the pencil icon near the bunny.

Hot Tip: You must be on a mobile phone to create your Hopper account — it won’t work on a tablet.

Hopper Flights

The Hopper mobile app is simple and straightforward to use.

When you open the app, it defaults to the Search tab. This is where you’ll begin your flight search. Make sure you select Flights, then enter your departure and destination cities.
Image Credit: Hopper
Choose a round-trip or one-way flight. Then choose whether or not you’ll accept basic fares (usually a basic economy ticket that may have more restrictions and fees) and select your layover preferences by clicking on Filters.
Image Credit: Hopper
You’ll see calendar icons showing 4 colors — green, light orange, dark orange, and red. The dates with the cheapest fares will be in green and those with the highest fares will be in red. Click on your desired departure date and then select your return date. Then click Select These Dates to continue.
Image Credit: Hopper
Next, you can set up a watch for your trip or continue on to view available flights. Scroll down to see the app’s price prediction for your itinerary.
Image Credit: Hopper
You’ll see a simple list of available flights with filtering and sorting options at the top. The price you see includes taxes and fees. Click on any flight option to continue.
Image Credit: Hopper
Click Select This Outbound then you’ll be able to choose your return flight. Click Select This Return to continue.
Image Credit: Hopper
The app will then show you the flight’s seat selection and baggage policies plus the change and cancellation policies. Click the blue button to continue or you can upgrade your flight to a different cabin class using the buttons at the top of the screen.
Image Credit: Hopper
If you aren’t signed in, you’ll be prompted to sign in or create an account. Once you’re signed in you’ll need to add a traveler to the reservation or create a new one if it’s your first time. Just click the plus sign by New Traveler then fill in the person’s name, birthday, and gender. You can also add a Redress Number or Known Traveler Number here.
Image Credit: Hopper
Once you’ve selected your traveler, enter your payment info by clicking on Choose Payment. Then you’ll be able to enter your credit card number and complete your reservation.
Image Credit: Hopper

Set up a Flight Watch

You can set up a watch on a particular flight after you’ve selected the flight. Just click Watch This Trip after your search. You need to allow for push notifications to set up a watch.

All of the flights you’re watching will be visible by clicking the Watch icon in the bottom, left-hand corner.

Hot Tip: Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns bonus points on travel purchases! The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best overall travel rewards credit cards on the market — and travel purchases made with this card will earn 2 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar!

Hopper Hotels

In addition to flights, you can also use Hopper to search for hotels.

To get started just click on the Search tab, choose Hotels, and enter your desired destination.
Image Credit: Hopper
Next, select your arrival and departure dates on the calendar.
Image Credit: Hopper
You can filter and sort your results using the buttons at the top of the screen. You’ll find filter options that you might see on any website like location, price, rating, and amenities. To add a hotel to your watch list, just click on the blue binocular icon that’s next to each result.
Image Credit: Hopper
Click on any hotel result for more information. Once you’re ready to book, click on the blue Book Now button. Then you’ll be able to choose your room category.
Image Credit: Hopper
After that you’ll need to select the main guest for the room — this is the name the reservation will be under. Click Choose Payment to continue.
Image Credit: Hopper
Finally, you’ll be able to see the fare breakdown and add your payment method.
Image Credit: Hopper

Hopper Predictions

Hopper’s claim to fame is that it can predict the right time to book a flight with up to 95% accuracy.

To do this, Hopper has a team that developed an algorithm to analyze the millions of data points they collect every day. The algorithm looks at pricing trends to predict what flight prices will do. The result, they claim, is that you know the best times to make a purchase to save money.

Once you sign up for notifications about a route, you may not receive notice of every price change. Hopper won’t notify you of small price changes or about a price change that you’ve already seen (they can track what prices you’ve seen in the app).

You’ll get a notification when price changes drastically or when Hopper predicts prices are about to rise.

Hopper claims 95% accuracy on their predictions. So while they may be right most of the time, they don’t have the answers all of the time. Because of this, their price predictions aren’t guaranteed.

You can buy a ticket during their recommended time and the price could still go down afterward.

Bottom Line: Hopper doesn’t offer a low price guarantee or price matching. They do, however, claim 95% accuracy in their flight cost predictions. If you set up a watch on the Hopper app, they’ll notify you when they think is the right time to buy.

Final Thoughts

Hopper isn’t like other online travel agencies. First, Hopper is exclusively a mobile app.

This app claims to be able to predict flight price trends with up to 95% accuracy. They base their predictions on an algorithm they developed that analyzes historical flight price information.

