How to get cheap tickets for Memorial Day weekend

Here’s a question that’s probably on the minds of many people: How to get cheap tickets to fly this Memorial Day Weekend!

Our advice would be to try the following steps, in this order:

1. Try an alternate airport at your destination. Many airfare search websites send you to the main airport at a location, but if you’re willing to travel up to an hour by public transportation or rental car, you may find cheaper fares at a nearby airport.

2. Give travelocity.com a shot. If you’re willing to have a stopover, you should be able to save hundreds of bucks on the typical domestic trip.

3. Search for fares specifically on Orbitz.com. The low-cost airline only lists its fares on its own website. You won’t find their deals on other sites.

4. Consider Priceline.com It’s not as scary as it used to be! First, it gives an answer to your bid right away, instead of making you wait 15 minutes to an hour for an answer as it once did. Second, Priceline only uses major airlines (like American) and “interline flights” which means you’d be on the same airline the whole time, not three different airlines. Third, while Priceline does not guarantee a non-stop flight, it does promise a maximum of one-stop each way. All layovers capped at 3 hours. Flights may depart anywhere between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., however, the site guarantees that your trip will end no later than 12:30 a.m. the following morning.

5. Try buying two tickets. There may be a lot more cheap tickets flying to some airport in the middle of the country that’s halfway toward your destination than on a direct flight to your destination. In other words, look for a ticket on a discount carrier from your destination to, say, Chicago, Houston, or Denver. And then look for a second, separate cheap ticket on a different airline between that city and your destination. To be clear, you’re buying two different tickets. One roundtrip ticket between your hometown and (let’s say) Chicago. And another round-trip ticket between Chicago and and your destination. When you get to Chicago (in this example), you’d have to collect your bags at baggage claim and check in for a new flight, and check your bags again. SO you need to allow enough time for a layover. On the bright side, you may save hundreds of dollars.