Here's a few helpful tips for finding cheap flights and good deals on air travel...
► The best place to start is a website that searches airlines and other travel search engines. Try visiting:
Kayak.com (usually my favorite!)
Sidestep.com
CheapTickets.com
Travelocity.com
Mobissimo.com
Momondo.com
Hotwire.com
CheapoAir.com
Orbitz.com
► Some of these websites (for example, Kayak, Sidestep, and Travelocity) allow you to "select flexible dates".
This is very helpful, as in doing this you will see the different prices and deals for travel on different days nearing the dates of your trip.
Always try to include Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays within your date range as either departure and/or arrival dates. You get the best deals on these days!
Again, click this whenever available. Sometimes taking the train
or driving a bit further can save you hundreds of dollars on
airfare - and even on parking!
► In order to select flexible dates or search for nearby airports, some websites may require you to set up an account.
No need to be alarmed, this is usually a good idea! All you need is an email address. Nonetheless, you may want to keep a separate email address for these purposes. That way you can enroll for as many newsletters and "special offer" mailings as you like, without crowding your inbox. They will send a lot of offers your way!
Note: Some email providers (such as gmail and yahoo) allow you to set up filters. You may want to create a filter for each city or region of interest, and have it forward to your main email address so you won't miss out on deals!
So ok, all of this will be good for future travel... In the meantime...:
► After receiving your search results, be sure to look at the "matrix view" and/or "compare results" view whenever available.
► Scan the results carefully.
► Once you've spotted a good deal for the dates you have in mind, it's always a good idea to open a new browser window and head to the actual airline and compare the prices. Sometimes, depending on how far in advance you are planning your flight, you can find different prices on the search engines and the actual airlines.
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