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Everything you need to know about buying airfares as cheaply as possible, in 500 words or less.
If I could tell you just one thing, it would be this: sign up for free fare alerts. Time and again, I see articles whose main point is to crown one search engine-Kayak, or Travelocity, or Momondo or whatever-as the best bet to find a low fare. But usually, the price differences in these "bake off" comparisons are small potatoes, if they exist at all, because all airfare sites pretty much use the same fare data provided by the airlines. That said, meta search engines such as Kayak and Tripadvisor will do a better job at finding the relatively few fares that the airlines sell only on their own sites.The big savings come from realizing that airfares can have wild and sudden swings, like stocks on the S&P 500. You may not have time to check them hour-by-hour or day-by-day, but airfare-tracking sites do, and will alert you when a fare goes down, sometimes by hundreds of dollars, either to a level you specify or by a percentage amount.
So sign up, it's free! Some alert systems require that you first search for a fare before they'll offer free email alerts; others let you sign up before searching. Here are some sites that offer alerts:
TripAdvisor.com
Kayak.com
Yapta.com
Bing.com
Travelocity.com
Orbitz.com
Airfarewatchdog.com
Don't just sign up for one, because they all work a bit differently. Be aware that most don't include Southwest Airlines fares or promo code fares (airfarewatchdog.com does, although it tracks far fewer routes than the others listed above).
And do sign up for the airlines' frequent flyer programs and email alerts. They'll often send out promo code and airline-site-only fare deals.
Also, if you're searching on your own, do not forsake online travel agencies! Way too often I hear people exclaim, "I only buy directly from the airline sites." But what if you can save $100 by flying out on Delta and back on United? Who's going to tell you this? Delta? United? Not a chance. Travelocity, Orbitz, Cheap Tickets, Expedia and other online travel agencies are going to tell you this.
You already know that being flexible in your travel dates saves money. Problem is, most people are not flexible in their travel dates. Even so, Travelocity, Cheaptickets, and Orbitz have the best flexible date search functions (check out this helpful chart).
Is there a magic day to buy? A lot of sales pop up on Monday night and Tuesday, but the fare you're looking for could go down at any moment, so if you just search once a week on Tuesday, you're missing out.
Traveling at the last minute? You usually have two options: pay through the nose, or use Priceline.com or Hotwire.com. Priceline's name your own price feature is a super way to snag a good last minute fare.
Oops, that was more than 500 words, but just by a bit. One more tip: keep your seatbelt fastened whenever you're in your seat and you'll enjoy your fare savings even more.
George Hobica is the founder of Airfarewatchdog™, the most inclusive source of airfare deals that have been researched and verified by experts. Airfarewatchdog compares fares from all airlines and includes the increasing number of airline-site-only and promo code fares.
Kayak.com
Yapta.com
Bing.com
Travelocity.com
Orbitz.com
Airfarewatchdog.com
Don't just sign up for one, because they all work a bit differently. Be aware that most don't include Southwest Airlines fares or promo code fares (airfarewatchdog.com does, although it tracks far fewer routes than the others listed above).
And do sign up for the airlines' frequent flyer programs and email alerts. They'll often send out promo code and airline-site-only fare deals.
Also, if you're searching on your own, do not forsake online travel agencies! Way too often I hear people exclaim, "I only buy directly from the airline sites." But what if you can save $100 by flying out on Delta and back on United? Who's going to tell you this? Delta? United? Not a chance. Travelocity, Orbitz, Cheap Tickets, Expedia and other online travel agencies are going to tell you this.
You already know that being flexible in your travel dates saves money. Problem is, most people are not flexible in their travel dates. Even so, Travelocity, Cheaptickets, and Orbitz have the best flexible date search functions (check out this helpful chart).
Is there a magic day to buy? A lot of sales pop up on Monday night and Tuesday, but the fare you're looking for could go down at any moment, so if you just search once a week on Tuesday, you're missing out.
Traveling at the last minute? You usually have two options: pay through the nose, or use Priceline.com or Hotwire.com. Priceline's name your own price feature is a super way to snag a good last minute fare.
Oops, that was more than 500 words, but just by a bit. One more tip: keep your seatbelt fastened whenever you're in your seat and you'll enjoy your fare savings even more.
George Hobica is the founder of Airfarewatchdog™, the most inclusive source of airfare deals that have been researched and verified by experts. Airfarewatchdog compares fares from all airlines and includes the increasing number of airline-site-only and promo code fares.
