I Need a New Year’s Vacation Under $800! Can You Help? 2013
Dear Deal Mommy,
We are a military family in DC and my folks are coming in for Christmas and New Years. The husband and I have decided to take full advantage of this and would like to take a vacation on our own while the grandparents stay with our kiddo anywhere between the dates of Dec 26 and Jan 5.
We’d love to go somewhere sunny or even somewhere we could ski. But honestly, it doesn’t matter where we go as long as we can get in some “us time.” While we’d like to take a week or more, we are on more of a weekend budget. We are even considering a staycation in DC wherein we get to take in some of the sights we never seem to manage with the kiddo.
And sure it would be nice if we were able to do New Years somewhere, but knowing our available dates are high-travel price times anyway, thinking of a hotel on NYE says nothing but “ca-ching!” to me.
Thanks, Kim
I thought this would be perfect for “Dear Deal Mommy” as I know how valuable having an overnight sitter is and figure there are lots of other families in the same situation…you gotta travel when you have the childcare. I’ve come up with 3 options that come in within Kim’s budget, but will get her and her husband out of town.
Here is Kim’s budget (and other “assets”):
Cash: $800 Max ($500 pref.)
Points/Miles: NONE (we’ll get back to this one!)
Cash Back: $200 on 2 cards
$100 Living Social Credit
At the end of the post are my “Top Tips”. I’ll take you behind my thought process so even if these destinations don’t work for you, maybe they will inspire you to get out of town when you can. I include lodging and transportation in my costs and deduct miles/points earned at 1 cent per mile. I don’t include food or activities because, well, there’s only so much I can do!
Trip #1: Because getting on a plane means “Vacation”: Boston
Using ita matrix I found that Boston was the best city to fly into over the dates in question. I took that knowledge to this package deal on Orbitz: Use code 150VACA on any 4 night hotel/air package over $1000:
Your trip details:
Leave Tue, Dec 31 JetBlue Airways 56
Depart: 9:47 AM
Washington DC, Dulles Airport (IAD)
Arrive: 11:11 AM
Boston, MA , Boston Logan Airport (BOS)
Return Sun, Jan 5 , JetBlue Airways 1257
Depart: 6:35 PM
Boston, MA , Boston Logan Airport (BOS) Terminal C
Arrive: 8:16 PM
Washington DC, Dulles Airport (IAD)
Hotel Check-in: Tue, Dec 31, 2013 1500
Check-out: Sun, Jan 5, 2014 1100
Hotel Veritas
4 stars
Remington Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Selected room
Petite Queen – 1 queen bed – 175 Sq.Ft with Bathrobe, Complimentary Internet Access
Trip cost
Flight + Hotel Package
Airline ticket(s): 2
$375.60
Hotel night(s): 5
Rooms: 1
$901.07
Your savings for booking together
-$259.28
Promo code applied
-$150.00
Total due at booking
$867.39
Includes taxes and fees
I know this is $50 over budget, but subtract the $9 in Orbitz credit she’ll earn and the $16 in Jetblue miles and we’re pretty close. She can also get $9 back by entering through ebates. She’s getting both 5 nights AND New Year’s Eve by getting the subtotal up to $1000 and using the promo code, so I think it’s worth it to dig into the cash back. It can be done more cheaply by playing with the flight times and shortening the trip or skimping on the hotel, but I thought this boutique hotel near Harvard looked really cute. The Doubletree Bayside also came in right around 1k so could be a good option.
Trip #2: Philadelphia Freedom/MacGyver-ing up some sunshine at Harrah’s Atlantic City
Kim mentioned that she hadn’t done any of the major east coast cities, so Philly came to mind as it’s compact, walkable, and has New Year’s celebrations that are overshadowed by it’s bigger, brasher sister New York.
Even Better, on Living Social (knew that $100 credit would come in handy!) I found the Loew’s for $169/night for 2 nights checking in New Year’s Eve, departing the 2nd, for $429 net ($329 for Kim, since she has a credit). Use ebates and she’ll get 4%, or $10 back.
