Airfare prices drop in time for holiday travel--booking tips

Airlines are finally passing on savings from low fuel prices to consumers who can expect to pay 17-percent less for flights over the next three months. Though this is good news for holiday travelers, airfare, hotels and car rental costs peak from Thanksgiving through Christmas, so it's important to plan your trip wisely.



Don't delay buying tickets for holiday air travel.

Try these booking tips to keep your travel in budget this season.

Book before December 15.
If you can't book your flight early because you're waiting to confirm time off, just make sure you do so before December 15. Airfare prices spike the last 10 days leading up to Christmas, and you'll pay out the nose for last-minute holiday travel.

Track prices.
Airfare fluctuates throughout the day, week and based on demand. Booking today could mean you miss out savings tomorrow, so start watching flight prices and track savings using Pintrips.com, which compares prices on travel with real-time price-tracking and offers an added social element to help you coordinate with your family and friends. You can also use the Hopper App to learn about the best times to fly based on price and get notified when your preferred itinerary drops in price.


Your computer could be the best tool to help you
save money on flights.

Click for coupons.
Despite higher prices around the holidays, travel providers still offer deals to compete for your dollars. Before reserving flights, hotels and car rentals, always search for coupon codes to reduce your cost. Such websites as CouponSherpa.com make it easy to find travel promo codes for extra savings including $25 off $100 Hotwire bookings, or 25-percent off a car rental from Budget through Dec. 28.

Shop warehouse sites.
If you have a membership to Costco or Sam's Club, consider booking through their travel portals for discounts on airfare, lodging and rental cars, as well as deals on cruises and activities. Costco has deals like 10 to 20-percent off rooms at Hyatt and Best Western properties, as well as discounts and coupons from several rental car companies. Sam's Club advertises average savings of 15 percent on hotel rooms, and 10-percent off rental car rates.

Traveling as a family requires
advance preparations.

Book one-way fares.
Before you limit your airfare searches to round-trip tickets, price one-way tickets from multiple carriers to see if you can get a better deal. This strategy also enables you to apply reward miles to one leg of the trip if you don't have enough to cover the cost of a round-trip ticket.

Buy someone's reservation.
RoomerTravel.com connects you with other travelers who are stuck with a hotel reservation they can't change, and facilitates your purchase of that reservation for up to 25 percent below market price. Enter the city or zip code where you're visiting to look for available reservations.

Travel on the holiday.
Since most consumers don't want to fly on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day or New Year's Day, airfare will be lower. While it's not ideal to show up late to Thanksgiving dinner, you can still spend a long weekend with your family and enjoy leftovers. In addition to day-of discounts, certain days are better priced than others, like return flights scheduled for Dec. 2 instead of Nov. 29.

Send gifts directly.
With carry-on and checked baggage fees adding to the cost of holiday travel, the last thing you want to worry about is fitting everyone's gifts into your luggage. Avoid this complication by shipping gifts directly to the recipient. If time is an issue, know you can put off your holiday shopping up until Dec. 18, the date of this year's Free Shipping Day. Hundreds of retailers will offer free shipping (no minimum order thresholds) plus extra discounts, with guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve.



Sit back, relax, and enjoy your
(cheaper) flight.

Use your rewards.
Now is the time to use those credit card or booking site reward programs. If you're booking an extended stay at a hotel this holiday season, consider signing up for Hotels.com Rewards, which will provide you with one free night's stay after every 10 days booked. Use this site to book hotel accommodations throughout the year to accrue free nights during the pricey holiday season.

This article was contributed by money-saving expert Andrea Woroch. Check her website www.andreaworoch.com for more great tips.

Photos from free sites.

Tips to reduce the cost of flying this summer

Summer is a busy time for travel and predictions are that airfare will steadily increase, especially as more airlines consolidate (American Way and U.S. Air  are the latest). So consumers are facing more challenges when booking flights: Fewer flights means higher demand and increased fare costs in some markets. These tips could help you save on airfare:

1. Catch an early flight
The time you fly can impact the cost of your flight significantly. Waking up before dawn or catching a late-night redeye may get you the cheapest flight of the day.

Finding the right flight to get you where you want to go quickly
can be a challenge and takes research time.

2. Choose a loyalty credit card
It's important to sign up for an airline's frequent flyer program. Airline-specific credit cards enable you to earn miles for everyday purchases as well as for booking flights, and they generally allow you to check one bag free. But there are other credit cards that offers award trips, too, and you might want to have one of those if you don’t fly often or don’t expect to use the same airline each time. Most credit card companies offer mileage points for use toward flights, hotels or car rentals.

3. Shop for flights on Tuesday
Not everyone agrees, but according to FareCompare.com, booking flights at 3:00 p.m. ET Tuesday afternoon is your best chance to find the cheapest airfare. Since more airlines bid for flights on Mondays, and companies are busy booking their business travelers, less expensive flights abound on Tuesday and Wednesday.

5. Skip direct flights
Making connections may lower your overall fare costs in some cases. Look for short connection windows, but make sure there's enough time to catch the next flight in case of a delay. Also, be sure the amount of savings is enough to justify the hassle of a layover (and increased possibility of misplaced luggage).

6. Travel Midweek
Monday and Friday flights are notoriously more expensive because that’s when business travelers either fly out or fly home, and leisure travelers escape for a short getaway or vacation. Tuesday or Wednesday departures can result in savings in some cases.

7. Track flight price drops
Some airlines will issue an airline credit if your itinerary drops in price after you book it. Yapta.com will alert you when your itinerary drops in price so you can request a credit or book the trip if you've been holding out for a better deal. Checking in to an airline site too often prior to booking can actually result in increased fares popping up on your screen.

8. Consider alternate airports
You might assume smaller airports with limited flights have costlier airfare, but this is not always the case. With limited schedules, these airports can't accommodate all travelers, making select flights and trips in less demand and therefore less expensive.


Your computer can be the best tool
for booking flights.

9. Search one-way flights
When flying to and from the same city, most people search roundtrip flights. However, booking one way flights on different airlines may get a better deal. Plus, it's easier to redeem miles on one-way flights because the cost of one leg is significantly less than the cost of a roundtrip flight.

10. Book online at airline sites
Compare prices and schedules with a search engine like Kayak, but don't forget to search airlines separately. Buying directly from the airline will also reduce the hassle associated with dealing with a third party if there are flight changes or cancellations.

Today’s guest post is by Andrea Woroch, a nationally-recognized consumer and money-saving expert. Follow her on Twitter for daily savings advice and tips.andrea@andreaworoch.com.

 

Tip for hedging your bets on airfare

With unrest in Middle East countries resulting in frequent increases in the price of oil, booking flights for trips several months in the future can feel like playing the lottery. Do you book way out and hope you’re not paying hundreds of dollars more than current fares when you actually take the trip? Or do you wait and take a chance that fares will drop before your scheduled travel?

Yapta, the Internet site that will track a flight before before purchase and alert you when fares drop, has added a service that lets you take advantage of last-minute deals that may show up after you’ve booked your flight.  Yapta will send an email alert for any flight registered at the site if the price drops enough for the carrier to refund the difference to you.

Of course, some airlines charge a processing or rebooking fee, but if the savings is substantial it may still be worthwhile.  JetBlue and Alaska Airlines will issue a refund without any fee.  AirTran and Virgin America charge $75 while Hawaiian Airlines asseses $100 for ticket changes. Continental, United, Delta, and U.S. Airways charge $150 for domestic flights and $250 for some international flights.  Generally the refund is issued in the form of a voucher that can be used for future travel--can’t hurt to register and see what happens.