Ways to save on holiday trips

1. Book immediately. Sometimes we all get busy or just procrastinate, but those flights are only going to get more expensive. Next year, make yourself a note to start searching earlier. Download the Hopper app to your smartphone and use it to search months ahead.

2. Fly on the holiday itself. You can usually save 30 percent or more off the inflated prices, especially if it's a red-eye. Of course, no one wants to miss Thanksgiving dinner, so this may not be an option for you. But it's worth checking out.

3. Fly the next day.

A few years ago, we flew to Thailand the day after Christmas, and spent the New Year’s holiday there. Airfares were inflated before Christmas and on Jan. 1, but on other dates, we found it quite affordable. Also, since we stayed in Bangkok and didn’t arrive at the beach resort we’d reserved until Jan. 1, we also got a bargain there. All the holiday vacationers were heading home, and the high-season rates were dropping way down.

4. See if you can use airline miles. I know, usually frequent flier seats would long since have been taken, but sometimes the airlines will release additional seats at the last minute. It will only take a few minutes to search, so why not?

5. Do your homework. Try numerous websites before you book. Explore around and check out your options. Sites I always search: Kayak.com, ITASoftware.com, Orbitz.com and individual airlines I like, including JetBlue and Southwest. Don't forget to check the box to search nearby airports.

6. Clear your cookies. If you discover that the airfares online seem to have gone up while you were searching, and you're being asked to pay more for the exact same flight, you've got cookies. Booking sites install cookies to track your movements on their site. Now, they want to charge you more.

What can you do about that? Go up to your browser options, and tell it you want to “clear your recent history.” That should remove the cookies. I did this not long ago, after a tip from a reader, and the airfare price immediately dropped $20 per ticket, back to its original price.

7. Take a look at Skip-lagged. This website not only searches your departure and destination airports, but also searches for other flights that might make a stop at your destination on the way to somewhere else.

For example, because LAX to New York City is such a competitive market, airlines might have a lower price to NYC than to Dallas, even though you must change planes there. Well, what if you bought that ticket to NYC, but then didn’t get on the second plane? This is against airline rules, by the way, so if that bothers you, stop reading.

Note that you couldn’t check a bag with this option, because it wouldn’t get off the plane with you in Dallas but would go on to NYC. Also, there’s a slight possibility the plane wouldn’t stop in Dallas for some reason — weather, for example. Take a look, read all the warnings, and see if this is something to try.

8. Bid on Priceline. You can save serious coin if you're willing to take any flight to get to your destination, regardless of airline or time. Try to leave yourself a few days before you fly to bid, if possible. That enables you to get the cheapest flight.

If you use the “name your own price” function on Priceline.com, the company will guarantee that your flight will leave between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on the day you select. It will also be either nonstop or have one connection.

Here’s the key: You must check another source like Orbitz.com or Kayak.com to see what the lowest fare is that you could otherwise buy without bidding. Don’t merely trust what Priceline has to say.

Then, choose one departure airport and one arrival airport, even if there are multiple airports from which to choose. I’ll explain why.

Make a bid. If you’re not flying tomorrow, make that bid lower than your comfort level. Yes, really. The whole point of bidding is to get a steal. Think of it as electronic haggling. Offer half price and see what happens.

But be aware that once you bid, there’s no changing your mind. You’ve put your credit card number in and, if they accept your bid, you’ll be charged. No refunds.

Got rejected? That’s fine. Watch your email, because you might get an immediate counteroffer. If you don’t, and you want to rebid immediately, just add an additional airport. For example, say that you’ll fly out of LAX and John Wayne both. Now, the system will let you rebid immediately. Otherwise, you have to wait 24 hours to rebid. But as long as you’re changing your bid, you can rebid immediately.

9. Take the bus. No, it's not crazy talk. On Megabus, you travel on new express motorcoaches with bathrooms, Wi-Fi and the option to reserve seats.

It’s slower than flying, but the thought of the airport at the holidays makes me shudder.

10. Consider the train. Amtrak is certainly not the fastest way to get anywhere, but it might be the most enjoyable, if you can use the time to relax and enjoy the scenery. The 34-hour journey to Seattle aboard the Coast Starlight costs $275 round-trip, leaving on Dec. 23 and arriving Christmas Eve, then boarding to come home on Dec. 31. That's in a regular reserved seat; sleepers cost more.

Note that on Amtrak, seniors 62 and older save 15 percent, kids 12 and under save 50 percent, and there’s also 10 percent off for AAA club members. Learn more: Amtrak.com.