After 3 days of history, let’s get some R&R in Deal Mommy Fave Atlantic City. Wait, as in New Jersey? Yup. Stay with me…I haven’t lost my mind! First off, if you haven’t been in a few years, it’s much classier than it used to be. Sure, you’ll still find day-glow track suited seniors on combo cane-stools at the nickel slots, but you’re just as likely to find an amazing meal and some of the best beaches on the east coast. Since this isn’t exactly beach weather, I’ve chosen Harrah’s for their pool area: which is a gem: huge and landscaped beautifully, but most importantly heated to 82 degrees year round with numerous hot tubs and waitresses in bikinis ready to serve you frosty drinks with umbrellas. Bring a trashy novel and you can ALMOST feel the tropical breezes.
Best of all, The R&R will be dirt cheap after New Years. Harrah’s offers rates at off peak times that come close to free, and once you sign up for their total rewards program, you probably will be invited back for free! The total cost for a three night stay Jan 2-5 is $201.92 including taxes and fees! Crazier than that, they’re on ebates for an extra 2.5%, of $5 cash back! Who knew?
So the grand total for this 5 night trip is $656.
Philly: $319+$40 parking per yelp
Atlantic City: $197
Gas/Tolls: $100 (this is high, but covers a range of car types)
Trip #3 Start Spreading the News: New York City
No WAY am I suggesting New Year’s Eve in Times Square, so this trip leaves New Year’s Day. People clear out pretty quickly after midnight and hotel rates drop accordingly, as do the crowds, but the holiday decorations are still up so the weekend after New Years is a lovely time to visit. Go up on the Megabus for $112 for 2 people round trip Jan 1-5 from Union Station DC.
As for 4 nights hotel? There are thousands of places to stay, so here’s my advice: use this trip to actually get some points so next time you’re not caught out. I took a look at the sweet spot between affordability, location, and promotions and suggest Hilton’s 4x 4 nights promotion. Combine with the military rate or AAA rate and the Hampton Inn Midtown 35th at 712.37 and the Hilton Garden Inn Midtown 35th st at $725.42 for 4 nights.
Either will earn approx. 27,000 hilton hhonors points on this promotion, or a $135 rebate on the stay (I value Hilton points at 1/2 cent based on past redemptions.) If you choose a different hotel, make sure it is not on this list.
Total: $702
Hotel: $725-$135 points=$590
Bus: $112
Thanks, Kim, for being our first “Dear Deal Mommy” test case! Hope these ideas get your juices flowing and please follow up and let us know where you go.
The Deal Mommy’s Top Tips:
Tip: When setting your budget, make sure you count everything!
I jogged Kim’s brain about the Living Social credit as it could come in handy! As we’re only 2 months out, applying for a credit card/getting a signup bonus really won’t help in this case. If I had 3 months or longer lead time, I definitely would have steered more in that direction.
Tip: When traveling on peak dates, remove the “peak of the peak” if possible.
Kim gave me the window of December 26-Jan 5. By traveling the 31st-5th instead of Dec 26-30, (and staying out of New York and Atlantic City the 31st) she’ll save a lot of money. How do you figure out the “peak of the peak”? Sometimes, it’s pretty self-evident. If you want hard data, you can use a flexible calendar search tool: I like the one at ita matrix as you can search a 2000 mile radius and an entire month of airfares.
Tip: It doesn’t matter how rarely you travel…SIGN UP!
I (gently) read Kim the riot act when she told me that she flew three times in the last year and hadn’t signed up for a frequent flyer program. Please don’t throw away money! You get an average of a 10% rebate on airfare in the form of miles…often more. They can be leveraged in a variety of ways and it takes 30 seconds to fill out the form.
Tip: Work what you got.
Kim’s husband is military, which means they qualify for special rates while still earning points. Leverage whatever benefits you can out of whatever associations/programs/affiliations you can think of: you may be surprised!
Can a Family of 4 Spend 10 Days in Europe Summer 2014 for $5,000 with NO MILES?
