Shopping for airfare deals

Read this special article from Tom on how to get good deals for your air fares:


TOM PARSONS www.bestfares.com Tom Parsons is CEO of Bestfares.com.
You might wonder how you can beat the price on a Southwest airfare sale, and I have an answer for you. If you act fast, you can get a coupon for 15 percent off to use on a future fare. Customers who spend $20 or more at Cost Plus World Market through Nov. 6 can qualify for 15 percent off a Southwest flight. Flights must be purchased by Dec. 1 for travel through Jan. 25.

I made a trip to World Market, as it is known in Dallas, and made my $20 purchase. If you take advantage of this deal, note that gift cards, alcohol and kitchen electronics don't qualify toward the $20 minimum.

The receipt had a numbered bar code at the bottom, which I used to register for the offer online. Sometimes it can take days to get the airline code after you register for a promotion, but Southwest responded in three minutes. Once I got my promo code, I tested it and found I could use the discount for up to eight passengers on the same reservation. (You can book a maximum of eight tickets at a time on Southwest's website.)

If you go to World Market with a spouse or a friend and spend $40, split your purchases so you can get more promo codes. If Southwest runs a whopper of a sale in the next month, you'll be sitting pretty.

You must be one of the first 25,000 people to register for the offer online to receive the discount code from Southwest, and you have to make a World Market purchase before you can register. There are a number of blackout dates around Thanksgiving and Christmas, so don't expect to use this for a holiday flight. Visit www.cpwmswa.com for details.

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