Here is a list of rules I try to follow:

• After Wednesday, the cheapest days to book departures/arrivals are Tuesday and Saturday. Airlines often file cheaper airfares that are only good on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

• Check with Southwest, AirTran, JetBlue, Virgin America, and others – their prices are often cheaper than the legacy carriers.  Always check airfare prices with all carriers, but don’t neglect to check the cheap airlines.

• Check the current baggage fees.  Each airline can charge different rates.  Most charge $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second and $100 for the third.  There are still a few that don’t charge for the first bag.  Here are a few charts that will be very helpful when making your decision.
  
  Airline Checked Baggage Fee Chart
  Airline Fees For Ticket Changes, Kids Flying Solo And Pets
  Airline Fees For Phone Reservations, Priority Seating, Food And Drinks

• Ask For Vacation Days After You Find Cheap Flights.  If you are willing to be flexible you can save big.  Use email alerts, find a great fare, and then ask for the time off.

• As I stated in the last rule set up email alerts for the cities you want to travel to and from.  You will then get an update every day telling you if the price went up or down and by how much.

• A bigger airport can mean bigger savings.  If you’re in a medium to small sized city, it usually pays to drive to the nearest big-city and depart from there – D.C., Baltimore or Nolfolk, for example, is usually cheaper than Richmond.  Of course you have to account for gas, travel time and parking and decided if it’s worth the hassle to make the drive.

• Check as many websites as possible.  Some will be very different than others.  It pays to do a little research.

If you try and follow these rules it will greatly help you in finding better fares.  Now onto where to find the best fares.

The first place I start is Kayak.  This site checks the prices at each specific airline, Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline, Obritz, Cheap Tickets, and it’s own pricing.  I also visit Sidestep which is now owned by Kayak.  They search most of the same sites except Sidestep also checks Hotwire.

Some other sites that I look at are Fare Compare and Bestfares.

It may seem like a lot, but taking a few extra minutes to look around and set up some email alerts and you will be happy you did.

Do you have some other sites that I haven’t mentioned.  I would love to know about them.