My name is Steve Solosky, The Traveling Professor (see my interview here on Wandering Educators!),and I have been taking small groups of travelers to Europe, South America, and Canada for over 10 years. I have plenty of travel tips...and lots of good experience in purchasing international airfares. 

Here are my Top 10 Tips for Purchasing International Airfares

Buy Directly from the Airline

It’s OK to use websites like Expedia, Orbitz, and Google Flights to find the best air itinerary, but when it comes down to it, purchase directly from the airlines. The reason being is that if there is an issue with a flight (cancellations, seating, changes, delays, refunds, re-bookings, etc.), travelers will almost always get better service by dealing directly with the airline they booked with, rather than add an additional layer of bureaucracy on to the process by having to go through a booking agent.

Buy the Middle Seat

It’s the poor man’s first-class travel hack. When traveling with a partner in economy with a 3-across configuration, I will buy the window and aisle seat, leaving the middle seat open. I will also buy the middle seat (or better yet, buy it with award points or miles), leaving it open. It makes for a much more comfortable overnight flight that, in the end, costs much less than business or first-class seats.

Don’t Go Direct

We once priced a flight from Dallas DFW to Lima, Peru. The round-trip direct flight was $1560. Instead, we rented a car, drove down to nearby Austin (AUS) airport, and flew from Austin to DFW to Lima (and back) for an amazing $736 off each ticket on the same major airline. With three people flying on this trip, it was well worth the extra 90 minutes in drive time to save that kind of money.

Buy Airfares with a Travel Credit Card

Preferably one that offers preferred seating and boarding, travel insurance, and waived baggage fees. Some even offer lounge access.

Avoid Checking Luggage

Airlines have gotten much better on handling luggage over the years. But especially if a flight has multiple connections, the chance of lost or delayed luggage increases. It’s not such a big issue if luggage is delayed on your return home, but having no luggage upon arriving to your vacation spot can ruin your trip.

Don’t Park at the Airport

Although it’s really not an airline booking tip, this one will help save money. Think about it: at an average of $15 a day, it costs $150 to park at the airport for 10 days. A $35 Uber or Lyft ride each way cuts that expense by more than half.

Buy Only Round Trip Tickets if Buying with Money

Surprisingly, a one-way ticket to Europe usually costs more than a round-trip on major airlines like American, United, and Delta.

Buy Only One-Way Tickets if Buying with Award Miles

Award tickets have limited availability. So, if purchasing a round-trip award ticket and you need to change the outbound segment only for example, the entire ticket needs to be re-booked. There is a possibility that the return flight may no longer be available as an award ticket. But if each ticket is booked separately (there is no additional cost), either segment can be changed without having to re-book the other one.

Avoid Flying Through London on an Award Ticket

The extra taxes and fees on flying on an award ticket through London can approach or exceed the cost of buying the ticket with money. Almost unbelievable, but true.

Avoid Flying Through London Anyway

It is probably the most difficult and time-consuming airport to transfer through. Terminals are far apart, it is always crowded, lines are long, and passing through security is an arduous process.

Steve Solosky runs "The Traveling Professor Small Group Tours" and has been taking travelers to Europe, Canada, and South America for over 10 years. He is well known for his savvy travel advice and and is a popular guest speaker. See The Traveling Professor’s travel blog for more travel tips at www.travelingprofessor.com.