By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

I have a trip to Miami coming up in the fall, so I though I’d try to get a cheaper ticket. I spent several hours Saturday working on it.

I had difficulty finding a coupon, discount, or deal.

I wondered if cheap airline tickets aren’t available to consumers anymore.

In March last year, I wrote a post on “10 Tips for Saving Money on Airline Tickets.”

Have you used any of the 10 tips below, as recommended by the Independent Traveler, to reduce an airline ticket price substantially?

Here’s how the 10 tips have worked for me.

1. Buy early. This is the way I use most often to save money on airline tickets. I know tickets increase in price the closer you get to flight time.

2. Buy late. I tried this last year in July when I decided to go to a family event in Sacramento at the last minute. I wasn’t able to find a deal the day before. I had to use up my frequent flyer miles. The $440 ticket was reduced to $233. See my post “Have You Been Able to find a Cheap Last-Minute Airline Ticket Recently?” for details.

3. Shop around. Saturday I called American Airlines and the least-expensive ticket they had for dates and times I wanted to travel was $300. My goal was to beat that price.

I checked Expedia.com, Cheapflights.com, Orbitz.com, Cheapoair.com, Cheaptickets.com, and Travelocity.com.

The flights on American Airlines were consistently $20 less, which is the $20 booking fee that American charges if you call to make a reservation.

I tried Priceline.com, Yahoo! Travel, AOL Travel, and a consolidator. Same $280 price.

4. Know when to buy. I try to buy as early as possible.

The Independent Traveler recommends going to Farecast.com to help you decide when to buy the ticket. Farecast.com offers fare predictions for more than 75 cities in the U.S. and Canada. You type in your itinerary and the site will tell you either to book now or to wait, depending on whether the fare is expected to rise or drop.

The Independent Traveler said airlines launch fare sales on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

5. Be flexible. I was flexible on the dates for my ticket. It seemed Wednesday was cheaper, although I would have been willing to travel any day of the week. However, I did want to leave in the late morning or early afternoon for both flights. If I’d been willing to take a “red eye,” I could have saved $30.

6. Don’t forget the discounts. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to find a coupon. I started out with coupon sites I’d listed in my post “Opportunities Abound for Baby Boomers to Cut Costs With Internet Coupons” because I knew they were reputable sites.

I tried RetailMeNot.com and Coupons.com. I was hopeful when I saw a 10 percent off coupon for American Airlines on RetailMeNot.com. A reviewer said he’d obtained the discount 18 days ago. However, the promotional code didn’t work when I tried to buy a ticket.

Then I found a note on RetailMeNot.com and another coupon Web site that stated American Airlines and another airline had requested all coupons for the companies be removed.

Next I did a search for an airline coupon on any site. Some sites merely take you to the Promotions section of airline Web sites.

I didn’t find a coupon and even ran across several coupon sites that were considered “dangerous.”

I decided to get the ticket through Priceline.com for $280. After I completed the details for buying the ticket, a window popped asking if I’d like a 10 percent discount.

Priceline said it would upgrade me to a 15 percent discount if I’d join their Great Fun club. I agreed. Membership is free for the first month and $12 a month after that unless I cancel. I’m to receive a Cash-Back Claim Form that will be e-mailed to me within 72 hours.

7. Use your frequent flier miles. I’ve used frequent flier miles several times with Alaska Airlines and once with American Airlines.

8. Get a refund when fares go down. I’ve never received this type of refund.

9. Find out about air passes that allow you to fly to multiple cities in a designated region at discounted rates. I’ve never had a trip like this and an air pass doesn’t apply to my fall vacation trip.

10. Check for deals and discounts. I looked on the American Airlines site and other sites, but there weren’t any deals available for the flight to Miami in the fall.

I checked the rewards program for my credit card, but I haven’t accumulated enough points to receive a reduction on my ticket. The Safeway rewards program was closed on the weekend, so I couldn’t check my point total there.

So I had an interesting time doing consumer research Saturday, but was disappointed that the airline prices were all so similar.

Let me know your experiences as a boomer consumer buying airline tickets. Have you been able to buy a cheap ticket recently?

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