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1. As you're planning your summertravels,you may beinfor sticker shock: Airfares on some routes are higher thanthey were four or five yearsago.Hereare some tips for making your airfare dollarsgo farther. cheapflightsusa -- There's no magictime to buy anairfare.Thelatestmythis to buy exactly 54days in advance. Otherssay buy onTuesday or Wednesday atmidnightor when themoonisfull (justkidding). Butairlinesare unpredictable, and anyone who claimshe orshe knowsthatairfares will be lower or higher in thecoming months or days should trade intheir crystal ball.No one can accurately predictwhere airfaresare heading,any more thanwe can predictthestockmarket. Thinkaboutit: Ifthey really knew,they'd putevery other airfare search operationoutof business, and thathasn'thappened.Search often, over a long lead time, and pounce when there's a deal. flightstousa -- Faresfluctuate throughoutthe day,and the number ofseatsoffered atthelowestfaresalso changesfrequently.Orsomeone mightbe holding the only seatatthe lowestfare and not book it, soitgoes back into inventory and itwill be yours.Ifyou don't like thefare at10 a.m.,check at 2 p.m.or thenextday or thenextweek and bookitwhen you seea good price. cheapflightstousa -- Getairfare alertsby email.Many travel websites offer emailed airfare alerts, letting you know whenfares go down,and they all have something to offer.Do abrowser search for "airfare alerts" and you'll see what's available.They all work a bitdifferently sosignupfor more than one. cheapusaflights -- Sign upfor the airlines'email feedsand frequent-flier programs.Theairlines wantto develop a relationshipwithyou, sothey'll send you special deals,such as50%-offpromo codes or two- fers,ifyou sign upfortheir emails. -- UseTwitter.Some ofthemost amazing airfare dealslastonly a shorttime (even ifthey're valid fortravel overa long period),or you open theemail too late.Twitter is more immediate. Follow the airlinesyou're likely to use. -- Be a flexible travel-date flier.Ifyou don'tcare whenyou go aslong asthefare islow,trya flexible-date search.It'sgetting harder to search airfares based on flexible travel datesnow that many sites (Orbitz,Hotwire,Travelocity and Expedia among them) haveeliminated their flexible-date calendars.ButKayak.comstill has a good one.Also seeAdioso.comand Google's www.google.com/flights/exploreandwww.google.com/flights.

2. -- Search airline sites individually, butdon'tignore online travel agencies.Many airlines have "private" sales,reserving their bestfares for their own sites.These are different frompromo code sales.International airlines suchas Aer Lingus,Iberia and Qantas regularly offerlower fares(as muchas $100-$400less) on their own website compared withwhatyou'll find on Kayakor Orbitz.Butthe airfare sitesmightnotdisclose ifit's cheaper tofly outonone airline and back on another; United,for instance,won'ttell you it'scheaper to fly outon United and back onAmerican. flightstousafromaustralia -- UsePriceline for last-minute trips.Ifyou don'thavea seven-, 14-,or 21-day advance purchase window to buy your fare,your bestbetisthe "name your own price" feature on Priceline.com. You won'tknowthe exactflighttimesor airline you're flying until you pay for your trip,butyou can save50% or more. -- Consider theextra fees before you buy.IfSouthwesthas a fare of$198 round trip and United hasone for$148,and you are checking three bags,thenSouthwesthas the lower fare because Southwestcharges nothing forthe firsttwo checked bags, and United would charge you an additional $165 eachway forthree. cheapflightstousafromaustralia