Travel

A great place to check for flights is Kayak

I pulled this off another website I look at. This guy has a good rep for travel.

Quote:

Without a doubt, the best resource for comparing flights is www.kayak.com But keep in mind that Kayak does not list no frills providers such as Southwest Airlines or Jet Blue in their searches. It is advantageous for you to explore all of your options before making a purchase.

There are ways to save even more money on what s being shown on Kayak. A simple way to do this is to look for one-way flights to your destination. In some cases, you can save a lot of money by taking one airline for your departure and another for your return. For example, I went to Vegas a few years ago for a friend s wedding. The round-trip price was $345 for the dates I was looking for. I found a $99 fare on Southwest Airlines for my departure and a $130 flight on Frontier for my return. In the end, I saved over $100 by breaking up my itinerary. Along these lines, it is generally cheaper to take flights that have a layover or stopover (Land, but don t get off the plane). If the difference in price is nominal, you will have to decide where your time/money is best spent. If there are several airports in the immediate area, such as cities like New York or Washington D.C. look into flying into one airport and out of another to save some money.

Before booking a flight with an airline directly, always check to see if there are any current promo codes floating around. One way to do this is to run a Google search for (Insert airline) promo code . Most of these codes will be for 5% - 10% off but every once in a while you will score a nice find. A few months ago American Airlines offered a week-long promo for their Facebook friends that allowed for a 25% off code for tickets $300 or more. My $330 ticket became a $247 ticket as a result of running a simple search. The downside with promo codes is that they are always user submitted. Some of them only work with certain restrictions. (I.E. You must be employed at a certain company, going to a particular destination, use a certain credit card to purchase your ticket, etc.) This site is useful, but always try out the codes before getting too excited because they are not efficient in removing expired deals: http://www.retailmenot.com You will need to type the airline s URL address into the search bar. (I.E. www.aa.com for American Airlines)

If you cannot find a discount, check the airline s website for special promotions going on. You can sometimes earn increased miles or incentives for your purchase. In most cases, you can freely transfer miles earned on a partner airline to your current frequent flier account in full. (Ex: If you fly on Delta you can bank your miles into your Continental Airlines account) If you have to pay retail for your flight, at least try to get a consolation prize. It is generally cheaper to purchase your airfare on Tuesdays or Wednesdays for many airlines because this is the day that they release their sales. (Read purchase, not necessarily travel on those dates) This is in general and not a standard.

eBay and Craigslist offer a few lesser traveled roads to get good deals. The average price for a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Voucher (aka free flight) is $275. (You can probably find them cheaper on Craigslist) If you are traveling cross-country, and in a close time frame, this is probably going to be less than what you can find through the traditional methods. But be wary and only buy from reputable sellers with good feedback. Also ensure that your desired travel dates are not blacked out by the airline before you purchase. (You can check this by making an award reservation on the Airline s website or calling them directly) With some airlines, the seller must make the reservation for you through their personal account which they can alter at will. Since selling a voucher is not looked upon kindly by the airlines, there is little recourse from being swindled. And even if you can recover your money, you now have no airline reservation. Purchasing miles to add to your existing account is much safer. However, realize that you will be paying a fee through the airline for the transfer in addition to your bid unless it is specifically stated in the auction. Never, under any circumstances, buy a travel voucher that says that you can choose your dates based on availability after the purchase. If the deal looks to good to be true, it probably is.

If you do take a flight, and have some flexibility in your travel schedule, ask the front desk if your flight is oversold. If it is, you can elect to take a later flight in exchange for an airline voucher. (This is called getting bumped ) Coming back from New York, I used this method with Northwest Airlines to find out that they were in fact oversold and going to ask for volunteers to give up their seat. I was re-booked on American Airlines, given a direct flight instead of a layover in Memphis, got into DFW at an earlier time and received a voucher that allowed $250 off my next reservation or a free flight anywhere in the lower 48 states and Canada. The drawback with this is that your luggage will probably not be transferred with you and will arrive when your original flight does.

Perhaps the best piece of advice that I can give you is this: Book early. There is always a chance that airlines will have sales, but booking early will almost always give you the best deal. If the fares drop after you have made a purchase, some airlines will refund you the difference if you contact them about it. If you find a good deal, book it ASAP. Chances are that it will not be there tomorrow. Airlines only allot a few seats on a flight for a discount price. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. Prices usually do not go anywhere but up.

Last edited by Heath; 06-28-2009 at 09:02 PM.