Travelers can save big on unplanned trips

It’s always a good idea to check nearby airports if your destination is not available. For example, if you are going to San Jose or Fresno, Calif., you might have to fly into San Francisco.

The airlines used to offer bereavement and compassion fares at discounts of 50 percent to 70 percent off of last-minute rates, but these big discounts have been phased out. One reason is that leisure and business travelers abused the emergency family fares with bogus death certificates and doctors’ notes.

We are still seeing last-minute weekly Internet fares, though, and these fares are heavily discounted. You do have a very limited time with these fares, but at least you can get there without breaking the bank.

Some things you have to remember to get these last-minute fares are the available flight times. The last-minute weekend fares come out late Monday or on Tuesday for travel during the upcoming weekend.

With Delta’s Weekly Web Fares, you must purchase tickets by Saturday and you can depart anytime Saturday and return anytime the following Monday or Tuesday.

For US Airways e-Savers, you must purchase tickets by Saturday, and you can depart anytime Saturday and return anytime the following Tuesday.

American Net SAAver fares and United Specials fares must be purchased by Friday for departure after 7 p.m. Friday or anytime Saturday and return anytime the following Monday or Tuesday. American also offers a second set of fares for the following weekend.

Usually when we have a death in the family or a family emergency, many of us are not thinking straight and may just buy the first ticket we see.

At least now, before you commit to buying, you can wait until Tuesday or Wednesday and hope that the destination you need to get to is on sale, or there is a sale airfare to a nearby alternate airport.