I got a great question via twitter this week from Steve: @thdealmommy: I want to take my family to Europe for 1st time. Would you ever recommend a Groupon for someone with no miles? Is $5,000 doable?
I’m going to try my best and lay out the trip I would plan if it were my family. I’m not expecting Steve’s family to take all, or maybe not any, of my advice verbatim. What I am hoping to do is inspire some creative thinking skills that may make the trip more obtainable for his family. I also hope you get some inspiration for planning your own adventures!
The short answer about Groupon is: maybe, so I needed more info. We’re talking about a family of 4 with kids being 9 and 12. They’re not picky about hotels. Paris is a must, London and/or Rome are desired, Date is flex between Mid June and end of August, 10 day vacation. Departure city Washington DC.
He sent me a link to this deal: Groupon to London, Paris, Rome. It’s so bad I didn’t even bother to put an affiliate link in it. They want 12k for 4 people RT in summer, for gems like the Holiday Inn Express in Rome. No wonder people are afraid of traveling!
Of course, my first thought was “let’s get Steve some miles!”, but since I write as “The Deal Mommy” and not as a miles/points blogger, let’s see what we can do with just some old fashioned sleuthing in this post. Even without miles, we’ve got to do better than 12k!
I’m going into this post blind, meaning I’m researching as I type. I do have some knowledge as I’m still pretty fresh from Camp Mom 2013 and have been planning my own 2014 European Vacation, but don’t know for a fact if I can pull off 5k without miles in summer. I’m also talking only airfare, intra-Europe transport, and lodging here. I’ll be sharing my thought process as I go along and post my “top tips” at the bottom of the post.
Thoughts on first time Europe with Kids
My first thought when I saw the Groupon and Steve’s wish list was “Griswold”. I totally get the rationale: travel is expensive, not only financially, but in time– a resource even more valuable! With kids 9 and 12, it’s your first trip to Europe and who knows when you’ll get back?
My response: Chuck it. (Actually, it’s something less polite, but you get the drift.) Travel is for the memories you make together as a family. You’ll make a heck of a lot better memories if your kids are not overtired, overmuseumed, and on their third bus tour in four days. I’d suggest at least 3 days of a more relaxed environment: beach, rural, town, castle, etc. as that’s where kids get to see “real” Europeans live their lives. My kids have learned more from the grocery stores than you can imagine!
In 10 days, I would suggest the following itinerary:
Day 1 Depart
Days 2-6 Paris
Day 7 Paris-Transit-Marseille
Days 8 -10 Marseille (or region)
Day 11 Home
Also, Steve mentioned that he had been following my blog for a while now, so with time he will have more tricks up his sleeve!
Airfare
I learned booking my ticket to 2014 European Vacation think in segments, not round trips, and be flexible about gateways. Using ITA Matrix, I did a search within 250 miles of DC and Paris (our must see destination) for a one way ticket a month at a time between June and August 2014. Doing that I saw that Icelandair departing out of JFK was a possibility with lots of dates at $456 with a free stopover in Iceland. Steve also found a fare on XL Airlines for around $420. Budget airline Norwegian Air could also be a good option, as could “fifth freedom flights” on airlines transitioning to more exotic destinations but stopping over in Europe.
Fortunately Steve has family in New York so we don’t have to budget for a hotel and parking, but we do have to budget $100 for gas and tolls.
Here’s where a good aggregator comes in handy for booking. I like CheapOair and have used them before. Use Promo Code TRAVEL20 for $20 off 2 of more tickets.
Using June 22 as a Departure date to Paris the price on XL Airlines Nonstop is $1437.68.
Using July 2 as a Return Date from Marseille on XL Airlines Nonstop is $2152.88.
The price is the same return from Paris as from Marseille so you could do round trip from Paris. I would use this as an opportunity to take a train between cities and enjoy the culture!
On Rail Europe I found a Paris to Marseille family ticket for $295 first class. I think that will be cheaper, but summer tickets weren’t available yet so I was looking at last minute pricing.