It’s a straightforward and easy to use app. It doesn’t have many of the bells and whistles of some other booking websites, but they offer simplicity and a great shot at purchasing your flight or hotel at the right time and lowest price.

Featured Image Credit: Hopper.com

Frequently asked questions

What is the Hopper app?

The Hopper app is a mobile app that helps you book flights and hotels at the best prices. Based on Hopper predictions, they'll send you notifications to let you know the best time to make your purchase. These predictions are only a guide --- they don't guarantee the lowest prices nor do they offer a price match guarantee.

Is Hopper only an app?

Yes, Hopper's flight and hotel booking capabilities are only available through their mobile app. The app will also let you set up watches to keep an eye on the prices for your trip, and will notify you of their prediction of the best time to buy.

Are Hopper predictions accurate?

Hopper predictions claim to be 95% accurate. The algorithm they use is based on millions of historical data points and tries to predict the best time to purchase a flight or hotel so you can save money. However, their predictions are not guaranteed.

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About Katie Seemann

Katie fell in love with travel during a semester abroad in college spent in Nottingham, England. During that time, she got to see Scotland, Ireland, London, and Amsterdam and knew she wanted to see more of the world. Fast forward to 2015 when Katie discovered the world of points and miles. She jumped in full force and hasn’t looked back. After starting her own blog, Zen Life and Travel, in 2016, she began freelance writing in 2017. In addition to being a contributor to Upgraded Points since 2018, her work has also been featured in Travel + Leisure, Forbes Advisor, and Million Mile Secrets.

Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.

