Stay Informed
Keep yourself updated
on airfare wars by watching the news and reading the
newspaper. Look for limited-time promotional fares from
major airlines and airline companies just starting up.
When one airline announces a sale to a particular destination,
chances are the others will soon follow suit, so be on the lookout
and call or click around.
Timing
Airlines usually reload their computers at midnight, so as soon
after that as possible is a good time to shop online for low cost
seats that folks might have reserved but not paid for.
Flexible Scheduling
Tuesdays, Wednesdays
and Saturdays are typically the cheapest days to fly;
late-night flights (red-eyes), very early morning flights
and flights with at least one stop tend to be discounted as
well.
Other Deals
Ask the airline if it
offers travel packages to save money in other areas. For
instance, is a rental car or hotel room available at a
discount along with the airline ticket?
Never accept the first fare quoted.
Half the time, some other airline's flight within hours of the one
you booked has a special, less expensive deal.
Use Alternate Airports
If you can't find an inexpensive flight to the city you want to
go, it's often cheaper to fly to a nearby city and then catch a
low cost connecting flight to where you really want to be. Some
good examples of this are Newark for New York City, Baltimore for
Washington, and Orange County for Los Angeles.
Overbooking
You can really save on air travel by knowing how to take advantage
of overbooking. By volunteering your seat when a flight is
overbooked you can earn free flights and often even cash from the
airline. If you don't absolutely have to be there on time,
volunteer to give up your seat, if it becomes needed, when you
check in for your flight. Monday morning and Friday afternoon
flights are the most likely to be overbooked.
Ask Questions
Find out whether the
stated fare is the cheapest, and inquire about other options
when speaking to the airline reservations clerk. If you're
using the Internet, check more than one Web site and compare
rates.
Fly Standby
Inquire about standby
fares if you're flying off-season. High season is a bad time
to fly standby because most airlines overbook flights,
making it difficult to find a spare seat.
Consistency In Airlines
Stay with the same
airline during your entire trip to receive round-trip or
connecting fare discounts.
Check Prices
If you purchase a
non-refundable ticket far in advance, check frequently with
your travel agent to see if the fare has gone down. Most
airlines will offer a credit voucher for the difference in
fare if it has gone down.
E-Savers
Sign on with various
airline price savers - they typically come out every
Wednesday with discount tickets for travel that weekend or
the next.
Choosing An Airline
The airline you choose can be the most important part of traveling more cheaply.
In order to be successful in attaining reduced fares through discount coupons
and special offers available only to members of the airlines frequent flyer
program, and free tickets using frequent flyer miles; you must give airline
selection your highest consideration. There are several factors in
determining which airline/alliance you choose.
-
First, look at who services your local airport. Next, where do you travel
most often? Then, where you want to travel for fun and adventure. And finally,
who are the local carriers aligned with in terms of other airlines, hotels,
rental cars and so forth. And finally, are you a member of their frequent
flyer plan already.
-
Keep track of your regular
destinations and your fantasy destinations along with hotels and car rentals
you like to use. Check for reciprocity deals with each segment of travel.
-
Use a resource like OneTravel or the Official Airline Guide,
check the airlines that serve your regular destinations and leisure
visits. (Note: OneTravel is much easier as it builds the connections for
you while the Official Airline Guide will have you pulling your hair
after the first connection which you achieve by working backward from your
destination to your point of origin.)
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Lastly, look at the travel partners and how they can be used to add to
your points and miles. Actual flying is one of the least efficient ways to get
frequent flyer miles. It takes a lot of flights to get to the 5,000 - 20,000
miles that you can often get from companies offering air miles as incentives.
Great mileage programs are available from MCI, CitiBank, and Diners Club.
Here is a great resource to help you look for mileage partners and check out
the latest deals:
Mileage
Workshop.
Cheap Vacation Guide Site Map
Site map for cheap-vacation-guide.com
How To Do The Bump
How to
get free air travel.
Airline Directory
Great informational sites on airlines including phone numbers.
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