After enduring record-breaking winter storms, nor’easters, and bomb cyclones over the past several months, Americans are more ready than ever to go on summer vacation. To make sure you’re taking advantage of all the best flight deals on Southwest (LUV), Spirit (SAVE), and JetBlue (JBLU), Yahoo Finance tapped Joanie Demer, co-founder of The Krazy Coupon Lady for her popular money-saving airline hacks.

Southwest Airlines

One of the best ways to save on Southwest is to look for price drops after you purchase your ticket, says Demer. So it pays to keep an eye out on the fare by setting an alert by email or app, as Southwest will refund you in whatever form of payment you used for the original booking. If you purchased your tickets online, go to “Change Reservation” in your account and follow the prompts to the lower fare to get the difference automatically refunded. And if you made the reservation by phone, you can call their agents to secure your refund.

As for when to book, the best time of week to snag the lowest fares is Tuesdays around 3 p.m. because that’s when Southwest’s “Click N Save” emails go out each week. Deals typically run out by Thursday so look out for their special fares as soon as they’re released.

The general boarding process for Southwest flights is notoriously unpleasant as passengers are not assigned seats at the time you book, unless they’ve paid up to $50 each way for an upgrade. To avoid paying the fee and still not end up the dreaded C group that’ll surely result in a middle seat, Demer says you need to be religious about logging in exactly 24 hours before your flight takes off. So set your alarm and be among the first to check in so you can increase your chance of getting an aisle or window seat.

Spirit Airlines

“When you book on Spirit keep in mind that it’s the only deal you’re going to get until you reach your destination,” says Demer. Popular for their rock-bottom prices, the fares you’ll find on Spirit are hard to beat. But Demer reminds travelers will be charged for all the extras.

But as long as you expect to be nickel-and-dimed all along the way, you can work around it to keep the costs as low as possible. Did you know the cheapest way to buy your ticket is to buy it at the airport? But it probably doesn’t make any sense for most travelers to make the extra trip to the airport to save about 20 bucks, so booking online is likely your best option.

“Rely on them for nothing, except getting for getting from point A to point B,” says Demer. When flying this bare-bones airline, do as much as you can at home before you leave for the airport. This includes checking into your flight, printing your boarding passes, or checking in extra luggage because there are tiered rates. Think of it this way: the closer you get to the plane, the more you’ll have to pay.