How to Find Cheap Flight Tickets

Tambako the Jaguar/Flickr.com

Airfare can easily eat up a large chunk of your trip's budget. Finding cheap flights requires patience, flexibility, and willingness to search websites to find the best deals available.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step 1

Be flexible with your travel dates and times. If you are able to travel during the week rather than the weekends, or in the early morning or late at night, you might score a really good deal.

Step 2

Get a connecting flight. You will pay more for direct flights. You can get cheaper airfare the more flexible you can be with your route. Also, flying into a neighboring airport may cost less than flying into the city's major airport.

Step 3

Search airfare sites for the best fare. Sites like Kayak and Sidestep give you a rundown of fares from the top search engines and the airlines' websites so you can easily find the lowest fare without visiting a bunch of websites. In addition, check the sites of low-cost carriers like Southwest and JetBlue.

Step 4

Book at least two weeks ahead. You can save hundreds of dollars by booking well in advance of your trip. The best fares tend to pop up two or three weeks ahead of time.

Step 5

Avoid busy holiday travel dates. The day before Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve will have some of the highest fares, but if you fly on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day or even the day after you will save money.

Tips & Warnings

Join frequent flier programs, which will give you access to discount fares, upgrades, and free companion tickets as well as points to use toward future flights. Sign up for email lists from airline sites and search engines to get access to last-minute deals and special fares.

Join frequent flier programs, which will give you access to discount fares, upgrades, and free companion tickets as well as points to use toward future flights.

Article Written By Kristi Gray

Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Kristi Gray has been writing for over fourteen years with extensive experience in legal and business writing. Her articles have appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and trade newsletters. She has won several awards at the annual Arkansas Writers' Conference. Gray holds a Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Arkansas.

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