Scott’s Cheap Flights vs RatePunk: Which Finds Better Deals?

Scott’s Cheap Flights has a new name: Going. The company rebranded in 2023, but the basic idea behind the service stayed the same. Members choose departure airports and receive alerts when cheap fares appear.

That also makes Going one of RatePunk’s closest comparisons.

Both services look for cheap flights on your behalf. Both can alert you to trips you might not have thought to search for yourself. And neither requires you to start with one exact destination.

The differences show up in where you can fly from, what each membership includes, and how much you pay for it.

What Happened to Scott’s Cheap Flights?

Scott’s Cheap Flights began with founder Scott Keyes sharing cheap fares with friends before developing into a flight deal membership service.

As the company grew beyond its original email list, the Scott’s Cheap Flights name became less representative of the wider business. In January 2023, the company announced that it was becoming Going.

So Scott’s Cheap Flights was not replaced by a completely different service. If you are searching for it today, Going is the company and product you are looking for.

Going

What you get

Going looks for cheap flights departing from US airports and alerts members when it finds fares worth considering.

You choose the airports you want to follow, and the deals available to you depend partly on your membership level. Going also has mobile apps where members can browse current deals.

The service covers economy deals, while higher membership tiers expand the number and types of fares you can receive.

What it costs

Going offers several membership levels.

The Limited membership is free. Premium costs $49 per year, while Elite costs $199 per year and expands the service to premium economy, business, and first-class deals.

That range gives Going an advantage for travelers who are not sure whether they want to pay for flight alerts at all. You can begin with the free version and move to a paid plan if you want more deals or features.

How booking works

Going finds the fare but does not sell you the plane ticket.

When you see a deal you want, you follow the booking instructions and purchase the flight separately. Your reservation is therefore handled by the company you eventually book with rather than Going.

That separation is useful to remember when comparing any flight deal service. Finding the fare and managing the resulting reservation are two different jobs.

Why choose Going

Going has been built specifically around travelers departing from the US, and its membership options give those travelers several ways to use the service.

Someone curious about flight alerts can start for free. A frequent economy traveler can move to Premium, while someone interested in business or first-class deals has the Elite option.

You can therefore choose how much of the service you actually need.

Best for

Travelers departing from US airports who want a choice between free flight alerts and more extensive paid memberships.

RatePunk

What you get

RatePunk also watches for cheap fares, but its departure coverage extends beyond the US.

You select the airports you are willing to fly from and receive deals when RatePunk finds noteworthy fares. That can include regular economy deals as well as occasional mistake fares.

Each deal gives you information to help evaluate the opportunity before following the available booking options.

What it costs

RatePunk’s Standard flight-deal membership currently costs $23.99 for the first 12 months, with a standard annual price of $104.

The initial purchase comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

RatePunk also offers a Premium membership for travelers who want additional departure airports, premium-cabin deals, and other expanded features.

How booking works

Like Going, RatePunk is there to find the deal rather than sell the ticket.

When you decide you want a fare, RatePunk directs you toward available booking options. You complete the purchase with the airline or travel provider.

That means your eventual booking conditions depend on where you purchase the ticket, so check the provider and fare rules before paying.

Why choose RatePunk

RatePunk becomes particularly relevant once your home airport falls outside Going’s current departure network.

A traveler in the US has several flight-deal memberships to choose from. Someone starting in Europe, Canada, or another supported market has a different set of options.

That makes RatePunk’s geographic reach an important part of the comparison rather than simply the number of deals either company sends.

Best for

Travelers who want flight deal alerts from supported departure airports across multiple regions, particularly those starting outside the US.

Going vs RatePunk at a Glance

Where Going Has the Edge

For a US-based traveler, Going has a compelling membership structure.

You can use the Limited plan without paying, and the $49 Premium membership gives economy travelers a lower standard annual price than RatePunk’s $104 Standard membership.

Going also has a long history in the flight-deal category and a service specifically developed around US departure airports.

If you live in the US and primarily want economy deals, those are meaningful advantages.

Where RatePunk Has the Edge

The comparison changes once you leave the US.

RatePunk supports departure airports across multiple regions, so travelers are not limited to starting their trips from US airports.

That matters because a flight-deal service is only useful if it can actually monitor the airports you use.

RatePunk may therefore make more sense for someone flying from cities such as London, Toronto, Berlin, or other supported locations outside the US, even if a US traveler looking at price alone might make a different choice.

Do Going and RatePunk Find the Same Deals?

Sometimes they may.

Both services are monitoring the same underlying airfare market, so there is nothing preventing them from identifying the same unusually low fare.

But that does not mean every alert will match. The airports monitored, destinations covered, timing of alerts, membership level, and criteria used to select deals can all affect what reaches you.

Rather than expecting one service to have access to a secret pool of fares, think of the value as finding and filtering opportunities for you.

You are paying, where applicable, to avoid doing all of that monitoring yourself.

Are Flight Deal Subscriptions Worth Paying For?

That depends largely on how you travel.

If you take one trip a year to the same destination on fixed dates, a subscription may not add much. You can search that route directly and set price alerts using free flight-search tools.

The equation changes if you are flexible.

Imagine you could leave from two nearby airports, travel during several different weeks, and would happily visit any of ten destinations if the price were right. Manually checking all of those combinations becomes tedious very quickly.

A flight deal service does that monitoring in the background and brings interesting fares to your attention.

The value is therefore not only the potential saving on one ticket. It is also the time you do not spend repeatedly searching for it.

Going or RatePunk: Which Should You Choose?

For this comparison, start with your departure airport rather than the advertised savings.

If you fly from the US, Going gives you a strong combination of a free entry point and a $49 Premium option. It should be on the shortlist for anyone considering a paid flight-deal membership there.

If you fly from outside the US, RatePunk’s broader departure coverage becomes the bigger differentiator. A cheaper membership does not help if the service cannot monitor the airport you actually use.

And if you already know exactly where and when you are traveling, you may not need either one. A normal flight search and price alert could be enough.

Going and RatePunk are most useful before the trip is fully decided. Their job is not simply to answer, “How much does my flight cost?”

It is to give you a reason to ask, “Would I take this trip at this price?”