63 comments

Patricia Blauvelt July 12, 2019
Can you purchase a ticket through Hopper by using an electronic travel certificate issued by the airlines?
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton July 13, 2019
  Hi Patricia. Unfortunately, you cannot utilize a travel voucher issued by an airline to book via the Hopper App.
  Reply
Jennifer Utecht August 26, 2019
Hello,
I just downloaded the Hopper app. I put in our travel dates and destination. How do I go about using my Citi Card Reward points to pay for travel?
Reply
- Jarrod West August 26, 2019
  Hi Jennifer,
  You cannot use your Citi ThankYou points through Hopper. In order to use your Citi ThankYou points, you would need to book your flight through the Citi travel portal or utilize one of their transfer partners. If you need more information on how to transfer your points we have a dedicated guide that walks you through it: https://upgradedpoints.com/citi-thankyou-points-transfer-partners/
  Thanks for reading!
  Reply
Mary L. Wolf September 12, 2019
Can you redeem American Advantage miles on flights booked through Hopper?
Reply
- Jarrod West September 13, 2019
  Hi Mary,
  Unfortunately, you cannot use any airline miles when booking through Hopper.
  Thanks for reading!
  Reply
Vanessa Gómez September 22, 2019
Can you purchase airfare insurance through the app?
Reply
- Katie Seemann September 23, 2019
  Hi Vanessa,
  No, Hopper doesn’t offer airfare insurance. If you would like to purchase through Hopper but still be covered in certain situations, you can check out some of the credit cards that come with insurance.
  Reply
Alison Y Corey October 27, 2019
I noticed it said non-refundable, but in the case of an emergency, are the tickets transferable?
Reply
- Jarrod West October 27, 2019
  Hi Alison,
  Which airline did you purchase your ticket with?
  Reply
George Douglas November 25, 2019
Hi I was looking at flights and I could never find an option for what i need. I am flying out of Nashville TN. to London, and coming back from Rome It. to Nashville TN.
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton November 25, 2019
  Hi George. According to their web site, Hopper does not work for multi-city or open jaw type searches. Their web site states: “Multi-city or open-jaw search functionality is not currently available in the app, but it’s a feature that we hope to offer in the near future!” You might want to try Google Flights for your search. Here’s our guide on how to use Google Flights. https://upgradedpoints.com/how-to-use-google-flights/
  Reply
KATHRYN BUTTERLY December 9, 2019
It appears that Hopper doesn’t search all airlines. I searched for best flights between Tampa and Panama City, Panama, and only American and United Flights were returned. Copa flies non-stop between the two cities.
Reply
- Katie Seemann December 9, 2019
  Hi Kathryn,
  Yes, that can be a common thing — online travel agencies like Hopper don’t always display every single airline. Southwest is another one that will often not show up in searches on 3rd party websites.
  Reply
  - Claire December 31, 2019
    Does Hopper search Delta flights? I’ve seen Delta show up on Google flights and Kayak, but not yet on Hopper.
    Reply
    - Jarrod West December 31, 2019
      Hi Claire,
      Delta flights do not show up on Hopper as they do not share their flight data with the platform. This is also the case for Southwest.
      Reply
Ice December 14, 2019
Is there a charge for booking a flight through Hopper?
Reply
- Jarrod West December 14, 2019
  Hi Ice,
  You should not have to pay any additional fees for booking a flight through Hopper.
  Thanks for reading!
  Reply
P December 23, 2019
Hey, thanks for all the detailed info! Is Hopper considered an OTA? I’m trying to decide which card to use to book a flight: the Chase Ink Preferred or Amex Business Platinum.
Reply
- Andrew Kunesh December 23, 2019
  Hello! Yes, Hopper will likely be considered an OTA. I’d recommend booking with your Chase Ink Preferred for bonus points. Further, the Amex Business Platinum only earns 5x points on flights when booked through Amex Travel. Thanks!
  Reply
Juanita Lee February 2, 2020
When does Hopper display all of the 2021 dates to choose from?
Reply
- Jarrod West February 4, 2020
  Hi Juanita,
  Hopper releases their travel dates 11 months out. So, for example, you won’t be able to see prices for April 2021 until May of 2020.
  Reply
Deanna February 18, 2020
Does Hopper include resort fees when you book hotel stay through the app?
Reply
- Jarrod West February 20, 2020
  Hi Deanna,
  Yes – all taxes and fees should be included when you complete your booking through the app.
  Reply
Mike March 3, 2020
Can Hopper tell me when is the cheapest time to fly to a general area like Central America or Western Europe within a 3 or 6 month time frame? Or Western Europe during the fall?
Reply
- Jarrod West March 5, 2020
  Hi Mike,
  To my knowledge, Hopper only allows you to track exact flight routes and does not allow you to track all flights in a certain region – unless you track each of them individually.
  Reply
Mike March 3, 2020
How do I utilize the “flex watch” mentioned in this article? Does Hopper still offer this?
https://www.travelandleisure.com/flight-deals/cheap-flights-hopper-flex-watch-release
Reply
- Jarrod West March 4, 2020
  Hi Mike,
  Search for a destination & dates and tap the Flexible button. You can set up a Flex Watch from there.
  Thanks for reading!
  Reply
Kenya March 14, 2020
Is Hopper a travel site? I am trying to get a refund for my flights that were restricted by the Europe travel ban. The airline I purchased with is not helping me.
Reply
- Jarrod West March 14, 2020
  Hi Kenya,
  Here is the contact page to get in touch with Hopper: http://help.hopper.com/en/articles/3163002-contact-customer-support
  Reply
Eddie Barrett April 13, 2020
Hopper has terrible customer service and the only way you can talk to them is through their help tab where you have to type in what’s your problem. You will get an automated response that says they are busy and will get back to you. I have been trying to get a refund for my wife’s return ticket which they finally said I would get. Two months later and nothing even though I respond to their strings of reply’s. Usually I have to tell them the flight info all over again even though it’s in their string of communications they respond to and then it’s the waiting game again. Worse company out there in my opinion. Avoid using them.
