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Our Top Tips for Finding Low Airfares

Our airfare experts spend every day digging for low fares. And they’ve uncovered quite a few tricks for finding low fares. Here are our four favorites; our go–to suggestions that are certain to help you save.
1. There’s no “magic day” or “perfect date” to buy the best airfare
The latest hype is that you need to buy airfare exactly 54 days out. But guess what? That doesn’t fly. Airlines are unpredictable, and no one can accurately predict where airfares are heading. Think about it: if anyone really knew, airlines would change it immediately, anyway.
2. Search often, over a long lead time, and pounce on deals!
Fares fluctuate throughout the day, and the number of seats offered at the lowest fares also changes frequently. If you don’t like the fare at 10 a.m., check at 2 p.m. or the next day or the next week and pounce when the fare is affordable.
3. Combine two separate fares rather than just buying one
If you’re flying to a destination in Europe, you might save money by purchasing one fare from the US to, say, Dublin, and another from Dublin onward on RyanAir.com (or another low–cost airline.) The same trick holds true for some destinations in Asia and the Caribbean. Even domestically, two fares are often less than one.
4. Get Low Fare Alerts by Email
This is, hands down, one of the easiest ways to track airfare: Sign up to get alerts when fares drop. Just be sure you’re signed up for a site that also incorporates promo code fares and fares from airlines like Southwest that you can’t search on most travel sites. (Airfarewatchdog includes both of these.)