Top Websites for Cheap Airfares

I often fly out several times a year on a missionary's budget. That can require a lot of research and planning aided by subscribing to several budget travel sites. They help to broaden the scope of the research while taking less time in the pursuit of the most bang for the least travel buck.

I've some favorites that I've found to be dependable with good deals and ease of use. There are others which I've used a little and have had successful results. Then there are those that either, have websites that are difficult to use, have ticketing policies that just don't work for me or have prices that are equal or higher than my favorite sites. I'm listing all of those in this article, as well as the airlines that I carry frequent flyer accounts with:

I carry multiple frequent flyer accounts because when I'm accumulating the miles I use the airline that's the cheapest, at the time I'm leaving on a trip. I use the ticket discount sites for those trips. I'm not wasting a
trip where I'm not either redeeming or earning miles. I can't choose which airline is going to be the cheapest, so
I need to have accounts for each of the likely airlines. I'm on all of their email lists, because sometimes that's the only way some of their special deals are advertised. Their email and phone call notification of upcoming scheduled flights are helpful.

The Airlines That I Carry Frequent Flyer Accounts With Are:

Northwest; Fortunately, even though this airline has merged with Delta, it appears that their frequent flyer policies will be continued. They have some of the best in the industry. They influenced how the frequent flier miles are used. Due to their competitiveness they have caused the other airlines' frequent flyer programs to become more accessible and easier to benefit from.

They offer their Perk Choice, Cash and Miles, which is very helpful when you don't have enough cash or enough frequent flyer miles to get a ticket. But with the two combined, you can get a reasonable ticket. This has been the most frequent way that I've been able to go to Europe and Alaska over the years. For a lot of years, Northwest was the only airline that made it easy to use the frequent flyer miles, plus they forced the rest to lower the amount of miles required for each destination. Their miles don't expire.

Delta; They have merged with Northwest and have instituted their Pay with Miles, which is similar to Northwest's Perk Choice. This will give me two options for stretching my cash and miles. Their frequent flyer miles are easy to use. Their miles do expire.

USAirways; I first started using this airline because they often had the most reasonable flights to Hawaii and Europe during times that Northwest wasn't offering their Cash and Miles deals. I got their tickets through the discount sites. Their frequent flyer miles are very easy to use. Their miles don't expire.

Continental; Sometimes they are the most reasonable on the discount sites. They are the first frequent flyer program I joined. Their frequent flyer miles have become easier to use. Their website has also become easy to use. Their miles don't expire. They are the only domestic carrier that still serves meals in the US.

Southwest; Although I am also in their frequent flyer program I don't fly with them enough to be able to use their miles before they expire. They also aren't on the budget ticket sites.

The Budget Websites That I Use the Most or Have Used Successfully:

Orbitz; This is my favorite website. They're easy to use most of the time. If there's a problem I just return later and redo my request. They usually have some of the best prices, best options for connections and add-ons. They also have reasonable cancellation policies, which are easy to use. It's also easy to move my main contact to the airline's website once the ticket is purchased. They have pretty decent guides for the destinations. They give email and phone notification of upcoming flights.

I've Used Each of the Following One Time;

Hotwire; I'm not sure why I was able to use this site the time I did. Because their website has been very difficult to use. Their prices tend to be reasonable. But their website can be difficult to use and they kept dumping me off of their email list. I quit trying.

Travel,yahoo; This site is easy to use and their policies are reasonable. But their prices aren't as competitive as Orbitz'. So far, I've only used them once.

Cheap tickets; I've recently used this site, once. They were easy to use. The price and their policies were reasonable.

I'm on all of these websites' email lists except for Hotwire.

The Budget Websites Which I Don't Use but Have Checked Out:

I couldn't get the websites to work on either Expedia or Travelocity, even though their prices looked good.

Priceline; To get a truly good deal on Priceline your ticket is dead the minute you cancel it. It's not exchangeable. I only buy nonrefundable tickets. However, through the other sites, they are exchangeable for up to a year after cancellation. Otherwise, Priceline's prices aren't as good as Orbitz'.

When I get ready to find a ticket for a trip, I often look at all of the different email alerts that I receive to see where the best deals are. These are the email alerts that I subscribe To:

I usually just look at the emails from these websites to get an idea of what is being offered: Airfarewatchdog.com; Tripadvisor.com; travelzoo.com; ShermansTravel.com.

These Websites I've Gone Onto and Have Used:

BookingBuddy.com; Often, I'll go on this website and use it to find out which websites are offering the best prices and for which destinations. It was through this website that I found out that Orbitz often has the best prices, destinations, connections and times.

Hotels.com; Even though this isn't an airline site, I'm including it. Because this article is about travel strategies. I don't get my reservations through this website. But I've used them to find out what the best prices are. Then I've gone on the specific website listed by them and have made my reservations through the hotel's website because they don't charge for the room until I arrive at my destination. Hotels.com requires the reservation to be paid at the time of reservation. I'd rather pay for my room when I arrive so that there are no surprises.

Sources:

http://www.usairways.com

http://www.delta.com

http://www.nwa.com

http://www.continental.com

http://www.southwest.com/

http://www.orbitz.com

http:///www.cheaptickets.com

http:www.travel.yahoo.com

http://www.travelocity.com/

http://www.expedia,com

http://www.hotwire.com

http://www.priceline.com

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com

http://www.tripadvisor.com

http://www.hotels.com

http://www.travelzoo.com

http://www.ShermansTravel.com

http://www.BookingBuddy.com