Take a look at these important tips so we could get the best deals on airfares:
Fares on many routes are much more expensive this holiday season than last, but airfares are not static and there are (relative) deals to be had any time of year. Here is Airfarewatchdog.com's best advice for making your airfare dollars go farther no matter what the time of year.
1. Sign up for airlines' e-mail feeds and frequent-flyer programs.
We know, you already get too much e-mail, but the airlines want to develop a relationship with you, so they'll send you special deals, such as 50 percent off promo codes or two-fers, if you sign up. Airline sites sell much more than airfares these days (hotels, rental cars, credit cards and such), and they will entice you to deal direct rather than use a third-party site such as Orbitz. If you're on Twitter, you might also want to follow the airlines' tweets, which they're using to promote exclusive Twitter-only deals. We signed up for Virgin America's frequent-flyer program and because we haven't flown them yet we keep on getting promo code discount offers to give them a try.
2. Sign up for third-party fare alerts.
Many airfare websites offer alerts, and they all have something to offer. Yapta.com lets you track your specific itinerary, down to the flight number and dates of travel, and will let you know if the airline owes you a price-drop refund. Travelocity's easy-to-use FareWatcherPlus lets you track up to 10 routes and you can choose to be notified either when a fare goes down by $25 or more, or when it goes below a price you choose. Orbitz also offers alerts, as does Bing Travel, TripAdivsor.com/flights and FareCompare.com.
One thing to note: These sites use essentially the same airfare data provided by the airlines' computer systems or ITA Software, so they won't include discounted promo-code fares, and most don't include Southwest Airlines. Airfarewatchdog.com includes hand-picked fares on Southwest and Allegiant Airlines.
3. Search airline sites individually, but not exclusively.
As noted above, many airlines reserve their best fares for their own sites. These are different from promo-code fares. International airlines such as Aer Lingus, Iberia and Qantas regularly offer lower fares ($100-$400 less) on their websites compared to what you'll find on Kayak or Orbitz. But don't ignore online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity, because these sites will tell you if it's cheaper flying out on one airline and back on another.
4. Buy hotel plus air packages.
It's often significantly cheaper to buy an air plus hotel package rather than airfare alone, especially for last-minute travel. We often see Travelocity "TotalTrip" offerings, especially on last-minute flights, pop up with hotel plus air for half the price of air alone. Lastminute.com is also a great source for finding last minute packages.
5. Use Priceline for last-minute trips.
If you don't have a 7-, 14- or 21-day advance-purchase window to buy your fare, your best bet is the "name your own price" feature of Priceline.com. You won't know the exact flight times or airline until you pay, but you can save 50 percent or more. Hotwire.com can also be useful for last minute trips.
6. Use consolidators, but beware of the restrictions.
Consolidators specializing in premium cabins on airplanes often have great deals, and the airlines themselves will be heavily discounting their premium cabins, so check the specials on their web sites. Sites like Vayama.com, airfare.com and Asia.com also sometimes sell consolidator fares. Google "airfarewatchdog consolidator fares" to find more information online.
7. Use a flexible date search.
Would you fly in a different month, or a day or two earlier or later, to save hundreds of bucks? If so, learn how to use the flexible travel-date search feature on airline and third-party sites.
8. Consider extra fees before you buy.
If Southwest has a fare of $198 round-trip and United has $148, and you are checking three bags, then Southwest has the lower fare because Southwest charges nothing for the first two checked bags, whereas United would charge you an additional $165 each way for three.
9. Combine two separate fares rather than buying one fare.
If you're flying to Europe, you might save by purchasing one fare from the U.S. to, say, Dublin, and another from Dublin on low-cost Ryanair.com to your next destination. (Just beware of Ryanair's abundant fees.) Same holds true for some destinations in Asia (fly into Singapore and catch low-cost Airasia.com from there) and to some smaller Caribbean destinations via San Juan or the Bahamas.
10. Buy tickets on an airline that will refund the difference if a fare goes down.
If you buy a non-refundable ticket one day and the price drops the next, you can ask for a refund for the difference. Most airlines charge an "administrative" fee of $150 or more, wiping out any savings. Some airlines give you the entire fare difference without a fee. The "nice" airlines are JetBlue, Southwest and Alaska.
11. Check fares several times a day, and don't listen to pundits who predict airfares.
A lot of people say they know where airfares are headed. But airlines are unpredictable, and any expert who claims he or she knows that airfares will be lower or higher in the coming months is suspect. Fares fluctuate throughout the day, and the number of seats offered at the lowest fares also changes frequently. So if you don't like the fare at 10 a.m., check at 2 p.m. or the next day and you may be surprised.
more from here: http://www.azcentral.com/travel/articles/2010/12/06/20101206faresave1212.html
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