Filed under: Business, Airlines, Airports, Budget Travel, Consumer Activism
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tboz Mar 1st 2010 1:38PM
Priceline is a great alternative to bereavement fares, which are pretty high and useless. Also great for last minute (as in, the night before) weekend trips, just so long as you don't care what time of day you fly out.
Sandy Mar 1st 2010 2:13PM
All if these "airfare search sites" are crooked. Better stay away from all of them because you will end up paying more for your fare than if you dealt directly with
the airline. The initial fare that is quoted is not the fare you will pay because the
search sites all all sorts of extra fees and charges. Better still - avoid the airlines
altogether. If you can drive to your destination - do it.
Daniela Mar 1st 2010 3:27PM
Ok, I will see what I can do tod rive from Chicago to Milan, Italy....
Sienna Mar 1st 2010 6:33PM
Daniel...try taking a hike!!
Pam Mar 1st 2010 9:22PM
I have used Kayak.com to search airfares. They do tell you the total cost of the ticket, including taxes & fees. You are then free to buy your ticket directly from the airline, if you wish.
hkneeland Mar 1st 2010 6:03PM
I use airfarewatchdog all the time. Had booked two rt tickets to Vegas for March at $240 each in November. With the daily updates from watchdog, I Just rebooked same flight at $160 each and after all fees etc., I've got a credit worth a free round trip. It's a great FREE service...Use IT!
georgehobica Mar 1st 2010 6:06PM
Glad we were able to help. In all honesty, the other services I mention in this article are good too! One important difference though is that we track Southwest's fares and promo code deals, and use people rather than computers to find deals. We just don't track as many routes as the big guys!
Xiaojerry Mar 1st 2010 6:10PM
If you can avoid flying that is the best cost saver.
Bo Mar 1st 2010 6:49PM
Don't expect Nieman Marcus service when you pay Wal Mart prices. The price of tickets doesn't even cover the cost of the fuel to get you to your destination.
Nancie (ladyexpat) Mar 1st 2010 10:00PM
Great article.
I would like to point out that not everyone lives in America. Most of these sites are not very helpful for someone in Asia. The best I have found for that is vayama.com. I've used them once, and I will use them again.
georgehobica Mar 2nd 2010 10:40AM
Good point, although Momondo and DoHop are not US-centric. They're based overseas. Vayama often sells consolidator tickets at tempting prices.
georgehobica Mar 2nd 2010 10:40AM
Also, I just did a search for Singapore to Bangkok on Vayama, using a one way flight on Mar 16. Now, I know that Air Asia flies this route so I was wondering if Vayama would list flights on that airline. Nope. I got results ranging from $318 USD to $576 USD! On Air Asia, 78 SGD including tax. That's $55 USD! I'm not sure if there's a really great site for finding low cost carrier fares in Asia. Mobissimo did a better job on this route at $80 USD on something called Air Cargo Express. Does that mean I fly in cargo?! But still not as good as going directly to Air Asia. Zuji.com, a Travelocity-owned Asian site, is better than Vayama for Asia. But as is often the case, online travel agencies and even some meta search engines do not list airline-site-only deals.
Grant Martin Mar 2nd 2010 12:13PM
Asia and Europe have a higher volume of airlines that don't post their fares to a canonical GDS system, so it's harder to stack them against legacy carriers via Vayama, Orbitz etc.
Unfortunately, booking the cheapest fares in these regions thus requires some intimate knowledge of the local low cost carriers. They could standardize and populate into a traditional GDS, but that's a long, long discussion for another day...
ladyexpat Mar 2nd 2010 5:07PM
I should have explained that first I have to get out of Seoul. I've done lots of research over the years and have not found a low cost carrier that flies out of here.
This past winter I flew to KL and then used Air Asia to get around the region. I have not found site that includes the low cost carriers. Vayama had the lowest price ticket I could find to get from Seoul to KL.
fiolater Mar 5th 2010 9:45AM
I have a child and now grandchildren in germany,prior to 9/11 I could R?T for less than 500 now with all the homeland security charges,would it be cheaper if I flew over seas from Mexico or a different country to Europe?
georgehobica Mar 4th 2010 11:09AM
Probably not cheaper. Sign up for alerts! We are betting that fares to Germany will come down at some point. When they do, pounce on them!