Travelore Money-Saving Tip: Search Airfares One Person At A Time, Even If Flying With A Group

This oldie but goodie is worth revisiting for anyone traveling with family or a group of friends this summer. Even if it's just two of you, you can still save some money.

Tip: When you initially shop for multi-passenger airline tickets, use the two-step method

Step 1: Begin by checking prices for the total number of people in your party in one window or tab. But don't buy tickets before testing step two.

Step 2: Shop for a single passenger in a different window or tab.

If you see a difference in tickets prices on these two shopping requests for your intended itinerary, shop one-passenger-at-a-time separately, then try adding another passenger until there is no price difference.

Why all the fuss?

A quirk in airline reservation systems requires all passengers booked in a single reservation to get the same price - even if there are a few cheaper seats at a lower price.

This simple multi-passenger shopping technique will let you test if there are some cheaper seats for a portion of your party, and if so, you can simply make two bookings at the different rates. Otherwise, if shopping for everyone in a single booking, you'd pay the higher price for all.

Changes and seat assignments

Your bookings are covered - meaning you can change/cancel them - using either your airline's 24-hour hold policy or its 24-hour cancellation-with-refund policy, per the recent wave of consumer-friendly Department of Transportation (DOT) rules.

When it comes to most airline seat assignments (basic, non-premium free seats), take note of empty or available seats during your initial booking so you'll be able to scoop them up when you make your second booking.

I have used this technique several times over the past few years and it has saved me thousands of dollars. It's especially cost-effective on big family trips overseas.

Sometimes there just aren't any cheaper seats for you to snag with this shop-one-passenger-at-a-time method, but if that's the case, at least you'll be confident you covered all the bases in your quest for the best deal.

Contributed by Rick Seaney 

Follow us on Twitter: @TraveloreReport