So on transportation we’re at $3985.56.
Lodging
Yikes. I’m down to $1014.44 for 9 nights lodging for a family of 4, with 5 of those nights in Paris! I told you I was going into this post not knowing if I could get it exactly right. Well, I’ll try my best and share with you my thoughts as I go along.
Paris
I know from recent experience that family rooms in Paris are a BEAR. If their stay was longer I would go with Endless Vacation Rentals as they’ve got some great deals in Paris. Since it’s 5 nights, my default is the Accor Hotels. They often have book early or free night promotions and have more family rooms than most, or at least rooms cheap enough that you can book 2.
I found a family sized suite with a pull out couch at the Suite Novotel Paris Porte de la Chapelle for $698.46 for 5 nights June 22-27. I’d grab that puppy and run!
Marseille (or environs)
I picked Marseille for a bunch of reasons, even though I’ve never been. It’s not where I would suggest they actually stay, but it where the train ends and where the airport is, so let’s call it the gateway. The options are wide open for relaxation: we could do a beach kinda thing, we could head up into Aix for Provence, but the bottom line is that we are providing a whole different taste from Paris for only a three hour train ride and no extra airports. My preference with the Deal Kids? Take a jaunt to Cannes, no doubt, for Boardwalk fun, French style!
For this kinda rental I’d use Booking.com as they have a wide variety of stuff that doesn’t show up anywhere else. Tons of options all over the area show up under $400 for June 28-July 2, including a one bedroom apartment “Cannes 2031” at $397 that I would grab.
How Did I Do?
Well, I’m $80 over budget, but ebates I can get $28 back from Accor, $8 from Booking.com, and $10 from CheapoAir so I’m pretty close!
I could have gone cheaper with the rental in Marseille, but I didn’t want Steve’s wife to reject the idea out of hand! I’m also fudging a bit in that they would have to get to Cannes, but I’m thinking the tickets to Marseille are overpriced now so that will come out in the wash.
Top Tip #1 Remember why you want to travel in the first place. What I mean is: are you really just trying to check off a “must see” list or do you want your kids to actually enjoy themselves? I’m not saying you have to indulge their every whim, but if you overschedule, you will pay for it in the end.
Top Tip #2: Stop Thinking in Circles. The standard round trip is unnecessary. Have some fun! Try an open jaw: arriving into one city, taking a train, leaving into another. Got a layover? See if you can make it a free stopover and add a destination to your trip. Icelandair is the king of the free stopovers!
Top tip #3: Think about promotions you can use NOW to cash in LATER. I immediately had Steve register for the Marriott Megabonus as I knew registration closed Nov 15. I ended up not using it this time, but didn’t want to miss the opportunity and if Steve picks different cities being registered may come in handy.
What Are The Best Miles to London in Business Class? 2015
Reader Kay reached out recently with the following (edited for clarity): I’m trying to get to London from the States, somewhat flexible dates. I have plenty of AMEX MR and some AA and United. The problem is my boyfriend is only interested in business class or higher. Can I still find decent deals in premium cabins, and if so, is the methodology still the same, i.e. use the ITA matrix, think outside the box, etc?
Kay’s question actually has 2 parts and I think both are useful when planning your own travels.
- Can I still find decent deals in premium cabins?
Yes! You have to be diligent and strike the moment you see a deal, but they do exist from time to time. In February a $1000 Business Class fare to London popped up for a few hours and last year I got to Rome for my solo Italy trip in business for $1400 round trip.To make sure you’re in the know when such deals break, be sure to be following my must read list on Twitter. - How can I best use miles to get to London?
With London, the main tip is to never depart from LHR as your international gateway. The fees will kill you! Intra Europe fares can be dirt cheap so your goal with award tickets is to just get over the pond.I think the single best value to Europe is Aer Lingus to Dublin using Avios at only 50k RT from BOS or 80k from ORD in Business (1/2 that in coach). Avios transfer easily from American Express and you call British Airways to book the ticket. Tip: Make sure you have plenty of time when you call as BA is not known for speedy customer service. From Dublin we got to London for $50/ticket and got to enjoy Dublin for a night before coming home. Other useful booking strategies are laid out in this post about Camp Mom Asia 2015.
