Yes I know,you dont have to tell me how expensive airline tickets can get. Just getting there can really take up a huge portion of any budget. I for one sometimes get frustrated trying to find something reasonable when I want to travel, not when there are only airfare sales going on. Never fear though, I am about to layout a couple things you can do to keep more of that money in your pocket.



Airlines change their prices regularly to try and have a full airplane at departure time. Most will lower their airfares on Tuesday or Wednesdays about 21 days before departure. A good rule of thumb is to book and purchase your ticket for travel on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday for travel at late or off-peak hours of flying ( like redeye flights).

If you decide to be a little more persistent and keep looking out for lower airfares even after you bought your airline ticket, then there are some airlines that will either refund the difference or issue a voucher as credit for the difference. Keeping in mind that some airlines have a buy it and keep it policy, you may get further discounts from those airlines that are willing to work with you even after you have bought your tickets. Some airlines will charge a fee for any kind of change in your tickets so make sure that the savings will cover these costs as well. Sign up for emails at : Airfarewatchdog.com if you really want to keep track of airline ticket prices.

When you book your trips, a seven day stay including the weekend, will get you the most bargain airline tickets whether there is a sale or not. Also, a flight to a smaller, less trafficking airport nearby can keep the bargain airfares in sight.

Now its time to talk about codeshare flights. These are flights that one airline will book on another airline for the part of the trip it cannot serve. These flights are agreed upon between the two or more airlines involved and can save you a ton of money. You get to share frequent flyer miles and have them credited towards your account to be used towards free tickets and other rewards.

You can get a list of the codeshare partners and check each individual airline for flights and compare prices on each with codeshare flights involved. In most cases, you will actually find that one partner will actually have the same flights for lower airfares if you buy it from them than from another one of the other partner airlines. Even if one the partners offer a sale to somewhere it does not fly to, you can buy that low airfare and fly on one of the other partner airlines that does fly there.

You can apply all the above tips when researching airfares online at some of the more popular booking sites online such as priceline.com or Orbitz.com.

Happy Traveling!