Help Your Money Fly
Posted on June 2, 2015 by bob in MoneyWise
No one likes paying more than necessary for a good or service, and knowing how to shop for airfares can save you enough to justify the effort. Here are some time-tested tips and tricks to stretch your air travel dollars.
Time & Timing
1. Buying your ticket well ahead of time often saves money. Research suggests the best fares have sold out by four weeks from departure. Start looking 6-15 weeks before you plan to travel. Shop earlier for international flights or travel to hot spots at popular times.
2. Flying on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday or a holiday (not just before or after) often saves money. Avoid heavy travel days 
when seat demand is highest, including the heavy business travel days of Sunday and Friday.
3. Flexibility on the dates and time of day you travel can help you score cheaper seats.
4. If you are flexible about when and where you travel, look for cheap last-minute weekend fares. For instance, if you want to visit Boston some day, check for cheap fares close to an open weekend when you want to travel.
Comparison Shop
1. Online tools make shopping easier than ever. Use multiple comparative sites and check individual airline sites, especially those of low-cost airlines that may not book through Expedia, Orbitz, etc. Kayak and Google Flights are among those worth a try.
2. Check frequently over a period of weeks, up to four times a day. Some of the best fares are posted between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. Central Time. With some sites you can leave the search page open and simply refresh after a few hours to get updated results.
3. Shop alternate nearby airports. For instance, consider LaGuardia as well as JFK, Birmingham and Atlanta as well as Montgomery. The cost difference can justify flying out of or into a different airport.
4. More one-way fares are being priced attractively. Try mixing and matching one-way fares, perhaps using different airports.
5. See if adding a stop saves enough to justify the extra time and aggravation.
6. Some airlines and booking tools offer free online alerts to fare changes, promotions, etc. For instance, you can sign up with Southwest for Ding! which will alert you to short-duration offers.
7. Be sure that quoted fares include all taxes and fees. Compare apples to apples.
8. You can hold many fares for 24 hours before paying. Once you book, check for a cheaper fare within that time window. If you find one, you may be able to cancel and rebook.
Other Ideas
1. Use miles from loyalty programs.
2. For an annual fee some loyalty program credit cards offer benefits like free checked bags and a free/cheap companion fare once a year. Choose wisely and watch for changing terms and conditions.
3. Check the flight restrictions in case you have to cancel or change. For higher dollar tickets far in advance, consider trip insurance if you have concerns about changes that would result in forfeiting the cost of your booking.
Finally, spend enough time to determine what the usual price range is for the air travel you want. This takes some time and it is important to be patient and not rush to premature conclusions. Once you feel you know what a good deal looks like, you are ready to lock in when you spot one. After that, don’t worry about what you might have left on the table. You will rarely be that person who gets the very best deal. Be satisfied that you got a good deal, even if someone else did better. You will enjoy life more if you consciously adopt an attitude of contentment instead of beating yourself up about missing an extra $30 savings on a $600 flight.
Alan Wallace
Alan Wallace, CFA, ChFC, CLU, is a Senior Private Wealth Advisor for Ronald Blue & Co.’s Montgomery office, www.ronblue.com/location-al. He can be reached at 334-270-5960, or by e-mail at alan.wallace@ronblue.com