Kay got back to me and let me know she was able to successfully book Aer Lingus Boston to Dublin using Avios from American Express for 50K miles each. Made my day!
What’s Your Favorite All-Inclusive? (HINT: None of the Above!) 2014
Apologies to my reader C. who reached out to me for advice on All-inclusive resorts, because I know my advice wasn’t what she was looking for. Here’s her question (edited for clarity):
I have a $2500 budget for a Thursday-Monday trip in May for a kid-free long weekend. I want great nightlife, he wants all-inclusive. I found a $2300 deal to Breezes in the Bahamas including air from WAS, and it seems like a great deal compared to the other resorts. Should I take it?
My short answer: H#ll No!
However, that doesn’t make much of a blog post, does it? So let me explain why I think all-inclusives are a TERRIBLE value proposition, no matter how many watered down mimosas you can drink. Let’s take this deal apart, piece by piece, and show how much more you get for your money if you do it yourself. I’m not even talking award nights or credit card bonuses here; just 10 minutes of surfing will save us hundreds. Hundreds that you can use to buy great booze if you’re so inclined.
First, let’s see what’s included in the “all-inclusive” so we’re comparing apples to apples. From Breezes.com I see the following list:
Deluxe Accommodations
Unlimited dining in a variety of restaurants
Unlimited drinks including premium brand cocktails & wine
Land activities like rock climbing, tennis, beach volleyball & more
Water activities like sailing, windsurfing, kayaks & more
Nightly entertainment, live shows & more
Complimentary WiFi (in-room & throughout the resort)
No tipping allowed
And so much more!
Reading through the copious marketing, I see that the “Deluxe Accomodations” are standard (3.5 to 4 star from the picture) hotel rooms, the “Variety of restaurants” is 4 if you count poolside snacks as a restaurant, and the “so much more” includes sumo-suit wrestling (ok…). Taking out the airfare to Nassau ($790 on the dates I checked for 2), you’re paying $1500, or $375 a night for this “experience”.
My first thought is that you could get almost the exact same experience from a cruise for a lot less, and you’ll save on airfare because you only have to get to Florida. Doing a 5 second search on Priceline I find a 4 night cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines May 12-16 in an outside cabin for a total of $880 for 2, with airfare to Miami being $480, for a total of $1360. $940 is a LOT of booze and kayaking.
Want to stay firmly planted on the ground? No problem. Using the same airfare, let’s look at one of my favorites, The Comfort Suites at Atlantis, which has full usage of all Atlantis facilities. I find May 15-19 for an all-in rate of $935.60, again leaving over $130 A DAY for food and alcohol. Considering the Comfort Suites serves a (continental) breakfast and has a kitchenette, that’s more than enough left over, and you get to choose where you spend it!
I found these prices in 10 minutes with basic searches…imagine what we could do if we really put our minds to it! I haven’t even looked at condo rentals yet…
I get it. Some people just have to have the “package” experience. With this post, I just want to encourage you to step outside just a tiny bit and imagine what you else you could do. You might surprise yourself!
Note:
To give all inclusives their due, I see 2 instances where they might be cost-efficient:
1. Destination wedding. If the resort does it for free, I’m all in!
2. Childcare. You can also get childcare on a cruise, but for land, I can see the value if the kids are getting more than babysitting out of the deal.
I need a Hotel Strategy for the Macy’s Parade, 2014
Today’s question is from Christine:
Could you tell me the specifics of booking your trip to NYC for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Which hotel did you use, transportation from the airport, etc. I would like to take my granddaughter to the parade this November.
First, and most urgently…you’ll need to book NOW. TODAY. You can always change award bookings up to 24-72 hours before departure on hotels, but you need to have something in hand ASAP.
