5 Money Saving Airfare Tips

Although these tips may cut short your time with family over the holiday

, if you are on a very tight travel budget, follow these five money saving airfare tips:

1. Do Not Procrastinate

Booking ahead of time usually saves money. Once you are within two weeks of your travel date, you will pay more, especially on popular routes. Trust us when we tell you that the airlines aren't adding extra flights once they fill up. They want a butt in every seat.

2. Avoid Direct Flights

Although inconvenient, direct flights cost more. Using flights with connections can save you money, especially if there are longer layovers involved. Those are less desirable routes so they are harder to fill seats on and therefore cost less.

3. Fly Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the slowest travel days of the week so airlines lower prices to fill more seats. The exception to this guideline is Thanksgiving week. For the holiday the best bet is to fly on Thanksgiving morning and if you fly back home the next day (Black Friday), you might save even more dough that you can use for holiday shopping instead.

4. Consider Nearby Airports

If you are renting a car or have a family member willing to drive a little extra, flying into other nearby airports could save money. For example, flying into Providence, Rhode Island rather than Boston. Another example is flying into White Plains, New York instead of New York City. Fort Lauderdale and West Palm are reasonable alternatives to flying into Miami.

5. Sign Up For Airfare Deal Alerts

We all know about Southwest Airlines' famous "Ding" price alerts. But the other airlines send them out too. For example, JetBlue has great price specials throughout the year but the cheaper prices can only be locked in during a short window of 24 to 48 hours so act fast when you receive their emails. Email alerts help you plan ahead (see tip #1).

Airlines have cut down on the number of routes they schedule. This has lowered the number of available seats and raised prices. Airfare is the safest form of traveling, but the cost of fuel and license fees at airport terminals, combined with the never ending battle over pay and benefits with pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and service staff makes it tough for airlines to not raise prices. Be a smart airfare shopper by following these five money saving airfare tips.

by: Nathan Randall

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