Fly for free or cheap

I got a pm today asking me how to fly for cheap, so I got to work researching and found some neat programs to earn free flying points from stuff your probably already do, like eating out, buying groceries, or shopping online.

First lets start with tips on how to get the best bang for your buck without frequent flyer points.

1. Fly during the slowest days of the week

Tuesday and Wednesday are the slowest flying days of the week for business travel so demand is low, and so are the fares. Do not fly on Mondays or Fridays those are the busiest and most expensive days because that is when business people are flying in and out.

2. Fly during the slowest time of the year

Travelers who are serious about seeking cheap fares should travel only during the slowest time of year, so fall is your best bet, this one is harder to follow though..

3. Fly to popular destinations at unpopular times

If you must travel during the summer, seek out destinations that are popular during the winter, check out cute ski towns during off season you can find nice cabin areas for fun family trips.

4. Buy during the cheapest times of the day

Airfares change three times a day as airlines periodically lower prices to fill up flights, and the early bird gets the worm, try checking fares every five hours to try and snag a deal.

On the weekend, the best time to check is early Saturday morning and again at 5 p.m

5. Buy a travel package, even if you don't need it

Travel sites are brimming with vacation packages offering cut-rate hotel stays and car rentals.I usually skip these but experts say sometimes the packages are cheaper than the airfare by itself. Dont need the car? Dont pick it up, just make sure your paying less for a good flight thats the trick.

Ok so now on to how to earn mileage from every day things you do!

Shopping

Shopping for school supplies, a present, a cool gadget, new clothes? All that can earn you frequent flyer miles. Many airlines have an affiliated mileage mall, an online shopping page that allows you to receive miles when you shop at popular online retailers such as the Apple Store, Old Navy, Barnes & Noble, and more, you can get the stuff you need and earn mileage easy!

Eating

You've got to eat every day, so you could potentially earn miles every day with programs such as Rewards Network Dining for Miles and GroceryMiles. With Rewards network, you register your credit card and then every time you eat out at an affiliated restaurant, you'll earn one, three, or 10 miles per dollar spent. A quick tip for maximizing your miles: When you eat out with a group of friends, pay with your credit card and have your friends give you cash for their share of the meal. You'll earn all those extra miles, and you won't have to stop at an ATM later on.

Traveling

Im sure you know about miles from flying, but do you know about miles for hotel stays, car rentals, and cruises? Whether your vacation or business trip involves a flight or not, you can still earn miles for many other trip components. Most major hotel chains are members of a loyalty program, many of which allow you to earn hotel points toward a free stay or frequent flyer miles toward a free flight. Major car rental companies also assign miles, either on a per-day or a per-rental basis. Just be sure to read the fine print because you may get charged up to two dollars extra for the privilege of earning miles. Also, several airlines give away miles when you book a cruise vacation through their website. The longer cruises can earn as many 10,000 miles, a third of the way to a free flight.

Communicating

If you spend hours on the phone or on the Internet, you can justify high bills with high mileage-earning. You can earn thousands of frequent flyer miles when you first sign up for new long-distance or cell phone service, and AT&T and Sprint also award miles for usage charges. Internet service providers such as Earthlink and PeoplePC also hand out thousands of miles as signup bonuses for new members.

Charging

You can earn even more miles on all of the previously mentioned activities, not to mention many others, if you use an airline-affiliated credit card to pay for your expenses. Practically every U.S. airline has an affiliated credit card that lets you earn miles for charges, usually at a rate of one mile per dollar spent. Certain airlines even give double miles for flight purchases, and Delta offers two miles for every dollar spent on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, home improvement and hardware stores, and post offices. Plus, when you sign up for a new card and make your first purchase, you'll receive thousands of miles as a new-cardholder bonus.

Earning miles without flying

To find out more information about which companies partner with your airline to offer frequent flyer miles for non-flight activities, you should visit your airline's frequent flyer homepage. Checking back often is the key to activity-based mileage earning; partners change, and you won't want to miss out on new earning opportunities.

Shop around, look into your preferred airlines, and never settle until your sure what you want, and that your happy with what your getting, most of all once you get that trip have fun!

I will add more if I find more :D

A big thanks to http://www.smartertravel.com for the info!