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Techniques for best fares?

Hello all,
I've been lurking around planning a mileage run in Thailand next year, but would like to solicit opinions on mondain trip booking.

I've used sites like QIXO and ORBITZ, but wonder what you all use to book the best domestic flights.

Example:
I'm taking my family from the DC area (DCA, DULLES, Baltimore) to MSP for the holidays. Totally flexible on travel date and time sometime in mid December. I'll only use 1/2 the ticket (will drive back from MSP).

Anyone care to share tips and insights?

Thanks
Richard

The single best place to look for domestic airfares has to be www.air-fare.com -- which lists the lowest fares available between major cities.

In this case, you can fly from BWI for $178 on US, Continential, or United:

Code:

   BALTIMORE  TO MINNEAPOLIS  - ROUND TRIP FARES

   1) LOWEST COMPANION FARE -  [- TKT BY 21OCT -]

      [- BLACKOUT 17NOV01 18NOV01 21NOV01 25NOV01-26NOV01 21DEC -]         

      [- COMPLETE BY 28FEB -]                                              

     TZ-Q                             $  218.00      NO ADV/                TUE-WED/SAT COMPANION 18+

   2) LOWEST STANDARD EXCURSION FARE - NO REFUND  ( UP TO $100 AIRLN CHNG FEE )

     US-V/CO-T/UA-W                   $  178.00      3-DAY ADV/SAT STAY * OTHER LIMITS APPLY

   3) 2ND LOWEST STANDARD EXCURSION FARE - NO REFUND  ( UP TO $100 AIRLN CHNG FEE ) [- TKT BY 17OCT -]

      [- BLACKOUT 20NOV01 21NOV01 25NOV01 26NOV01 27NOV01 21DEC -]         

      [- COMPLETE BY 13FEB -]                                              

     FL-L                             $  206.00      7 -DAY ADV/

Similarly, you can fly cheaply from IAD on AirTran:

Code:

 WASHINGTON DC  TO MINNEAPOLIS  - ROUND TRIP FARES

   1) LOWEST COMPANION FARE -  [- TKT BY 21OCT -]

      [- BLACKOUT 17NOV01 18NOV01 21NOV01 25NOV01-26NOV01 21DEC -]         

      [- COMPLETE BY 28FEB -]                                              

     TZ-Q                             $  218.00      NO ADV/                TUE-WED/SAT COMPANION 18+ BEGIN TVL 

   2) LOWEST STANDARD EXCURSION FARE - NO REFUND  ( UP TO $100 AIRLN CHNG FEE )

      [- BLACKOUT 24NOV98-30NOV98 18DEC98-04JAN99 -]                       

      [- COMPLETE BY 13FEB -]                                              

     FL-T                             $  174.00      7 -DAY ADV/            

   3) 2ND LOWEST STANDARD EXCURSION FARE - NO REFUND  ( UP TO $100 AIRLN CHNG FEE )

        [- COMPLETE BY 16DEC -]                                            

     SY-L/NW-Q/CO-T                   $  198.00      14-DAY ADV/

Hope this helps!

------------------
Please visit The Mileage Runner's Toolkit and Unofficial United Airlines Guide

I use as many sites as possible to "fare shop," because there are always some oddities where a good fare will appear on one site and not another. But then I always use the airline's own site for booking the ticket, because of the additional miles.

I have been very disappointed in every search engine for transatlantic fares from IAD. They don't get close.

I recently booked IAD-FLR. One plane change. No one showed OS at $550.Only occasionally did LH $650 show up. Once AF $650 showed up.

If I forced AF and LH, I got $1250 or so.

Never could get UA & a connector out of MIL.

United Connection 3.0 was excellent. It's gone.

Call the airlines.

Thanks for the tips.

Is there anything I can do with the unused 1/2 of the ticket?

Thanks again
Richard

rnehrboss asks:

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Is there anything I can do with the unused 1/2 of the ticket? </font>

Yeah, send it in and ask them to charge you the difference between a one-way fare and the fare you paid. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I use Digital City's travel section, which collects e-fares from most majors and also flags especially low published fares.

I also use air-fare.com and Orbitz.

Finally, the newest and best: farebrowser by FT's own jimbob.
Mike