5 of the best hacks to get airfare deal alerts on your phone

Tabs on tabs on tabs — this is no longer the way anyone needs to find the best deals. Now all it takes is downloading some choice apps and entering certain preferences to rev up the search engines to do all the work for you, even pinging you right on your phone so you know exactly when to buy.

Here are five of the best apps and services that will alert you when there are great deals, whether you're booking a specific trip or have a jaunt you're dreaming about taking.

Airfare Watchdog: Find real deals. Previously, Airfare Watchdog's price alerts would come via email, but the hound now has an app. What differentiates Airfare Watchdog's alerts is that the app has actual people verifying every deal posted rather than having algorithms feeding them to you, so you know when you see a deal you can really book it. Also, the human team behind the app often succeeds in pulling up deals that might not show up in other engines.

Hitlist : Get to everywhere on your bucket list. Hitlist is perfect for trip inspiration. How it works: you tap through the pretty interface and "explore" places categorized under themes like "James Bond locations" and "bitcoin accepted." Add places to your wish list (or "hitlist") and the app, powered by Skyscanner, notifies you when there are "good," "great," and "spectacular" deals to the destinations you've saved.

Hopper: Find out exactly when to buy. Hopper relies on loads of flight data to power its predictive pricing while also constantly monitoring fares. As a result, it recognizes a really good deal when it sees one. And when it does, the app pings you with a push notification encouraging you to buy right then because that's probably the best deal you're going to get.

Skyscanner:A powerful search engine with the ease of an excellent app. There might not be anything revolutionary about recommending Skyscanner to find cheap flights, but it's worth noting for the simple reminder that it's a wise move to download the app and have the notifications set up for price alerts. You can make your searches as specific as you like, or as open-ended, entering your home airport to "anywhere" on "any day" at "any time."

Yapta:Get the best deal even after you've booked. If you're sick of monitoring and want to just get the tickets already — but still are fighting the urge to get the best deal — put Yapta on it. The service starts working to find the best deals for you after you've already booked your tickets. If the price of your flight drops, Yapta lets you know and helps you claim a refund. Note: eligibility rule differs for each airline. For example, Alaska Airlines forks over a voucher for any price drop, while American will only give you a credit for a drop of $200 or more. Yapta works the same way for hotels, too.