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Top Ten Secrets to Saving
Big Money in the Airline Flights
Do you know that some people travel around the country and abroad,
for both business and pleasure, and save bundles of money in the process?
They do that by using little known ways of really taking advantage
of the most popular form of transportation - airline flights.
They don't rely on the ever-famous “airfare price-wars”. They don't
rely on their travel agents to save money while flying.
Certainly, you should not dismiss these two methods. The price-wars
can work to your advantage. But depending on them too much is a big
mistake.
1. Call the airlines.
Call the airlines between midnight and 1 a.m. Monday through Friday
to get cheaper tickets.
Most people never realize that at midnight, airline agents revise and
load new fares into their computers. The best fares are just after they
have done the updating!
2. Check into other airports other than the main one you use.
Many major cities have two airports. Check into surrounding towns and
cities so you can compare airfares. You may save hundreds of dollars
on your flights.
3. The early bird catches the plane.
The earlier you book your flight the more you save. Most special fares
have restrictions of 7 to 30 day advance purchase. Usually non-refundable
but they can offer deep discounts.
On the other hand, there are “last minute” deals too. Visit www.smartliving.com
to get emails for last minute deals.
4. Get out of town on Wednesday.
Mid-week travel is usually less expensive. If you leave on Tuesday,
Wednesday or Thursday and stay over a Saturday night, you can garner
terrific savings compared to Friday through Monday when most people
fly.
Start taking your vacations Wednesday-to-Wednesday or Tuesday-to-Tuesday.
You’ll save a lot by choosing your departure and arrival dates this
way!
5. Buying a one way or split ticket.
Let’s say you travel from Boston to Dallas. It may be cheaper to get
two separate tickets. You could buy one ticket from Boston to Nashville
and one from Nashville to Dallas.
It all depends on the connecting cities and your airlines hubs. Just
tell your agent you are willing to travel out of other airports and
connect using regional airports to save money.
6. Open wide.
You should look into what is called an “Open-Jaw” ticket. These are
used when a traveler is arriving and departing from different cities.
One ticket is purchased to cover both cities. Check with your travel
agent or airline representative to see if this trick is available instead
of two one-way tickets. Compare the price of each.
7. An excellent online service www.sidestep.com
You enter destinations and dates and SideStep quickly searches a couple
of dozen affiliated regional and international airlines to find the
best rates.
8. “Code share”.
Ask your agent if this flight is a “code-share” flight. That means
the same flight is offered by two different airlines. Just copy down
the name of the other airline and check into what they are charging.
Only one of the airlines is actually operating the flight. The actual
operator always offers this flight for less, so book with them.
9. Sign up for the airline newsletters.
From weekend getaways to international flight packages the newsletter
saves you money on travel and doesn’t require that you constantly visit
the airline website for the latest offering.
10. The airlines often slash their fares during sluggish travel times.
Scan your travel sections in the newspapers and talk to your agent
about these low fares.
About The Author Is Your Travel Experience Limited by Your Credit Card? Alex Fir
is providing 250+ pages of insider tips and tricks that teach
you how to travel cheap and sometimes free. Click Here => http://www.webpillar.com/cheaptravel
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This article was posted on March 14, 2005 |