High quality noise-isolating (different from noise canceling) headphones, or noise canceling headphones are preferred by travelers. They can make a world of difference by reducing the plane noise to a mere background hum and allow you to fall asleep to your music in a quiet environment.

Headphones are also great for discouraging a talking seat mate. Whether you’re actually listening to music or not, put the headphones on to look like you are.

I love my noise-cancelling headphones. When I’m ready to doze off, I tune my iPod to Enya or soft classical music and the sounds in the plane fly out the window.

For a recent report on the 5 Best Headphones read http://reviews.cnet.com/best-headphones.

Book early (330 or 331 days in advance depending on the airline, when the airline first makes seats available through their computer reservations systems), or book late (within two weeks of travel, when airlines may release unsold seats for mileage redemption).

Be open to traveling at off-peak times for where you want to travel.  Trying to book Orlando or Hawaii at during the Christmas busy season will be tough.

If you are using American Airlines’ award points, monitor their list of recommended award destinations (such as American’s AAdvantage HotSpots These are routes with lower demand and more unsold seats, and therefore your odds of  successfully redeeming miles is greater.  United Airlines’ website has a list of destinations where they have additional space available for award travel.

Look at airline partners for opportunities to book award tickets (for example, American Airlines partners with British Airways, Mexicana and more, Delta partners with Air France and more). Trying to find 3 or more award seats on the same flights (for family travel) is next to impossible.  Either split the family up to take two different flights or book award tickets for one or two tickets and pay for the other seats.