How to get paid $500 from the Google Flight Price Guarantee

Travelers may not know that Google Flights has a lowest price guarantee.

Google already offers fliers a chance to see if their trip has a low, high or average price for the time of travel, but now they’re testing a program that will guarantee you get the lowest price — and they will pay you if not.

The Price Guarantee pilot program is available on select routes when you book through Google Flights.

“For some flight prices, Google’s algorithms are confident that the price you find is the lowest available before the flight departs. For those flights, we will monitor the price until the departure of the first flight on your route. If the price drops, we’ll make up the difference,” says Google’s website.

The airlines that have the colorful price guarantee badges are the ones that Google believes will not drop in price before departure. If it falls short, Google will send you the difference via Google Pay.

However, until now, the offer was only available on select ‘Book on Google’ itineraries. Google has expanded the program to select routes it finds on Google Flights, but ultimately book on an airline or travel agency’s website.

To receive payment from Google, the price difference must be greater than $5, and you can receive up to $500 in total “per Google account on all eligible routes in a given calendar year.”

You can only have up to three Price Guarantee bookings open at any one time, which means the first flight on the itinerary has not yet departed. If you’re eligible for a payment, you’ll receive it within 48 hours after the first flight on the booked route departs, Google says.

When you make your Price Guaranteed ticket purchase, you must be signed in to your Google Account to be eligible – even when booking through an airline or travel agency.

To qualify when booking through Google, your country/region must be set to US and your currency must be USD — the price guarantee only applies to one-way, round-trip flights departing from the US. Additionally, the customer must use a US billing address and US phone number on the Book on Google page.

Under Departing Flights, select a flight that has an award guarantee badge and choose the route marked through checkout. All flights on the itinerary must have the award guarantee badge. Click the “Book on Google” link and check the box next to “Price Guarantee.”

If you have booked with an airline or travel agency online on their website, you are now also eligible for the Price Guarantee with the same important notes: Your country/region must be set in the US in USD, flights with a roundtrip departures from the US only and you still need to be signed in to your Google Account.

You must still search for the flight on Google first in order to qualify. Here’s how to do it:

1. Under ‘departing flights’, select a badged flight. Again, all flights on the itinerary must have the award guarantee badge.
2. Under “booking options,” to select a price-guaranteed booking option, click “continue.”
3. On the website of the airline or travel agency, book exact itinerary guaranteed on Google Flights. For the price guarantee to apply, all components of the booked itinerary must match, including airline, flight number, dates, number of passengers, fare and cabin class and cancellation policy.

Once you select the guaranteed price booking option, Google will check the price every day until departure. If there is a price drop, you will be asked to confirm that the fight was booked.

In your email, select “Yes, I booked this flight” and follow the instructions. You will be asked to enter your confirmation number and last name, as well as check the box to accept the terms of service.