For starters, check out my hotel report from the 2012 Macy’s Parade and much of that advice still stands. However, my hotel of choice, the Holiday Inn 57th Street, is already blacked out for the entire fall. Others that would be good in the 35K range include the HIExpress, Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, and Holiday Inns north of 35th street. This post above shows you how to top your account up if you need a few more. Do NOT transfer in Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG, it’s a horrible value.
Another surprisingly still available option is the new Hyatt Place which is almost across the street from Macy’s on 36th. My concern about this one is that is the location is where they film everything. Reader Monica reports the Hyatt Place is great because the media area is sealed off so you’ll be grandfathered in and get a less crowded view. The new Hyatt Herald Square would qualify as well, as would the Radisson Martinique. I don’t know how it would be for pedestrians…could be AMAZING or a nightmare. I’d walk north a few blocks to be safe. To be honest, any Hyatt in NYC, with the exception of Union Square or Wall Street, would be great for the parade and I wouldn’t feel terrible about spending even 25k Ultimate rewards points per night for a legend-wait-for-it-dary list experience.
Whichever you do, book TODAY! (Did I already mention that 😉
Parade Viewing: Buy a cheap pillow or cushion the night before. I MacGyvered one out of a 6 pack of paper towels that resulted in a REALLY funny conversation with a security guard at Duane Reade at 5AM, but did the trick. Plan to have your spot staked out by 530AM if you want the front row. Don’t be afraid to stand your ground…New Yorkers have a rep for being pushy for a REASON. Bring something for the kid to do (ours had their DS’s). Try to be near a Starbucks/bathroom.
As far as transport, we took the megabus from DC, so can’t help with airport. Thinking you would definitely want something booked in advance like Uber, though. Readers?
Whatever you do…it’s TOTALLY worth it. Good luck!
What do I do with My Leftover Miles? 2015
Reader Dave sent the following (edited for clarity): My wife and I are based in Houston, Texas but fly out of Dallas on occasion also. After our recent redemptions I have 60,000 American Express points, 50,000 United miles, and 65,000 Hyatt points left. We like New York, Boston, London, Paris, and Italy.
What would YOU do with these to get the most bang?
I LOVE this question. It’s a perfect example of taking a good inventory of what you have and then discovering what you can do. It’s also a perfect excuse to pull out my Destination Anywhere? checklist.
Using the checklist as a guide, I learned that Dave is ok with coach (which is what he can afford with what he has right now), flexible with dates, and prefers Hyatt but is comfortable with Regency/Place as opposed to Park Hyatt for the savings. If he does a domestic trip, it would be a long weekend. International? A week to 10 days. The destinations aren’t set in stone, but ideas.
Dave is also done applying for cards for a while. He knows whatever he does will have a cash component, and is looking for the best mix of miles/cash.
All right- let’s turn this mish-mosh into a trip!
I Confess to Cheating
I’m building off my last Dear Deal Mommy in which I discussed using Avios transferred to American Express from Boston to Dublin on Aer Lingus. He would need 50,000 for 2 coach round trip tickets. Luckily, Dave and his wife live near two hubs so getting to Boston shouldn’t be too expensive on cash tickets. They could even spend a night there on the way. Our last trip to Europe was on the same route with cash tickets bought from Washington National.
Alternatively, Dave could collect 10,000 United Miles by charging his bills to a United or Chase Ultimate Rewards card for a few months. With 60,000 United miles and 60,000 American Express Membership Rewards points (transferred to Air Canada) he could get to Europe from Dallas. They could book one ticket on the same flight on each program, similar to what I did to get the Deal Family to Asia. Both Air Canada and United are in the Star Alliance, which makes this possible.
Once They Get to Dublin
Dublin is the main hub for Ryanair-Europe’s bare bones discount carrier. You don’t have to fly Ryanair to benefit from this-the fares from Dublin on the legacy carriers have to competitive as well.
Here’s where I would let the time of year dictate my itinerary as I know from experience how both Paris and London can get with even a dusting of snow. I wouldn’t wish my British Airways Heathrow nightmare on anyone!
