If you’re looking for tips for finding cheap airfare, these are the tips for you! Don’t let the thought of high ticket prices deflate your travel plans!
I love the holidays and I especially love to travel, but the thought of flying anywhere around the holidays makes me crazy. The airlines know that people want to go home, so guess what? Of course, they raise the prices. You don’t have to pay full price for a holiday flight.
6 Tips For Finding Cheap AirFare During the Holidays
Traveling doesn’t have to break the bank. If you are wanting to find cheap airfare for travels, there are ways to make it happen!
Buy Early
If you are a planner like me, then I suggest buying your ticket early. You are more likely to get a cheap holiday flight when you buy in advance, then when you buy last minute. While this may take a bit of planning, it still is ensuring that you pay the cheapest price for a ticket.
Focus on sites like Kayak.com and Expedia.com to keep you in the know about when the prices of flights are going up or going down. You can even have alerts set on certain sites so you know when the flights have changed prices. It doesn’t get much more simple than that to find cheap airfare!
Check out CheapAir
This website is new to me but looks promising. CheapAir tells you when the best days are for buying airplane tickets. It’s full of tips and tickets. You can search for flights, hotels, and even cars. It even has a part of the website that tells you what the average ticket is for that day!
If you’re looking for a super simple way to break down the best deal on flights, this may be a great place to focus your time and efforts.
Be Flexible with Your Travel Dates
While I typically do not travel a long distance over the holidays, common sense says to be flexible with your travel dates. If you’re stuck with traveling on certain days, you are going to pay a lot more money. This is especially true if you are trying to travel on the weekends. Also, skipping traveling on the actual holidays helps.
Try to avoid traveling on actual Thanksgiving or Christmas to avoid paying top dollar for a plane ticket. If you can adjust your schedule to fly a day before or a day after, it could result in hundreds of dollars in savings!
Check Various Airports
If you’re willing to travel a bit to get to the airport, then don’t just go with the first one you find. Check the different airports.
For example, you may have to travel 2 hours to get to the airport, but it could be a $200 price difference to go this route. Once you know the dates of when you need to fly, search online for all airports within a 50-mile radius. You may be surprised at how much variance there is in the pricing of the tickets.
Go Through the Airline Directly
Sure, using other websites for searching for that cheaper price may seem like a good idea, but you may strike a better deal by going to the actual airline’s website. Sometimes the airline throws specials and deals that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. Before you hit the “buy” ticket, do your research.
I always like to have multiple tabs open so I can search for all the offers at once. That way I have all the information at my fingertips to be able to choose the best deal for my travels and my budget.
Save Those Airline Miles
Those sky miles really do add up! What’s the point of collecting them all if you’re never going to use them. Always be aware of what your balance is and see how it can help lower your travel costs. Free airline tickets seem like an awesome way to save a bunch of money on your travels!
Related: Southwest Companion Pass
I personally look at all avenues before I buy any type of airplane tickets. Sometimes the prices go up for no reason. Make sure you try these avenues before clicking BUY this holiday season.
With how easy the internet makes searching for deals, make certain that you’re setting up alerts so that you can be notified when any of the prices change. While it may sound like a lot of work on your part to get the best deals, it’s really not all that hard. A little bit of effort can result in HUGE savings!
Other related travel articles
- Travel More This Year With Your Kids: Kids Fly Free With Frontier Airlines
- Do You Need Travel Insurance for your Family Vacations? Know Before You Buy
- 6 Florida Travel Tips and Florida Family Vacation Guide
LifeFamilyFun is always in search of the best travel tips, family fun, and new adventures! Reach out to us for your next travel story!
Erica Golding says
Thanks for this article! Always looking for ways to save money, especially during the holidays!
Sue Spence says
thanks for this information 🙂
Michelle Bartley says
I always use miles on my credit card!
Patty says
Thanks for the tips
Gail Lindsey says
Yes, we’ve booked our flight to Mich. on Southwest. We opened up a new Southwest Visa credit card that gave us enough points for our annual trip to Mich. for Christmas to see our family!
Leslie says
I have learned that yes book through the airline. Not near he fees or hassle if you miss a fight.
Cathy Thompson says
Thanks for the great info. it always helps to have the knowledge to possibly find some better deals and save a few dollars.
Lisa Coomer Queen says
These are great tips! Thank you for the article!
Kathy says
Great tips thank you I will stop do it at the last minute.
Cheryl Burns says
Thanks for the tips, getting ready to plan a trip in a few weeks
Rana Durham says
i was looking at the real lat week and they were talking about how expensive flights can be in holiday season. i am so glad that you made this article. we def can use it.