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The debate goes on and on as far as which website has the cheapest flights, and the secret is that it all comes down to one word: flexibility.
Before discussing which are the best sites to find budget airfare online, keep these few things in mind when planning your next trip.
Your dates: The day of the week that you fly out can make a significant difference in pricing.
Mid week flights (Tuesday-Thursday) are usually less expensive than weekend flights (Saturday) so if you can, try and plan your trip around that.
Your location: If you aren't flexible in the dates (as you only have a certain amount of time off of work, etc.
) try to be flexible in your location (either by choosing a hub airport nearby, or checking several different locations.
Maybe you want a beach vacation, but does it have to be Miami? Would you be happy just as happy in San Diego or the Bahamas? The Time: If you can't change the day you travel or the location, can you be flexible in the time of day you fly? Red eye flights as well as flights that leave after the morning rush (around mid afternoon) can generally be less expensive.
When it comes to the best site to check for flights, my suggestion is to check them all against each other, then check the airlines website that has come up with the lowest price, and see if that airline is offering a lower fare by booking directly through them.
My secret weapon is skyscanner.
com which has put me in some places I never would have thought I would ended up, and changed my routes to a more affordable fare with the "search everywhere" function.
A quick Lesson: Let's say for example, I am flying from New York but not sure where to go yet.
Instead of typing in a specific city in the "to" section, I would type in 'everywhere' and my date.
(I always select one-way travel first, and view the entire month versus a specific day.
) I can always go back and compare the price for a round trip ticket later (which usually is cheaper.
) From there it gives you a list of countries and places in order of pricing.
When you select a destination, it will come up with the best price for the month and city that you selected.
(I always select to view by graph as it is visually much easier to find the cheapest day.
) The system will save your search "from" city, so the next time you log in, it will tell you other specials that are going on flying from that same city.
Rates change quite often, so check back frequently to see if deals in other cities come back up.
This feature is also helpful in looking out over the course of a year, letting you know which month will be the most affordable time to fly out.
You might save money by booking the flight from another airport, but keep in mind the cost of transportation to get to that neighboring airport (and find out exactly how far away it really is.
) The cost of transfers between airports (not to mention the exhausting travel day you could have) might make it worth it to just fly from or directly to the city you want to go to.
If you haven't already, sign up for one of the frequent flyer credit cards so that you can be earning miles towards a free flight for the next time around.
There are many great credit card offers out there which will allow you to earn enough bonus miles just for signing up (not to mention the miles you will earn when you take your trip.
) Many of these bonuses might even be enough for a domestic ticket.
Companies such as points.
com and staralliance.
com will allow you to transfer miles between different airline companies, so you don't always have to book with the same airline just to be able to earn points.
Once you think you have found the lowest fare, than bidding sites such as Priceline and Hotwire come in handy because you can bid even lower than your lowest price to see if you can get them to accept that offer (it gives you a point of reference.
) Keep in mind that once you book through these sites, the sale is final, you may not get the exact flight time that you wanted, and make sure you have the final price after all the taxes and fees are added to it.
One thing I like about skyscanner is that all of their taxes and fees are included in the fares (unlike many of the other online booking sites which add that in after wards.
If you are flying within the U.
S.
, also keep in mind that many of the airlines now charge checked luggage fees, even for your first checked bag.
The only two airlines that do not are the discount airlines Southwest and Jetblue.
If you are traveling through Europe, it is usually the reverse, where discount air carriers such as Ryanair will charge you for baggage, where as the other large airline companies will not.
No matter where you decide to go, always remember to stay flexible as that is the biggest key in finding budget air travel.
Good luck and happy flying!
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