How to Use the Hopper App to Save Money on Flights & Hotels
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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
Table of Contents
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.
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| Credit Card | Benefits & Info |
|---|---|
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Learn More (at Chase's secure site) |
$1,200 Must Reads: For more info on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, see our thoughts on its benefits and travel insurance coverage, which includes primary car rental insurance. Take a look at our full review to see why it’s one of our favorite cards. |
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.
Can you purchase a ticket through Hopper by using an electronic travel certificate issued by the airlines?
Hi Patricia. Unfortunately, you cannot utilize a travel voucher issued by an airline to book via the Hopper App.
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?
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!
Can you redeem American Advantage miles on flights booked through Hopper?
Hi Mary,
Unfortunately, you cannot use any airline miles when booking through Hopper.
Thanks for reading!
Can you purchase airfare insurance through the app?
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.
I noticed it said non-refundable, but in the case of an emergency, are the tickets transferable?
Hi Alison,
Which airline did you purchase your ticket with?
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.
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/
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.
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.
Does Hopper search Delta flights? I’ve seen Delta show up on Google flights and Kayak, but not yet on Hopper.
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.
Is there a charge for booking a flight through Hopper?
Hi Ice,
You should not have to pay any additional fees for booking a flight through Hopper.
Thanks for reading!
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.
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!
When does Hopper display all of the 2021 dates to choose from?
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.
Does Hopper include resort fees when you book hotel stay through the app?
Hi Deanna,
Yes – all taxes and fees should be included when you complete your booking through the app.
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?
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.
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
Hi Mike,
Search for a destination & dates and tap the Flexible button. You can set up a Flex Watch from there.
Thanks for reading!
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.
Hi Kenya,
Here is the contact page to get in touch with Hopper: http://help.hopper.com/en/articles/3163002-contact-customer-support
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.
I want to cancel my ticket and get a refund.
You can contact Hopper via this help link to their customer service. http://help.hopper.com/en/articles/3163002-contact-customer-support
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?
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.
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.
How do I check the status of my reservation?
Hi Mary,
I think this information from the Hopper Help page should point you in the right direction!
Are the prices that Hopper shows the actual cost per night of the hotel? What is meant by assigned when arriving at the hotel?
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.
What happens if you freeze a price and then change your mind? Do you still get charged?
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.