Reply
Hee plateros April 14, 2020
I want to cancel my ticket and get a refund.
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton April 14, 2020
  You can contact Hopper via this help link to their customer service. http://help.hopper.com/en/articles/3163002-contact-customer-support
  Reply
Gretchen August 11, 2020
I’m new to Hopper and wanted to know if the tickets will work when I get to the airport? Would I have any issues with it?
Reply
- Jarrod West August 14, 2020
  Hi Gretchen,
  Yes, Hopper is a legitimate and reputable online travel agency. So tickets you receive from flights purchased through the Hopper platform will work when get to the airport.
  Reply
scott kleppin September 18, 2020
Hopper provides ZERO customer service/support. I would not recommend using this app/service. They will save you money however if you have any issues and need to speak with customer service they will not respond and any response you get will clearly be a canned cut and paste response. I STRONGLY suggest using a more customer oriented app/service.
Reply
Mary C Mutz December 4, 2020
How do I check the status of my reservation?
Reply
- Jarrod West December 4, 2020
  Hi Mary,
  I think this information from the Hopper Help page should point you in the right direction!
  Reply
Rhonda Gore February 3, 2021
Are the prices that Hopper shows the actual cost per night of the hotel? What is meant by assigned when arriving at the hotel?
Reply
- Jarrod West February 8, 2021
  Hi Rhonda,
  Yes, the prices you see on Hopper should be the actual costs of what you will pay. “Assigned when arriving at the hotel” means that your room will be assigned when you check-in at the hotel, but the price should not change.
  Reply
Alex May 28, 2021
What happens if you freeze a price and then change your mind? Do you still get charged?
Reply
- Jarrod West May 28, 2021
  Hi Alex,
  You pay a small fee in order to use the price freeze feature, and the amount will vary based on the ticket. If you choose not to book the flight, you don’t have to, but the price freeze fee is nonrefundable.
  Reply
  - Aaronjoseph November 9, 2021
    Don’t you retain the price freeze dollar amount paid for future travel purchase on the hopper app?
    Reply
    - Jarrod West November 9, 2021
      Hi Aaron,
      To my knowledge, no you would not. I don’t think the price freeze feature has any impact on subsequent bookings if you don’t book the flight you used the freeze on.
      Reply
Aaronjoseph November 9, 2021
Has anyone actually used the price freeze function on hopper?
Reply
- David Double D Davis February 10, 2023
  Yea and the amount you pay goes towards your final amount
  Reply
A.s. January 11, 2022
So once I’ve bought my ticket it’s fully paid for, right? I mean if the price goes up later on, I won’t have to pay an extra $15/$20 right before my flight, correct?
Reply
- Jarrod West January 11, 2022
  Hi A.S.,
  That is correct. You will not have to pay more once you’ve completed the purchase.
  Reply
Scott Genoway February 18, 2022
The price that you see for airfare includes taxes and fees?
Reply
- Jarrod West February 18, 2022
  Hi Scott,
  Yes, the quoted prices should include the taxes and fees.
  Reply
Anna Chiara February 23, 2022
I tried to book with Hopper but it doesn’t allow me to add any bags to my flight. Indeed there isn’t the possibility to choose between Basic Economy and Economy like in the pictures here.
Reply
Jayne Depew March 12, 2022
I’ve heard great things about this app but wondering if your fare predictions now include current affairs such as war and rising fuel prices??
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton March 13, 2022
  Hi Jayne. First, we are not Hopper, we are Upgraded Points, a blog specializing in providing miles, points, credit card rewards, and travel-related resources. Hopper states on their website, however, that they “collect massive amounts of data, amounting to more than one billion individual, real-time flight prices each day!” Then continue to explain that, “these algorithms predict how flight prices will fluctuate based on what they’ve done in the past”. That’s the closet I could come to finding an answer to your interesting question. Thank you for reading.
  Reply
Buana Toba April 11, 2022
Is there any additional charge for booking?
Reply
- Jarrod West April 11, 2022
  Hi Buana,
  There is no additional charge for booking through Hopper.
  Reply
Andy April 24, 2022
I’m new to hopper. Just download the app and they gave me a one time USD $50 voucher, and it’s in my wallet. I was trying to book a hotel and reached the confirmation page and need to add credit card info to confirm the booking, but how do I apply the $50 voucher?
Reply
- Jarrod West April 25, 2022
  Hi Andy,
  Did they give you any sort of code to enter during the checkout page? You might be able to see this from your Hopper wallet.
  Reply
  - Andy May 1, 2022
    Hi Jarrod,
    Thanks for your response. I think I figured out this $50 voucher. Under the voucher section, there’s 4 vouchers. One $10 for first hotel booking, one $10 for first flight, one for first car rental and one $20 for First Hopper pick hotel. They add up to be $50. So not a one $50 voucher.
    Reply
  - Rach August 14, 2022
    Hi Jarrod
    I too am new to the App, they gave me $300 in a one time discount offer voucher – but then it never shows up when I need to pay.
    Reply
Sha July 29, 2022
Hey! I’ve made a booking on Hopper but my flight is not yet confirmed. Is there any chance the price would change for my booking? Thanks.
Reply
- Jarrod West July 29, 2022
  Hi Sha,
  No, the price should not change.
  Reply
Camille September 25, 2022
I typically book directly through United using my airline credit card. One of the perks is priority boarding. If I use that same card will my ticket show up with priority boarding? Also, I have Global Entry. Will I get pre-TSA check automatically? Is there a 24 hour window to cancel/change as there is when booking directly with United? Thank you.
Reply
- Jarrod West September 28, 2022
  Hi Camille,
  You have to book through United in order to get your priority boarding benefit. As long as you enter your global entry number during booking, then yes you should receive TSA pre-check.
  Reply

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How to Use the Hopper App to Save Money on Flights & Hotels

What Is Hopper?