If you’re going March-November I think a week in London and Paris would be lovely and is do-able with points and cash. With P&C you also get stay credit. I’m a fan of the Hyatt Etoile in Paris as it’s on top of the metro just 10 minutes away from the Louvre. At 7,500 points and $100 a night it’s a bargain. In London I have a soft spot for the Churchill as they rescued me from BA purgatory, but the Andaz looks equally lovely. The Churchill was also very recently renovated. Either would be 12,500 and $150 points and cash. With 65,000 points you could do 3 nights in London and 3 in Paris.
Winter? I’d save your Hyatt Points and use Luxury Link. They have so many lovely properties in the $100/night range and I just don’t see the appeal of going to Italy just to stay in Milan at the Hyatt. I can’t recommend Matera highly enough if you want to get off the beaten path.
Or you could chuck all of the above and spend a long weekend at one of the Hyatt All-Inclusives.
How Do I Get the Best Deals on Airline Tickets? 2016
Today Susan asks a question I have answered piecemeal but never in one handy post on the blog: How do I get the best deals on airline tickets? I have to be in XX city on YY date and don’t have enough miles for an award ticket.
When your parameters are set in stone, you’re going to pay top dollar. You’re not going to get 100% of what you want booking the best priced ticket. If you need 100% of it, pony up. However, between what you need and what you want could lie that great deal- if you’re willing to accept good enough instead of perfect.
We’re often thinking big- Europe and Asia- but these strategies are also effective (sometimes more so) on smaller USA destinations. I’ve found tickets to Iowa that were more expensive than those to Italy!
Family Travel FAQ Rule #1: Find the absolute non-negotiable first.
If you’re going to an event, your absolute non-negotiable may be the place. Alternatively if you’re on a school schedule it may be the date. However, if you flex at all with one or the other you might find huge savings, especially on 3 or more tickets.
Once I’ve located my non-negotiable (which these days is usually the dates) here’s what I flex, in the order of which I flex it. I use Google Flights for most of my flight searches- ITA matrix is also handy but Google Flights is more user friendly.
- Departure city: In DC we’re lucky enough to have 2 airports close by- IAD and DCA. If I can’t find what I need there, I’ll flex up to four hours depending on the length and cost of the trip. If I’m buying four tickets I’ll often save enough to make the cost of gas, tolls, and parking worth it, as in this Hawaii trip I priced from Newark instead of DC. Google flights (using the plus sign on the departures box) flexes up to 150 miles- over that you’ll need to use ITA Matrix which will flex up to 2000. For DC I tend to just use BWI, PHL, EWR, and JFK.
- Arrival city: If I’m flying to Europe or Asia I use a “just get over the pond” strategy as intercontinental flights are readily available and inexpensive. Trains are also an option in Europe. Take a look at my Provence on Points trip for some ideas- the strategies are the same for paid or points tickets.
Family Travel FAQ Rule #2: Stop Thinking in Circles.
Yes, you need to be in XX city on YY date, but the standard round trip is unnecessary. Have some fun! Try an open jaw: arriving into one city, taking a train, leaving from another. Got a layover? See if you can make it a free stopover and add a destination to your trip. Icelandair is the king of the free stopovers!
Family Travel FAQ Rule #3: Look outside the major airlines.
Some of your best flight options may not show up on search. In the States Southwest is the biggest hole in most search engines, but in Europe and Asia many budget airlines don’t show up. To find a handy list, I go to Wikipedia and type in my gateway airport- it gives me a list of EVERY airline and destination that goes in and out of that airport. If I’m looking for Europe I’ll try FlyLC: a low cost airline search engine.
Family Travel FAQ Rule #4: Consider a one way car rental.
This tip works best during one way car rental season but many trips are within driving distance one way but not both in a long weekend or a week. I’m going to Florida next month via flight on the way down and via $8/day car rental on the way back. I wouldn’t want to drive I-95 round trip often but one way is totally do-able.
