Fly High, Pay Less With A Little Planning, You Can Save A Lot Of Money On Your Vacation. Here Are Some Tips.

Let’s face facts: We had a rotten winter. We’ve suffered through a soggy spring. And there’s no law of nature that guarantees a sunny summer as compensation. It’s time to get out of here.

And I’m not talking about one of those jolly, let’s-camp-for-a-week trips from which you emerge sadder, wiser and covered with bug bites (thanks to plenty of rain, this should be an excellent year for mosquitoes).

No, I’m talking about a real vacation, where you fly somewhere on an airplane, stay at a hotel, eat at restaurants, then come back home and cower in the basement, waiting for the credit card statement to confirm your excesses.

This sounds grim, but it doesn’t have to be. For savvy travelers, there are many ways to save money on planes, trains and automobiles, not to mention places to stay and eat. All it takes is time … plus in some cases, the willingness to spend a bit of money to save a lot. Here’s a plan of attack:

Start planning now (in fact, you really should have started planning in the middle of winter, back when you were thawing frozen pipes). The further ahead you can plan, the more money you can save. Airlines, cruise lines and even some hotels all offer discounts for travelers who make reservations far in advance; they adore people who book at the last minute, because they can charge them the most.

Be flexible about the dates you travel - both the days of the week and the seasons of the year. If you’re planning to visit Europe, for example, and you don’t have children in school, you’re crazy not to go in autumn instead of summer. The weather will be better (I’ve been in Greece at the end of July; I don’t recommend it), the cities will be much less crowded … and you’ll pay much less.

Similarly, airline fares (especially for U.S. flights) vary depending on the day of the week and even the time of day. “Fares tend to be lower on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays,” says Hugh “Flip” Himmelreich, vice president of sales for Century Travel/Carlson Wagonlit in Spokane.

If you’re flying to Europe or Asia, make sure your agent checks with consolidators - companies that buy tickets in bulk from airlines, then resell them. The fares are often, but not always, cheaper than tickets purchased directly from airlines.

Learn how to dicker with travel providers, especially hotels and car rental companies.

When you call and ask for information about lodging, you’ll usually be quoted the “rack rate,” the highest price the hotel hopes to receive for that room. If you say OK and make a reservation, that’s it.

So start talking instead. Ask questions like: “Is that your lowest rate?” “Do you have a cheaper room?” “Do you have any weekend packages?” “Do you offer any discounts for senior citizens/AAA members/corporate travelers?”

Or, very simply: “I’d love to stay at your hotel, but I really can’t afford that. Do you have a lower rate?”

Says Himmelreich: “Never take the first quote as gospel.”

You can be downright ruthless with car rental agencies. I’ll often tell Alamo, for example, what Hertz will charge, and see if I can get a better rate.

Again, reserving in advance will usually save money.

If you’re planning a cruise or overseas trip, try to form a group of friends or relatives to travel with you.

There can be a substantial discount - or you, as the organizer, may even travel free. It’s a good idea to work with a travel agent on such group packages.

Join the frequent-flier clubs of all airlines that serve your region, even if you don’t fly on them regularly.

Airlines often have good deals for their frequent fliers that aren’t offered to the general public, including discount certificates and tie-ins with hotels and car rental agencies.

This autumn, for example, Delta is offering a nifty discount for children.

A parent who buys a round-trip ticket costing at least $289 can bring along a kid (age 2-12) for only $49, but the child must be enrolled in Delta’s Fantastic Flyer program by mid-June.

Consider getting a credit card that gives you airline miles for your purchases - typically one mile for every dollar you charge.

These cards have an annual fee and may not have great credit terms if you carry a balance, but for people who charge a lot and pay off their bill every month, they’re a good deal.

I have a Northwest Airlines credit card, for example, and I also get Northwest miles through MCI long-distance phone service. So every couple of years, I get a free ticket.

Pay attention to airline fare wars. You generally have only a few days to make the reservations, but you can usually fly during the next few months.

Some travel agents send out fax notices to their corporate clients when fare wars break out, and they’re usually advertised in - ahem - your daily newspaper.

Form a relationship with a reputable travel agency (actually, this item should be much higher on the list).

Travel agents can do many things to save you money.

They keep track of fare wars. Their incoming fax lines are humming with unadvertised cruise and resort deals.

If they know you and your preferences, they can find you great deals.

My travel agent has given me upgrades to first class on a couple of flights (unfortunately, this made me resent cattle class even more). He’s wheedled an economy seat out of an airline even though the computer said they were all sold.

He’s a master at working the computer to find the fare I want on the day I want.

