Some Sites Offer Unadvertised Specials

Money-minded travelers wondering about the Internet should check out the “Snooze You Lose Specials” at Best Fares Online to see just how cutthroat airline pricing can be. You may not find the flight you want, but it’s hard not to be impressed by the list of low fares, many of them unadvertised.

When United Airlines last month briefly cut the round-trip price of some Anchorage-Los Angeles flights to $155, or 3 cents a mile, Alaska Airlines followed suit--but didn’t tell its own reservation operators. “Look at that!” one clerk said when The Times called on a tip from Best Fares Editor Tom Parsons. “We must be matching something really outrageous.”

The Best Fares site lists daily unadvertised specials from the airlines and numerous additional travel discounts, many available only to those who subscribe to its magazine for $59.90 a year.

But there’s no saying when flights or packages that interest you will be featured on Best Fares. And most Web-surfing travelers with specific trips in mind will wind up checking fare quotes at the three biggest online travel agencies: Travelocity, Expedia and Preview Travel. The sites also offer deals on hotels, cruises, car rentals and vacation packages.

In recent spot checks, Expedia, Travelocity and Preview Travel usually produced the hidden airline specials when asked for the lowest fares on given routes. But not always. When Continental Airlines briefly cut its Dallas-Miami round-trip fare to $98, Best Fares listed the special, but the Big 3 missed it. So it clearly behooves travelers to check and double-check.

Another source of savings is Priceline.com, where bidders name prices they are willing to pay for airline tickets and hotel rooms (Expedia recently announced a similar feature). The seriously budget-driven could save 20% to 30% on published fares, but beware: You can’t choose the exact time of departure or, in some cases, even the airport you’ll fly from. And you’re committed to the deal as soon as an airline or hotel accepts your offer.

Among the nifty features available at the sites are e-mail programs to alert users to bargain fares. One Travelocity program, for example, lets users select five routes they may be interested in flying. The service then sets up a “home page” for the user, listing best fares for each route, and e-mails users any time the rates change by $25 or more.

The dozens of additional travel sites include Zagat, for where to eat when you arrive, and On the Road, with tips for business travelers on hot shows, trendy restaurants, deal-making sites and online reservations. Both charge fees for full access but have healthy amounts of information free.

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Web sites reviewed: Best Fares Online (https://www.bestfares.com); Travelocity (https://www.travelocity.com); Expedia (https://www.expedia.com); Priceline.com (https://www.priceline.com); Zagat (https://www.zagat.com); On the Road (https://www.ontheroad.com).