With travel expert Peter Greenberg stating that airfare rates are expected to rise between 8% and 12% this year, you are probably wondering how you can get the best airfare rates for your upcoming family vacations. There are a few sites that I like to use to price out trips, track airfare, and make a purchase – all are free and easy to use. Just remember that you should also check the rates on the Southwest Airlines site – since these sites don’t include Southwest.
Sign up for a free Yapta account and you’ll be able to track price changes – both before and after you purchase your flights. If your flight is eligible for a reimbursement after the rate goes down, this is the best way you’ll be able to figure that out. You can also sign up for email alerts as rates change on your preferred flights – so you can jump on a price decrease immediately!
If you are wondering if now is a good time to purchase your airfare, the price predictor by Bing Travel is a great tool. You can add in your preferred dates and destinations, and the algorithm will let you know if you should purchase now, or wait. While it’s not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, I’ve found that it’s generally provides useful information. You can also sign up for notifications if the prices change.
If you are an American Express cardholder, and are enrolled in the Membership Rewards program, the travel branch of American Express is a great way to book your flights and reserve your hotel. You can use Membership Rewards to purchase your flight – and if you don’t have enough points, you can use some points and some cash. You can also reserve one-way flights from different airlines to save money, and book your hotel at the same time.
How do you save money on airfare rates?
I have never heard of Yapta–will have to check that out! Thanks for the tip!
I used to travel weekly for work. I always price checked on Kayak & SWA. I bought w/ Southwest for trips that had the potential to change or reschedule because of their no change fee policy.
Thanks for this. We haven’t had an opportunity to travel in quite some time, though I have to say, pricing is a large reason why. With these resources I might even be able to have an edge to making it more affordable for us.
Ooo, thanks for the Yapta recommendation. Need to book my Blissdom flight!
I need to book mine too!!
this is fantastic and have never heard of Yapta – I’ll go check it out now!
I always find things like this AFTER I’ve booked a flight. I’m definitely going to check out Yapta, never heard of it
Wonderful! Had not heard of Yapta! Just shared on my Facebook pages!
I am on Yapta and I knew about Bing, but the AmEx is new to me. Thanks for the tip — always looking for ways on how to keep travel costs lower.