Does anyone have any tricks they use?
Buy two 1way tickets?
Any help would be very much appreciated.What is the best way to find cheap flights?
Summer is peak travel season, so you will find that most airfare is not going to be very low. Especially with raising fuel costs again, airfare has gone up about $100 and more on most segments. "Cheap" isn't going to be a factor for international travel. Many posters have given some good recommendations, but you need to first do your homework. Use travel websites to compare prices. Most cannot discount them any more than the lowest published fare an airline has. Third party websites also tack on extra fee's in many cases, or hide them within the fare and mark it up some. Check what the fares are on several of the sites listed, then go directly to the airlines website to compare.
If you do choose to use a 3rd party site, READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS of purchase. There are a lot of scam sites out there. Some will put your reservation in a queue and process it later. If your reservation isn't process by midnight it is dropped, and they may re-book it at a higher fare, or you won't have a reservation all together. (I've seen this happen first hand for a popular travel site, I worked in their call center.) I recommend staying away from websites that do not show you what airline you will be flying, like Priceline, Hotwire, etc....these websites are strict with their bookings. You can not miss your flight for any reason or make changes. You are at their mercy if you miss your flight for any reason beyond the airlines scope of responsibility, such as a mechanical delay or if there is a weather delay. But if you show up late and miss your flight, you just lost your reservation with no recourse.
Tickets are not sold on a discount for one way fares. In some cases, a one way fare can be higher than the total round trip ticket. Also, keep in mind, some countries will not allow you to enter on a one-way fare. You will have to have a round trip booked in order to enter the country. Some websites know this and will not allow you to book a 1way fare when international travel is involved.
As far as the person commenting on asking for a bereavement fare, that is not suggested either. They no longer discount for that and will just sell you the lowest published fare available for that flight. They may not tell you this...but you aren't getting a discount. The bereavement fare code is usually still available, but it's always higher than the lowest published fare. And in order to use this fare, you have to show proof that you are going for a funeral, or that the death of the person is imminent, so either a statement from the funeral home or the attending physician with in 24 hours after arrival is required or you will be charged a full fare. So, that is NOT recommended.
Book more than 30 days out, and when you shop online, the fare you see is the base fare. If they don't post it tack on $200 and up for the taxes and fee's. Make sure you see the full price before choosing one source over the other. You still have time, so I suggest signing up for several different airline's e-mail alerts to get advised when something goes on sale. Most airlines post sale fares at midnight on Tuesday, but each airline can vary depending on where you are.
If you need some help, feel free to shoot me an IM and I can help you find some fare. But again, fares are going up sharply here in the US, and no real indication of them going back down any time soon. What used to cost me $250 to fly across the US is now $405, and posted through out the rest of the year. Try coming in early May, before school lets out, or in August/September after school is back in session. Otherwise, do your homework, research and sign up for e-mail alerts is going to be your best options.
You'r welcome. Feel free to contact me if you would like some help finding fares. E-mail peachez1000@gmail.com
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What is the best way to find cheap flights?Summer is peak travel season so you will not find any really cheap tickets. You can start off with http://www.kayak.com. Keeping your travel dates flexible may help as well. You do want to buy early though. Ticket prices usually get more expensive the longer you wait. Also if you buy an airline ticket and also buy a hotel stay, sometimes you can get a better price.
Another option is to see how much a travel agent will price the tickets.
Flight prices depend on many factors and few of them i mentioned below.
1) Be flexible with your travel dates.
2) Book at least two weeks ahead, preferably three
3) Staying over Saturday no longer necessary.
4) Fly mid-week if you can.
5) Using neighboring airports sometimes gets you cheaper airfares.
6) Always check the round-trip price even if you're flying one-way.
7) Avoid busy holiday dates
8) Book multi-city trips using the special search
9) For U.S. to Europe, fly to London first
10) Use the proper website to search for airfare
http://www.travelhouseuk.co.uk/
http://www.lastminuteflightsworldwide.co鈥?/a>
http://www.flightsandairfares.co.uk/
http://www.searchcheapflights.co.uk/
You can check on different airline sites. Also, you may want to check these sites:
www.tripadivisor.com
www.expedia.com
www.kayak.com
www.orbitz.com
www.hotwire.com
www.travelocity.com
www.priceline.com
Airlines offer special rates if you're traveling for a funeral I always tell them I am and always get a discount
WWW.airfarewatchdog.com
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