3 Tips on How-To Book Airfar

Airfares may be up, but there are still airfare wars. The best ones go unadvertised. These are not last-minute bargains, but they are short-sale bargains. For example: In late March, JetBlue announced a round-trip fare of $97 between Boston and Houston, including tax. The next day, United slashed its fares out of Boston, offering $60 each way to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., or New Orleans. All cheap seats were gone in a blink. How to find these? Subscribe to airfare alert services or the airlines, themselves. Also, follow the breaking fare news on Twitter.

Consider Dates.

The days of the week you fly can influence ticket prices. Consider the day of the week--Wednesday is one of the three cheapest days; the others are Tuesday and Saturday; Friday and Sunday the most expensive days to travel. The cheapest day to travel internationally are a bit different. International travel deals are entirely based on availability and since most people travel over the weekend (Friday and Saturday); you will find the cheapest international airfare deals if you travel midweek, usually departing and returning on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Early morning flights

The cheapest time to fly is typically the first flight out in the morning. Yes, that means you have to get up at 4 am. Next best times are flights during/after lunch and flights at the dinner hour; and of course the absolute cheapest time to fly is on those limited routes with red eyes.

Timing is everything.

The best time to buy domestic airline tickets are on Tuesdays 3pm EST. Shopping on Tuesday is the best time to buy airline tickets, but be careful as most of these discounted airfare are pulled on Thursdays, so your probably paying too much if buying on the weekends.

Got a little anecdotal evidence of your own to add? Let's hear it in the comments.

Follow @valeriefidan and tag your awesome travel photos with #ramblist! As always, all opinions, as always, are my own. Photos taken with iPhone; edited in Camera+ and instagrammed.