Airline Ticket Buying Tips

Where to Buy Tickets

There are a number of ways to purchase your tickets online well in advance—or at the last minute, if necessary. In some cases, you can save money by booking everything you'll need—your flight, your hotel, your rental car, and so on—online, in a bundle. You can also contact the airline directly, which we will discuss in a bit, in the "When to Buy" section. Buying tickets directly from the airline can result in great deals--if you know when to shop.

A few sites to check:

• Expedia
• Orbitz
• CheapTickets
• Travelocity
• Last Minute
• Last Minute Travel
• Qixo
• Farechase
• BestFares
• OneTravel
• Travelzoo

Airline Ticket Buying Tips: Save Money

No matter where you're going or why, you are going to want to save money where you can. Airline ticket buying tips can help you keep your wallets full for the fun events and things to buy while on your trip.

The System

There are some tricks to avoid paying top-dollar for your flight. A few of them include:

• Shopping at the last minute. This one is risky because you may not find a flight when you need it, but if you have the flexibility, you stand a good chance of saving some money by filling up one of the last slots an airline has available on a flight.
• Using an agent or ticket consolidator helps. Agents and ticket consolidators can sometimes get you a discounted rate on your tickets simply because they've bought so many at one time at a deeply discounted rate themselves that they're waiting to sell to interested travelers. This doesn't always work, but it's worth a shot.
• Always shop around. Online, go to multiple ticket sites. If you've seen a flight price listed somewhere and call in to purchase your tickets, be sure to ask them if there's anything else that's even less expensive.
• Don't switch airlines mid-flight. If you stay with the same one for each leg of your trip, you will most likely receive a discounted rate.

When to Buy

Travel sites usually post their new rates on Wednesdays. Shop on Wednesdays between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. (the airline's headquarters' time zone). Here are a few airlines and their home office locations:

• Delta – Atlanta
• United – Chicago
• Northwest -- Minneapolis/St. Paul
• Southwest -- Texas

Book as early as possible, but not too early. If you wait until 14 days before your trip, you'll probably pay premium prices. It's cheaper to buy early, otherwise you may find yourself hoping for a last minute flight in order to get the best deal. However, if you know about your trip months in advance, you might do well to sit tight for at least a few more weeks and observe the prices.

The best times to schedule your flight, then, are:

• At least three weeks in advance
• Very last minute, but in this case you're not guaranteed to find the flight you're hoping for

Try to avoid:

• Two weeks in advance

When to Fly

Consider when you're going to be flying. If you're traveling during peak seasons, such as summer or around the winter holidays, you're going to have a harder time finding the ideal low rate. Push that trip to see Aunt Edna back to mid-January or February, April, May, or the middle of September or December and you'll be able to splurge a bit while you're there with the money you've managed to save on your airline tickets.

On a smaller scale, there are cheaper days to fly: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. You may also find great rates on holidays. Flying on Christmas? You could save a bundle.

On top of that, there are times of the day to fly that are cheaper—late at night and early morning—so keep an eye open for those departure dates and times.

The Bottom Line

With a bit of planning and a degree of patience, you're bound to find the price you want for your flight. Use these airline ticket buying tips to get you started in your search, and don't be afraid to monitor prices for a while before purchasing if you have the time. Watch multiple websites for drops in prices so you get the deal you're looking for.