<p>Find the airline or two that your family might fly most often to the specific city where you daughter will be. Often - the airline will have a hub there, or a hub near there that makes them a good choice, and often the least expensive (due to the hub). Get a credit card with that airline. Usually you can get 1.5 miles for every dollar spent when you charge your ticket to the card and you can also get a free bag or two to check - when you charge to the card. </p>
<p>It also helps to add up miles on one airline if possible. You build up status, and with that comes perks. Upgrades, preferred boarding, seating, coupons, etc. If folks get bumped - if you have status - you won’t be.</p>
<p>I also put everything in my backpack, except my boarding pass and a holder for my ID that I slip back in my purse. I usually wear slip ons as well - just makes it easier and faster to get through security.<br>
I think the advice to also look for two one-way tickets is a good one. </p>
<p>Also - if you can pick one airline - and use it most often - buy your daughter a “club” membership for that airline for Christmas or something if you can afford it. This is a good place to rebook a ticket if there are delays, etc - the lines are not so long. It’s a good place to rest between flights, free wifi, snacks, water, sodas, drinks. Sometimes when you sign up for the credit card - you can get it for a discount for the first year - so check on that too. </p>
<p>If you can’t use one airline - make SURe to sign up for all the frequent flier cards for any airline you do use and get the miles.</p>
<p>Print all boarding passes before you go to the airport. Try not to check, only carry on if can help it. I stuff my purse in a backpack with other items and take a carry on suitcase.</p>
<p>However, there have been a couple of times when I tried to get my son back to State College, PA after a holiday and United gave me no options, but Travelocity did. And another time I ended up using Travelocity and my son had problems - Travelocity was very helpful.</p>
<p>We OFTEN book directly with the airline, but SOMETIMES find a MUCH better schedule and/or rate by using local travel agent that has some connection with the airlines we fly most often. He charges $40/ticket, but has saved us a LOT of money, especially when fare are high & we’re having trouble getting good connection times.</p>
<p>Decide on pros & cons of possibly using an airline affinity credit card. For US, because we used United quite a lot and H dearly loves to check one bag for each of us, it made financial sense to get their credit card in my name. We’ve had so many trips already this year that it has more than made up for the cost, plus we got a bunch of miles for joining and more for adding him as an authorized user. It also provides limited free travel insurance and primary rental car insurance, so those features are also attractive to us. Other airlines have competing CCs.</p>
<p>There is a search engine that I usually use first that is a little more powerful than other commercial places like Kayak. I believe the software is the underlying platform that a lot of airlines and websites use. You can do multi-city search (multiple destinations), flexible days search and multiple airports within certain area that would yield the lowest price. You can use this before you go to the actual airline website when you already know exactly what you want. Again no Southwest schedules in this system.</p>
<p>We recently had two occasions where we needed to “talk” to an agent on the phone. To our surpise both (different airlines) were very helpful and did not charge for the ticket change that H needed on one. First, we were surprised that there was a number that actually had people on the other end. Second, they were patient and informative.</p>
<p>Check out Clark Howards information on airlines and flying. He has some good information.</p>
<p>Most people love Southwest. While their fares are not necessarily the lowest, their generous allowances on baggage often clinches the deal. On the other hand, they DO charge for “talking” to an agent to make changes. Southwest wants to be an online carrier, and expects their customers to understand that. </p>
<p>Regarding SW points, now that they have changed from the simpler system to a mile based points system, it has become much harder for most everyone. They probably moved from the best and most generous one to one of the worst. But the good lasted a long time … I am down to my very last great coupon. </p>
<p>Finally, regarding dealing with an airline directly, that works better for simpler flights. If you happen to live in area served by multiple competing carriers that all use different code-shares, you might be missing on better fares and better connection by sticking to one airline and its partners. This is especially true for overseas travel.</p>
<p>Wow. I am truly overwhelmed by your help. Thanks, everyone. I have been on the computer a lot today. Another question for you: Do you use the fare watcher box that is available on some of these sites?</p>
<p>I usually go to Kayak, find the lowest fare, then go to that airline’s website and book directly. It gives the advantage of comparing fares on a single site, but also dealing directly with the airline. Sometimes I will also check Southwest’s site, but usually they require a change of planes to go the places we need to go (ie to D’s college). </p>
<p>I have given up on spending hours and hours searching for the exact lowest fares, and waiting for them to go down only to have them go up!. When I find a fare that seems reasonable, at a time that works well, I go ahead and book it. We are often traveling from the northeast to the southeast, so anything under $300 roundtrip I consider a good price. It’s not worth saving $20 if I’m going to end up with a 3 hour layover, or a layover that is so short we have a good chance of missing a connection, or if we have to leave the house at 4 am or arrive at midnight (or if we have to change planes in Philadelphia… too many bad experiences with that airport!) We’ve also decided that, for the most part, it’s worth it to pay a little more to go non-stop. It cuts the chance of a delayed/cancelled flight or lost luggage, and no worries about ending up stuck in some random city. </p>
<p>I AM flexible about where we fly from (we’re halfway between a major airport and a mid-sized airport) and I’m willing to drive an extra 1 hour or so on the other end if another airport near my destination is cheaper.</p>
<p>I haven’t tried the fare watcher box but it seems like it could be a good idea.</p>
<p>Southwest, SOUTHWEST, SOUTHWEST!!! Book online directly for wanna-get-away fares. Book EARLY! The minute your child gets her syllabus dates, book her flight!!! </p>
<p>We’ve already booked 2 daughters’ flights for Christmas break! </p>
<p>Eldest flies from NY to CA and usually we spend $150-$200 round trip. She’s very efficient at the security lines: one computer, one purse, sandals, “baggied” meds, no belts or jewelry, no zippered jackets, and she CHECKS her bag because there is no room in overhead compartments. </p>
<p>All of the non-travelers bring their extremely large bags and fill the overhead bins with crap that falls on people’s heads. Daughter sits upfront-with earlybird $10 extra fee-and hops off the plane before passengers block the aisles. Meets us and picks up 1 purple bag at carousel. She’s done this for four years, back and forth several times. Second daughter just started same procedure-San Diego to Sacramento-$88 one way!</p>
<p>I agree with the book with airlines, as well as xiggi above! Check fares first on Expedia, Orbitz, SW. See which airline is cheapest, go to that site. If the same price, or cheaper, we book that airline. </p>
<p>We got in big trouble once with my D missing an AMerican connection that had been booked via Expedia. They were no help, and American charged us extra for rebooking. And she needed a hotel room to await her next flight. We were out around $250 by the time the adventure was over. So I now get travel insurance if I book through Expedia or Orbitz. However, they at times have far superior fares, especially on overseas flights using multiple airlines. </p>
<p>SW, in my area, where we have to take a bus to another city, often is no cheaper for us than local connections with the airport 5 minutes away. Right now, with the offspring moving belongings home from the left coast, it is worth the long drive for the luggage allowance. </p>
<p>Second the CCards for your airline of choice. I have been very happy with my Delta card, and have made the fee worth my while with the free luggage check. D has her first job, and got her own card, and sufficient accompanying miles to help her out a great deal with future travel plans.</p>