By Elaine X. Grant
So you want to get away, but don’t have a clue how to find the best deal. You’re not alone. Air travel is a complicated commodity, and if you don’t know what you’re doing you could end up spending hundreds—even thousands—more than someone who knows all the tricks. Here are some tips to help you find the lowest fares.
Consider alternate airports. It’s amazing how much you can save by expanding your airport options. Look into Chicago Midway rather than O’Hare, Newark or Stewart-Newburgh rather than New York LaGuardia.
Pick your days and times carefully. The cheapest days of the week to fly are Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday; the worst are Friday and Sunday. Flights at off-peak hours are also cheaper.
Book in advance. Many airlines give discounts for tickets booked three, seven, 14 or 21 days before a trip, as well as for flights that include a Saturday overnight stay.
Lock in your plans. You’ll get a cheaper ticket if you agree to make it nonrefundable. Changes are usually permitted on nonrefundable tickets, but you’ll pay a steep fee—usually $100—so be sure the flight schedule works before you take the plunge.
Join a frequent-flyer program. In addition to earning miles for travel, other benefits include the ability to purchase upgrades and notices of special deals. Some airlines will even give new frequent-flyer members free upgrades or passes to their VIP airport clubs. And if you fly enough miles to attain premium status (usually at least 25,000 per year), you’ll get a whole new set of benefits, including preboarding, free upgrades and bonus miles. Airlines offer many ways to accumulate miles, including purchasing more expensive tickets or those on a specific route, banking, retail purchases, car rentals, hotel stays, dining, credit cards, car purchases and more.
Redeem frequent-flyer miles for travel. If you travel frequently—or even only occasionally—join a frequent-flyer program. Generally speaking, each frequent-flyer mile is worth about 1.5 cents, so when considering whether to buy a ticket or use miles, multiply the number of miles required by .015. If the total is more than what you’d have to pay for ticket, buy the ticket. If it’s less, use miles. For example: a domestic, restricted coach ticket can usually be had for 25,000 frequent-flyer miles, but it only makes sense to use miles if you’d otherwise have to pay $375 or more. (Hint: If you think you might have to change your flight plans, use miles. Tickets purchased with frequent-flyer miles can usually be changed at no charge, provided there is room on the flight and the departure and destination remain the same.)
Buy miles. If you don’t have enough miles for a particular trip, many airlines let you buy miles or transfer them from another account for a fee. Be very sure the cost is worth it before going this route.
Book online. Most airlines give frequent-flyer members a bonus (usually 1,000 miles) for booking on the airline’s website, and some give bonuses for using the airline’s airport check-in kiosks.
Search third-party sites. To find the lowest fare, go first to a general site such as Expedia, Orbitz or Travelocity. Make a note of the flights you prefer, then book the same flights on the airline site. This way, you avoid a booking fee, plus receive bonus miles. Travelocity (with Fare Watcher) and Expedia (with Fare Tracker) will also notify you when they find a low fare on your preferred routes.
Sample a sweeper site. Other sites specialize in searching other travel engines (including sites run by airlines, travel agents and consolidators) for deals, and offer a great way to comparison shop. Kayak.com searches more than 100 sites, finds the best deal that matches your itinerary, and, unlike the third-party sites listed above, lets you book directly through an airline or agent. Other good options include Mobissimo and Sidestep.
Consider low-fare airlines. Some airlines, such as Southwest, JetBlue and AirTran, don’t show up on most booking sites. Check with the airline site directly.
Try discount and auction sites. If your plans are flexible, try Hotwire.com or Priceline.com, where you can find flights for hundreds less than you’ll find elsewhere. You simply enter your dates and destinations and you either get a fare quote (Hotwire) or name the price you want to pay (Priceline). The catch is that you have to agree to travel anytime from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on the day of travel, you must accept at least one connection and you don’t know until after you’ve purchased the ticket which airline you’ll be on. More drawbacks: Many tickets don’t earn frequent-flyer miles and can’t be changed, and if there’s a problem with the flight, you’ll find yourself at the bottom of the pecking order, as airlines usually refuse to deal with tickets booked on discount services. Both services charge a booking fee, but if you can deal with the restrictions, it may be worth it.
Sign up for weekend Web fares. If you’re looking for a last-minute weekend ticket, sign up for the e-mail deals offered by most major airlines. American (www.aa.com/netsaver) has deals from St. Louis almost every week, including such steals as St. Louis to New York for $149 round trip.
Consider a travel package. Often you can get an airline ticket, a hotel stay and a car rental for less than what you’d pay for the ticket alone. It’s a great way to get a deal, even if you don’t like the hotel and car deals included in the package; after all, no one is going to force you to use those elements of the package.
Volunteer to get “bumped” from a flight. Airlines typically overbook flights, and many times they’ll ask for volunteers to take a later flight. Often the delay is minor, and you can negotiate your way to anything from cash (don’t accept less than $200) to a free ticket (check for any restrictions before agreeing).
