You can start to save by making your plans as early as possible: If you can make reservations up to three months in advance, some airlines offer early-bird discounts. Other than the last minute specials offered by many airlines, buying tickets earlier is usually better. It pays to be as flexible as possible. If you are willing to fly any airline, any day, at any time, you are much more likely to get a bargain fare. If you are in a position to be flexible about your departure or destination city as well, the price of your airfare can drop even lower.

If there is an alternate airport, you should consider using it. You can get cheaper flights by flying to secondary or tertiary airports. Initially, many of the low-cost airlines were using these airports and now the bigger competitors are beginning to move in and match their fares. For example, if you're going to Manhattan, the airport in Newark, New Jersey is actually closer to downtown than New York's JFK airport...and it's often much cheaper to fly to Newark.

Knowing the time of year that is considered off-season at your destination can save you money not only on airfares, but on hotels, cars and just about everything else. Often, you'll also enjoy fewer crowds and be able to make more contact with the destination's real personality.

Here are the off-season times for various regions of the world: . Europe: November through March . Asia: January and February . Australia and New Zealand: April through August . The Caribbean: March through November . South America: April through November

If it's possible, arrange your trip on a holiday, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving Day. You'll find better rates and often fewer crowds at the airport. Everyone else will be traveling the day before or the day after the holiday.

Have an idea of what you think the fare should cost before you call the airline or your travel agent. Spend a few minutes checking ads in travel publications and newspapers with travel sections and surfing the Internet.

The travel sections of foreign-particularly British-newspapers advertise discount fares to just about anywhere in the world. Why is this important? Consider this example: Almost every major airline that goes to Europe from the U.S. also flies to London. If you want to go to, say, Rome, you can often find deeply discounted tickets in the London papers offering flights both to the U.S. and to Rome. In the end, you'll sometimes find it hundreds of dollars cheaper to fly via London rather than directly from the U.S. If you don't have a news outlet or library nearby where you can check foreign papers, most of the world's papers have an online version. See www.telegraph.co.uk for a good example, although the print copy you'll find at the local library typically has better deals.

As you know, last-minute travelers, who are in no position to bargain, pay the absolute highest airline rates. But here's a tip from Rudy Maxa, The Savvy Traveler, that may help: Try contacting the vacation arm of the various airlines. If you have to go somewhere at the last minute and find the airfare exorbitant, ask the airline if they have any vacation packages to your destination. You may find an excellent airfare as well as a good hotel rate, all in one and without the advance purchase requirement.

By considering these items ahead of time, you'll have a feel for the degree of flexibility that you're willing to exercise when buying your ticket. You're now ready to do some serious price shopping.

When you're finally ready to pick up the phone and request flight information, you'll get a much better deal if you know the right questions to ask. Don't be afraid to nudge and prod your travel agent or airline representative to be sure you're getting information on all available bargain fares. Here are a few things to ask:

. Would the fare be less expensive if I flew on a different day of the week? A different time of day? Or a different week of the month?

. Could I get a lower fare if I chose an earlier departure date?

. Are any special seasonal fares available?

. Are any promotional deals currently on offer?

. What is the off-peak fare?

. Is there any way that you know of that I could get a cheaper fare?

If you are dealing with a travel agent, be sure to ask about other airlines. Often, travel agents consistently promote certain airlines over others. But any good travel agent should be able to quote you the fare to your destination on any airline that flies there.

Pay with plastic, never in cash. It is to your advantage to pay for your air travel with a credit card for many reasons:

. It's easy. You can make all the arrangements over the telephone or Internet.

. Refunds are speedier. Airlines must refund tickets purchased by credit card within seven days. This is not the case if a ticket is paid for by cash or check. (For this reason, if you are dealing with travel agents, make sure they pay for your ticket with your credit card number.)

. You can get credit for the ticket if the airline goes bankrupt.

. The ticket number of your flight will be printed on your credit card bill. If you lose a paper ticket, this makes it much easier to have it replaced. You can also find your records online, if you need to claim frequent flyer miles or ask for a refund.

. If your ticket is stolen, the thief cannot cash it in for a monetary refund; the refund can only be credited to your credit card account.

. You get automatic insurance coverage. Check with your credit card company for specifics on the coverage available to you.

. More frequent flyer miles. Many programs allow you to accrue miles every time you use your credit card to pay for travel.

Use these tips next time you are about to travel and save yourself money. Do some research online and in the newspapers both from your point of departure and point of arrival, it can easily save you hundreds of dollars.

Michael Russell
http://travel-guided.com/