How to get the best travel deals
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Be flexible with your travel dates: Changing your travel dates by a day can make the difference between overpaying for a flight and scoring a bargain. Airline search engines have a price calendar feature when you select “flexible dates”.
Travel off-season: Visiting NYC is expensive, but if you travel in January, you’ll save on the cost of your trip.
Pick a cheaper destination that gives you the same experience you’re looking for: For instance, Portugal is beautiful and affordable compared to other parts of Europe. You can also get great travel deals in Asia, Central, and South America.
Check bundle deals: You can save money when you purchase a package deal. The price of your accommodations and your flight is reduced when buying it together. You'll also get to stay at top-rated hotels for great rates when they come packaged with flights. Sign up for emails from companies that bundle package deals.
My favorite companies who bundle packages:
Travelzoo: Travelzoo has travel deals on hotels, flights, vacation packages, cruises, and entertainment deals.
Gate 1: Provides affordable escorted tours, river cruises, and vacation packages.
Groupon: I’ve seen great travel deals on Groupon. Read the restrictions and reviews of those who have purchased similar deals.
Vacation Rentals: When traveling with a group of people, you can save by renting a home rather than getting several hotel rooms. We booked one night in Florence last minute and found a better deal on Airbnb than booking a hotel. The key is to read the Airbnb reviews. Once you find an Airbnb you like, try doing a reverse image search (to see anywhere those photos are posted online) to see if it’s listed on local sites to avoid extra charges and to read more reviews.
Hotels.com app: Earn free hotel stays when you book on the app. After about 10 hotel stays you get one night free.
Avoid flying on holidays and weekends: Airline tickets can be higher on weekends and holidays.
When to purchase airline tickets: Domestic flights tend to be the least expensive when you book one to two months before your departure date. Book at least three to five months in advance for international travel. As it gets closer to your departure date, prices will creep up.
Best day to buy a ticket: You can get the best deal on airfare towards the end of the weekend. Book on Sundays and save 6% on domestic travel and 13% on international flights.
The cheapest day to travel domestically: is Tuesday & Wednesday.
The cheapest day to travel internationally: is Thursday.
Sign up for airline email alerts and notifications: The airlines will send sales and price fare reductions to your email.
Follow your favorite airline on social media for sales!
Sign up for credit cards with travel offers
Join a miles program: Applying for a miles program is free, and it will earn you points and miles every time you book a flight. They are also connected to a group of airlines. If you book a flight with Delta Airlines, KLM, or Air France, the miles will all be saved together because they are all part of the Skyteam Partner Group. Most miles programs are linked to a credit card. Every time you purchase with your credit card, you’ll earn more miles.
Book airline tickets on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Some airlines have sales at the same time each year: For instance, Southwest tends to offer one-way fares for $39 or $49 in the second week of June and the third week of August.
Use a flight search engine: If you’re not looking to book on a specific airline, a flight search engine will save you a lot of time. It does the comparison work for you and gives you an overall view of all flights available. Unfortunately, flight search engines don’t list all available airlines, like low-budget airlines. Southwest Airlines does not include its fares in third-party search results. Some of the best search engines include CheapAir, Expedia, Kayak, and Priceline... And my favorite, Google Flights.
Set up a price alert: Most websites allow you to set up a price alert. You’ll get an email when your destination has a price drop.
Many travelers like Scott’s Cheap Flights and Dollar Flight Club for curated flight deals: There are premium versions and free versions.
Clear your browser’s cookies: Clear your cookies to find cheap airline tickets. If you keep checking a site to check on the cost of a flight, that information can be tracked by the airline and they’ll know you need to book a flight. They might not show a lower price, or they may raise the price to make you think that you need to book before you pay too much. Clear your browser’s cookies each time you search to make sure you get the newest price. It might be lower than what you were previously shown.
Use Budget Airlines: Check out some of the more budget-friendly airlines: Spirit, Southwest, and Allegiant Air. When flying with budget airlines, it’s important to read the restrictions that come with the ticket. Hand luggage restrictions are strict, and if you don’t meet them, you’ll have to pay for the excess weight. Southwest is the best since your first two checked bags fly free.
Use other airports in the region: It might be easier to travel from the airport closest to your home, but it can be cheaper to fly out of another airport in your area.
Booking two one-way tickets can be cheaper than booking a round-trip ticket: With this option, you can sometimes get a cheaper deal, however, you may end up flying two different airlines.
Open-jaw tickets: Open-jaw tickets, often called multi-stop bookings on airline sites, are for round-trip flights that arrive at one destination and leave from another. For example, you may want to fly from Chicago to Munich, then take the train around Europe and fly back home from Paris. Open jaws can save you money, especially on international itineraries since one-way flights outside the United States are expensive. Most airlines and search engines offer multi-stop search options. I booked an open-jaw ticket to Europe and it was much cheaper than booking two one-way tickets.
Some airline tickets will be higher because of airport taxes: The United Kingdom has some of the highest aviation taxes. Taxes are lower when flying into London, but high when flying out. Consider flying into London then take the Eurostar train to continental Europe and fly back home from another European city.
Skip premium seating: Many airlines charge an additional fee if you select your seat. Allow them to assign your seat so you don’t pay extra.
Know when to book: If you find a cheap fare don’t wait long to book it. Airlines sell a few seats for a lower price, and when those seats are sold out, they will go to a higher fare class. The last seats on the plane are usually the most expensive.
Try not to check a bag: Use a carry-on so you can avoid charges. If you use a larger suitcase, make sure you leave room for souvenirs you may purchase on your trip.
Bring an empty water bottle & snacks: Once you clear security you can fill your bottle at a water fountain. More and more airlines are charging for drinks and snacks.
Use the Lyft or Uber app: But compare the prices before booking. In Europe, I used a taxi that had set prices, and these prices were lower than Uber. After finishing a cruise, I searched Uber & Lyft for pricing to the airport. Lyft was $50.00 cheaper than Uber. Do your research!
Use the Rome to Rio app to make travel planning easy. It shows you the quickest, cheapest, and most convenient transport options.
Don’t overpay for parking: Watch deal sites, like Groupon for discounts on airport parking. It might be cheaper to use a pick-up and drop-off service (Uber, Lyft) than what you’d pay to park at the airport.
