Many people find that they can save a reasonable amount of money by booking their flights online, whether through a travel sight or through the specific airline's website. Although it is possible to save a substantial amount of money by booking flights online, you must be aware of certain scams and guidelines as well as do your research to get the best price possible.

Some people claim that booking earlier is the best way to save money on flights while other people argue that booking at the last minute will get you the best deals. So, who is right? Well, it depends on what kind of situation you are in. If you are booking around any major holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas you definitely need to book as early as possible or you may be paying twice the amount if you wait or you may not be getting on a flight at all. If you are not flying around a major travel holiday and you have some leeway when you can leave and arrive at your destination, then you can try to wait till a few days before and get a last minute flight at a great deal. If you have a set day and time that you need to arrive at your destination by, then your best bet is booking as early as possible and saving money and avoiding stress that way.

If possible avoid flying in and out on weekends. Traveling Monday – Thursday is generally cheaper than flying on a Friday- Sunday. If you have a flexible schedule this is a great way to save a great deal of money. A flight on a Monday afternoon can be up to $150 less than a flight on a Sunday afternoon.

Anytime that you know that you are going to need to book a flight, be sure that you use online website comparisons to research prices for flights. This is absolutely the best way to ensure that you are getting the best deal that is available. This also saves you from having to individually search each airline's website for their flights and do a manually comparison that way. Also, some comparison websites will actually pull the cheapest flights based on your flight information and then will list them in order. This means that if leaving 3 hours later will save you $50 on your ticket, the website will let you know which flight on a specific day or time period will save you the most money and then you can list these in order from cheapest to most expensive.

StarReviews Top 3 Travel Websites

1) Orbitz

2) Expedia

3) Hotwire

Compare All Travel Websites

Lastly, be sure that you check into any extra charges or taxes that may not be included in the original price that is listed online. You may find a flight that is significantly cheaper than the other ones only to purchase the ticket and find out that it didn't include a certain tax or charge and then you end up paying more than the other flights that you found. Always read the fine print on the website to see what exactly is included and is not included in the advertised price of the ticket.

It is definitely possible to save money booking flights online. You just have to do your research and use the all the tools that are available to you to find the best price for you.