How to get a better deal on airline tickets

So you're looking to do some of this:

but you don't want to spend a lot of this:

 

(especially with a family worth of tickets to buy).

Just because you've added kids to the mix does not mean that you can't afford plane tickets. There are ways to find cheaper plane tickets, it just takes a little more effort. Here are a few tips to help you find some good deals:

1. Use Travelocity, Expedia, or the like to see what the going price of fares are. I am partial to Travelocity, but this will work for any website that lists multiple carrier prices. I put in my desired airports and travel dates, then see what the prices are. If you are traveling within the US you can choose the flexible date option and see prices for a 3 day spread within your desired departure/return. Write down the cheapest flights you find and then go back and choose to search for flights from near by cities on desired dates, and then again for the 3 day range. Choose the city that has the best deal and then search the actual airline website. Sometimes you can find a cheaper price listed on the airline website than on Travelocity (or whichever one you use).

2. Check out the low-cost airlines, such as Southwest, Air Tran, Frontier, Jet Blue, Sun Country, and a few others. These airlines only fly to and from specific airports (whereas Delta, American Airlines, US Airways, United, etc fly to and from pretty much everywhere within the US and worldwide). If you can be flexible on where you fly in/out of you can save literally hundreds of dollar$.

3. Consider taking the red eye flight. I know. It. Sucks. but it also is usually harder to fill and thus a cheaper price. Now, I would not recommend taking the red eye if you are 8 months pregnant and have a young child in tow. I've been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. And it made me say, "I'll never do that again!" Low and behold, I just bought red eye tickets for our trip later this month (I'm not 8 months pregnant this time, but now there are 2 young ones in tow), and I took an almost red eye last month with a 20 month old. Not too bad. Just make sure you have a place to get some rest once you land. I don't recommend a red eye and then another 2 hr drive with little ones in tow; though they just might sleep the whole time.

4. Try traveling on off days (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) and non peak hours (early morning or late night).

5. If you are able to enjoy the benefits of military travel (service member, dependent or retiree) Space A is a wonderful way to fly for next to nothing! If you are a spouse of a service member who is deployed for over 120 days, you and the service member's dependents are able to fly without the service member present as long as you have a commander's letter stating deployment and Space A eligibility. My kids and I used this form of travel for 3 trips this past year and saved thousands. I could write an entire post on Space A travel just to give pointers and advice, since I went into it ignorant and learned a lot rather quickly. I was blessed to be flying with people who were willing to show me the ropes.

If you are willing to put in the effort to search for a good deal, you usually can find one. It all boils down to how flexible you are willing to be.