How to Get Discount Airline Tickets

While efficient, air travel can be expensive.

While an efficient way to travel, flying also can be expensive no matter where you are going. With a little digging around and a little research, you may be able to find cheap airline tickets. If you are able to be flexible and plan ahead, you may be able to get airline tickets at a discounted rate. Look online, talk to a travel agent on the phone or talk to someone in person.

Things You'll Need

• Money
• Credit card

Instructions

1. Book your flight months ahead of schedule. Airlines will usually have their schedules up six months to a year in advance. Rates are often lower if you book them early.

2. Browse around discount travel sites like Hotwire, Expedia or Kayak. These sites provide a list of airlines that fly to and from your destination.

3. Look at all of your airline choices before choosing one. Some budget airlines won't appear on discount travel sites like Hotwire, Expedia or Kayak. You need to go to the specific budget airline's website to check out flights.

4. Browse an airline's international website if you are traveling abroad. Sometimes ticket prices will be cheaper on international versions of the website.

5. Consider flying into secondary airports rather than more expensive airports. For example, look at prices of flights to both Midway and O'Hare for the Chicago area or Long Beach and LAX for the Los Angeles area.

6. Keep your dates flexible. Flying during the week rather than the weekend may make your flight cheaper.

7. Sign up for free rewards programs through certain airline carriers. Often after accumulating so many points, you will have enough for a deeply discounted or free flight.

8. Volunteer to be bumped from a flight if the airline can provide you with some incentives. It may offer you a cheaper discounted or even upgraded flight if you give up your seat.

9. Look for other ways of getting a discount seat, like checking out student discounts if you are a student.

10. Call the airline and see if you can negotiate a rate that is lower than the posted price.

11. Go to a travel agent. While you may have to pay a fee for her services, she will be able to plan your trip and come up with the least expensive way of doing so.

References

• Art of Travel: How to Get Cheap Flights
• Nomadic Matt's Travel Site: How to Find a Cheap Flight