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Cheap Airfare Step 12: The Truth About Last-Minute Airfares
The important thing to remember is that "last-minute airfares " doesn't always mean "best deal on cheap place tickets"
Truth be told, the best prices on airline tickets are almost always on sale fares bought about six to eight weeks in advance. Yes, the Internet allows airlines to publish last-minute fares (usually in the form of E-savers) to try to fill empty seats, but this isn't the freebie smorgasbord many people seem to believe.
Last-minute fares are best for when you truly are deciding at the eleventh hour (or 59th minute, depending on which of these services you use) to go on a trip and don't want to pay the steep regular fare, which is invariably well over $1,000.
I should also point out that last-minute sales direct from the airline or tour company are different from last-minute fare sites. For the former, the best resource is to sign up for E-Savers deals emails from every airline (yeah, I know: more inbox clutter) plus the travel deals newsletters that gather together these deals on a daily or weekly basis.
The Players
Site59
(www.site59.com) - If you've passed the 14-day APEX window or are just looking for a fire sale–priced seat on a half-empty flight, Site59 offers cut-rate deals sometimes up to three hours before takeoff (hope you live close to the airport!). Their partners are American, Continental, Delta, Hawaiian, National, and Northwest Airlines—plus Hertz and Avis and a boatload of quality chain hotels, so many of their deals are package ones.
Cheap Tickets
(www.cheaptickets.com) - Decent prices, though not always the best; still, it pays to check them out. They've also a "Last-Minute" and a "Specials" section. It's actually an online component of the Cendant corporation (owns Avis and Budget car rentals, plus a host of hotel chains, including Super 8, Ramada, Travelodge, HoJo, Days Inn, and more).
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This material was last updated April 2006. All information was accurate at the time.
Copyright © 1998-2008 by Reid Bramblett. All rights reserved.
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