To get this kind of service, though, you need to be a regular customer (and booking a $59 ticket on Southwest once a year won’t put you in that category). Find a good agent, give him or her all your business, and communicate your needs.

Buy a discount book from Entertainment Publications. This company has more than 150 books covering cities and destinations around the United States and around the world at prices ranging from $40 to $50.

The Entertainment books typically offer discounts of up to 50 percent at hotels, resorts, theme parks and restaurants. Participating hotels and resorts don’t have to provide the discount if occupancy on the dates you choose is above a certain level, but the system works more often than not.

Some Entertainment books (including the Spokane restaurant book) also have discounts on airline tickets and car rentals.

For information or to order, call (800) 445-4137.

Other discount cards and books are available, but shop carefully. Some are reputable and worthwhile; others are scams.

For truly frequent travelers, the monthly Consumer Reports Travel Letter is indispensable. It’s the most comprehensive, unbiased source of information about travel deals, including airlines, cruises and package deals. The newsletter also does a solid job on Europe.

The format is no-frills (don’t look for glossy color photos of the beach at Cancun), but organized and easy to understand. A one-year subscription is $39; call (800) 234-1970.

You can also receive a monthly fax service with late-breaking information for an additional $25 per year.

Buy a guidebook (or two) that specifically covers your destination - the $20 will be more than recouped by the money and time you’ll save on vacation. The quantity and quality of travel guides has improved sharply in recent years; I particularly like those from Lonely Planet and Moon Publications.

Spend money on what’s most important to you. On my family’s trips, for example, we’d rather spend more for nice lodging - a secluded cabin or a roomy condo, for example - and economize by preparing some of our own meals, especially breakfast. Other travelers might prefer to stay in a plain motel but spend more on restaurants.

It’s a personal choice, but it makes sense to scrimp in some areas so you can splurge in others.

Keep “savings” in perspective. The idea is to have a great vacation, not to spend the absolute least amount of money.

“Staying in a motel in the middle of a red-light district in Mexico is not the best deal,” says Judy Martin, owner of J. Martin Travel in Spokane. “It’s the cheapest, but it’s not the best.”

Advises the Consumer Reports Travel Newsletter: “The worst travel buy of all is something you really don’t want but buy because it’s cheap.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Staff illustration by Molly Quinn

MEMO: These 2 sidebars appeared with the story: 1. BEWARE OF SCAMS Don’t be fooled by promotions of “excess” travel packages - for example, discounted packages that were supposedly ordered by “corporate travel departments” but not used. Creative, but not real. For a list of other travel scams, see page E7.

2. HOW TO AVOID BEING TAKEN FOR A RIDE Travel is one of the world’s fastest-growing industries, and travel scams are growing, too. Some ways to avoid them: Beware of letters or phone calls announcing that you’ve won a “free” trip to destinations like Hawaii or the Bahamas. A typical catch: You have to buy accommodations at specific hotels. Or you’ll find yourself snared in a web of upgrade fees and other add-ons. The result is frequently a higher total than you’d pay for an air fare/hotel package from a reputable supplier. “There was one scam that offered a three-day trip to the Bahamas, plus a cruise, plus three days in Florida for $199,” says Judy Martin, owner of J. Martin Travel in Spokane. “These people paid $1,800 in air fare to fly to Florida. The hotels were ‘overbooked,’ and they had to move down the street. “The accommodations were almost in semicondemned buildings.” Always, always, always use a credit card to purchase anything travel-related, from plane tickets to cruises to deposits on trips. If a company goes bust (like Regency Cruise Lines did last year, for example), or a package trip turns out to be a scam, you’ve got some recourse; the bank that issued the credit card can give you a refund. (On the other hand, don’t give out your credit card number over the phone to an outfit you don’t know. Some travel offers are intended solely to extract credit card numbers from suckers; the numbers are then used for unauthorized purchases.) Do business with established travel agencies. Make sure your agency is a member of the American Society of Travel Agents. If a travel bargain sounds unbelievably good, it probably is. There are always deals to be found, but nobody is in the business of giving away airline flights, or cruises, or hotel rooms. Says Gus Simpson, owner of Uniglobe Adventure and Travel in the Spokane Valley: “Look at everything with a jaundiced eye.” Beware of companies that claim you can become a travel agent - making outside sales and enjoying travel discounts - for a one-time registration payment (typically several hundred dollars). Travel agents do receive discounts, but airlines and cruise lines are quite capable of determining which ones are legitimately in business. Last year, a New York judge awarded $1,000 in damages to a plaintiff who had signed up with one of the companies, NU-Concepts in Travel. The judge ruled that the company had failed to provide the promised services and was operating an illegal pyramid sales scheme. Graham Vink