Finding Good Rates for Flights?

[DisneyFan1979]

We're planning our next trip for this December and are struggling with booking a flight. We usually fly JetBlue and their rates seem to be going up and up. Unfortunately, as of now at least, we are limited to flying on a Fri, Sat, or Sun - which tend to be more expensive.

So, my question is: what is everyone's strategy for booking a flight? Do you watch the rates for a certain amount of time? Look everyday? Use one of those flight price monitors they have on some websites?

Do you find a certain number of months ahead of time is more expensive, less expensive?

We also usually book our flight first, then do the hotel. But I'm wondering if we should do the reverse this time so we can book the hotel before the AAA rate disappears.

Thanks in advance :mickey:

[teambricker04]

With gas prices the way they are, and will probably only go up, I would imagine that it would be better to book sooner rather than later.

We usually buy at the last minute. Literally. This last trip we bought our tix home at the airport. We lucked out and got tix for less than they were prior (even the day before!), but this is very risky.

I always check all the airline sites as well as sites like expedia and travelocity. Sometimes they have better rates than the airline because they reserve them at a certain rate. We went down to WDW on Airtran and the best deal was on expedia over the AT site (We got one way tickets for less than 75 bucks a piece!). I very rarely call to buy tickets, usually I do it over the internet.

I always tell myself if I find tickets for under 200 a piece, I will buy them. Mostly we pay around 150 if we shop ahead of time.

[MickeyandTink]

I've had really good luck using Farecast.com . They compare just about every major airline (except Southwest) and it is easy to adjust times, dates and nearby alternative airports to get the lowest fares. They also will look at price trends and give recommendations as to whether current prices are likely to rise or fall. It's not perfect, but it's a good rough guide.

As a general rule, airlines usually announce fare specials on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays, so those are usually good times to check for the best fares. While traveling on Friday or Sunday is usually ( but not always) more expensive, Saturdays are usually pretty good.

Lastly, some airlines will credit you back the fare difference (less handling fees) if the price goes down later (and you call to rebook at the lower fare). It's not as good as cash, but at least it does give a little protection.