Tips for Cheap Tix

In the past year, I've been on two major trips- one to Kauai and one to Aruba. I've also made numerous flights between Des Moines and Fresno, Des Moines and Los Angeles and Fresno and Los Angeles. I've been on a few other big trips in the last few years and for a leisure (not business) traveler, I do fly quite a bit. Consequently, I get asked fairly often for tips about finding cheap flights. Two weeks ago I flew from Des Moines to LA for $192 round-trip and Rob made the same flight this past weekend for $209. Here's some things I can tell you.

1. Sign up for frequent flier programs- They are free and I can't even begin to impress upon you what you can get in return. I went to Kauai for free and got Rob a half-price ticket too last year because of them. You have to make an effort to stick to one (or two) airline(s) but you will reap the rewards. Big time. We have enough miles again already to go anywhere in the U.S. and even the Caribbean and Mexico. So many choices...

2. Sign up for hotel and rental car frequent customer programs too- Often times you can get miles/points for more than just the place you are spending your money at. For example, I last rented a car from National and got points with them and frequent flier miles with American. Hotels work together with them too.

3. Get a credit card that earns miles- We all have them. You may as well get one that gives you something back. I have one for a major airline and that helps me earn lots of miles. If you aren't someone who flies a ton, this will definitely help you rack up the miles if you use it for groceries, gas and other everyday things like that. You can also earn extra miles for certain retailers and services. However, it's still a credit card and should be used carefully. I would recommend getting one for a specific airline rather than one that gives you different options for several airlines- I've heard that they are a pain and have lots of blackout dates. I've never had that problem.

4. Be flexible- Last minute deals are usually the way I go but they rarely give you more than 10-14 days notice from the time the deal is available until when you have to take the trip. You can sign up with airlines to get their emails for last minute deals. United and American send out emails every Tuesday for cheap flights for the following weekend. Travelzoo also has a last minute deal email (their "Top 20") that they send out every Wednesday. Sign up for these.

5. Check the airlines' websites- It used to be that services like Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, etc. would have the best deals for purchasing flights. It's no longer that way, I've found. I always look on those websites first but then I check out the airline's website because they are usually the same price and you also get bonus miles for booking online through an airline's website.

6. Be in the know- check every couple of weeks or so on flights that you often take or are looking at taking just to get familiar with what a good price is. For example, when I look for a Des Moines-Fresno flight, I usually get a price that is between $450-$600. But since I keep up with it and look often, I know that I can get that flight for around $300 if I am patient and keep looking.

7. Days matter- It's more expensive to fly on Fridays and Sundays. Try and make a trip from Saturday through Monday- you'll save a lot. I've also read that flights are cheaper if you book them on certain days of the week but I can't remember which days those are.

8. Don't forget the little guys- It's easy to think of the major airlines when looking for a ticket but don't forget to see which smaller ones fly in and out of your local airport. These airlines also don't usually come up if you look on a travel website like travelocity or expedia. You have to go to the airline's own website. To find which airlines fly out of your airport, you can usually go to the airport's website to get a list and often there are links to the airlines' websites from there.

9. Check for nearby airports- For example, if you want to fly into San Francisco, check Oakland and San Jose and maybe even Sacramento. You may have to drive a bit but it may be worth it depending on how much you save.

10. Finally, it stinks but...- Sometimes if you are willing to stop twice instead of once, you can get a better deal. This isn't always the case but if you are looking to save a few bucks, don't restrict your searches with the number of stops you are willing to make.

So get out there and have a good time- it's a big, big world out there and you should see it!