12 Strategies for Finding
Killer Airfare Deals

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Finding Rock Bottom Airfare!

Three quick thoughts before you continue.  First, read this entire piece.  If an early strategy helps you land a great airfare, a later one might help you get the airfare even lower.  Second, no single strategy is best.  Use them all and use them together. And third, bookmark this site.  We add new websites and resources on a regular basis. 

Good hunting!

#1  Always Look! 

Create a favorites folder and add a five minute review of your top airline resources to your daily routine.  The website Airfarewatchdog.com is a great place to begin.  You can review a list of the best daily domestic and international airfare deals from your local airport each day.  In fact, you can have the list emailed to you each day if you register your email address. 

One you have identified a specific flight in which you are interested, you can actually track the daily price of that flight through the website Yapta.com.  Again, you can receive emails every time the price of a particular flight changes.  

If you want to find the best airfare deals, you need to be checking up on a regular basis, not just when you're ready to plan a trip.  Eventually, a deal will come along and maybe even bring you to a destination you would not have otherwise considered.  If you make travel research a daily activity, you will astounded at some of the deals you will find.  Watching out for cheap airfares that pop up is half the battle in finding travel bargains.

#2  Avoid Weekend Travel!

As a general rule, it is more expensive to travel on weekends.  Monday and Fridays sometimes fall into this category as well.  When starting any travel research project, begin by planning your flights on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesdays. 

Also, there is an old travel theory that suggests staying over at least one Saturday night will result in less expensive airfare.  There are contrasting schools of thought on this today, but it is something to keep in the back of your mind.

#3  Comparison Shop and Make Use of Your Resources!

There is no single website that finds the best airfare deals.  It just doesn't exist.

The best deal hunters will search through multiple travel sites when planning a trip.  Obviously, you are not going this far each day, but when you're ready to plan a specific trip you will want to comparison shop between the following websites.

Again, any of these sites might have the best fare on any given day.  You need to do your homework.

There has also been some excitement generated in recent years over "aggregator websites" which search airline websites for the best deals.  Here are the top four:

#4  The Sweetest Strategy -  Flexibility!

It's simple: the more flexibility you have, the better deals you will find.  Keeping your travel plans flexible could mean the difference between one trip or two or even three.  Airfare is moody and changes by the week, the day, and sometimes by the hour. 

When researching airfare, play around with the dates.  This is how the most aggressive travel bargain hunters land incredible airfare deals.  Sliding your seven-day vacation back by one day could save hundreds of dollars when buying several tickets for a family vacation.

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