Good deals on airfare

Dear Savvy Stacy,

My family is planning a trip to AZ in March, and we are trying to find the best deals on airfare. We had a found a reasonable airfare last night, but when I went to purchase the tickets they wanted to charge me $11 for each seat that I wanted to reserve ahead of time and another $10 per person for luggage. Needless to say, I didn’t buy the tickets. Where can I find the best deals for airfare and for a rental car for our vacation?

-Looking for a good deal

Dear Looking,

I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that between now and March, you're not likely to find a great deal on airfare. This is Spring Break time for a lot of people, so airlines aren't likely to offer a lot of discounts. I've tried waiting in the past for airfare around this time, and it never really got cheaper.

It's hard with traveling, especially when you're going with little kids, as I know you are. You want to get some conveniences, but when it comes down to it, you'll ultimately have to make some sacrifices. I hate this more than anyone because I'm a big planner. When I schedule flight information, I have a very specific idea of when I want to get there, when I want to leave, etc. Then just when you think you have everything perfect, something inevitably goes wrong.

Here's what I do when I'm searching for airfare. First I check Expedia and Travelocity. After that, I start checking individual airline sites. Sometimes, you'll get those smaller airlines like Southwest, Frontier, JetBlue that don't show up in the bigger results. While I'm on these sites, I look for coupon codes, specials, etc. that might not show up otherwise. After I've done this research, then I look for any coupons that I might be able to use. For example, in the Entertainment book, I'm pretty sure American Airlines has a 5% off coupon, which can really add up. Another great coupon supplier is Northwest. They are constantly sending out a couple of different coupons. One is for a certain amount of money off a fare. So $75 off a fare that's $300 or more. Their other coupon is a set fare when you travel between certain zones. (This comes in the mail.) I did a little checking, and the only coupon out for Northwest right now seems to be good through the end of January. I'm sure they'll issue more coupons, so if you're considering flying them, that's something to keep in mind. You can usually find them on Ebay or put a request out on your local Craigslist to get one. I've used the NW coupons, and they can be GREAT!

Sites are getting MUCH better these days with their search options. Most automatically show you travel dates around your specified dates. Or at least, you just have to check a box for them to do that. Travelocity is great because they have this "Flexible dates" box that shows you dates for a whole month, and it compares nearby airports.

Above all, don't drive yourself crazy. And if you see a good deal, just book it. After a while, all those airfare sites can really give you a headache. It's not worth the stress.

Finally, if you're not finding deals in the price range you want, start thinking about what you're willing to sacrifice. Make a list of what is most important to you. Maybe you drive three to five hours to leave from a place that is MUCH cheaper. That doesn't sound like fun, but it's probably better than driving the 26 hours (or whatever it is) to Arizona. Or think of it as something fun. Fly in to a place that's three to five hours out from your destination. And then have with it. Think of it as the chance to see more stuff.

I wish the best of luck to you. It's not fun doing the research for this stuff, but don't let it get the best of you. Once the tickets are bought, it's done and then you don't have to worry anymore. But my advice is to get going on it! You could probably wait until the first of the year, but I wouldn't wait much past that.

Oh, and with rental cars...I have a similar strategy. I start with Travelocity and Expedia to see which rental company is going to give me the cheapest base rate, and then I zero in on a company and research the heck out of it, looking for coupon codes. Most of them have the codes right there on their site. I would suggest that you go ahead and book your rental car now. The good thing about rental cars is that you can always update it when a better price comes along or just cancel it if you get a better deal with another company. Rental cars do tend to have shorter time periods on when their discounts are available, so I bet you'll start seeing coupon codes that are good through the end of March soon. Also, don't forget to look in the Entertainment book for coupon codes.

FINALLY, for a rental car, check this awesome Web site. This site is specifically for Disney travel, but she updates the rental car page constantly with codes that can be used anywhere. It's so nice to have everything all in one place. I love this site. Just click on each rental car company and you can see where the "latest deals" have been added in red.

Sorry for the long posting. Let me know if you want help searching for specific dates. If I had an idea of the price you've been seeing and what you'd like to get, I could help you research.