How to Find The Best Deals on Airfare and Accommodations: 5 Essential Tips

The average cost for a vacation for two people can end up costing thousands of dollars for just one week. Because of this, many have put off going on vacation, and it seems like airlines and hotels don’t want to cooperate with your money-saving efforts. In fact, more than half of the people in the United States alone resist going on vacation because they simply can’t afford it.

Not all hope is lost, though! If you’re one of the millions who are in dire need of a vacation but don’t think that you can afford it, we’re here to help. Here are five essential tips on how to find the best deals on airfare and accommodations.

Be Flexible

There is that old myth there are certain dates that are cheaper than others, with the adage saying that Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly. While that may be the case for the most part, there may still be cheaper deals on other days of the week. Because of this, being flexible with your dates could end up saving you hundreds on your trip.

Many flight planning websites are getting much better at providing user-friendly calendars where you can find the best prices within the date range that you’re looking for. If you’re flexible with the time of year in which you want to travel, that will save you even more. Flying after the holidays can end up being the cheapest time of year as there aren’t any big travel days in January or February while the winter months are still ongoing.

Look at the Luggage Fine Print

Many of us have had that moment where we thought we found an amazing deal that could have saved us over $100. However, when we get to the final checkout, we find out that the added fees end up costing just as much or more than the other ticket prices.

With that said, you’ll want to always check the fees that come with every ticket. Budget airlines like Spirit are great if you don’t have a carry-on, but bringing luggage can more than double your ticket price. Southwest Airlines, on the other hand, has no hidden fees.

Sign Up For Mailing Lists

One of the first things that you should do is look up all of the airlines that operate in the closest airport to you. Jot all of those down, and then visit their websites. When you do, sign up for their mailing lists, and they’ll be able to provide you with the best deals of the year. Oftentimes, there will be flash sales where you can fly to certain places for as low as $29.

The only thing is, though, that these flash sales are typically only provided for people on the mailing lists. Make sure that you don’t have these airline emails sent to your junk folder, too. You won’t want to miss out on the deal of a lifetime, especially if you don’t have a particular destination in mind, which leads us to our next point.

Some Destinations Are Cheaper Than Others

A lot of people want to go on vacation to a certain destination because there are people there that they know. If you simply want to get away on a trip and don’t really care about the destination while also saving money, there are certain airports that are going to be much cheaper than others for various reasons, with the biggest reason being that the airport is in a place that relies heavily on the tourism industry.

For this reason, the United States cities that are the cheapest to fly to are Orlando, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada. These cities expect you to spend most of your money at resorts (and gambling in Nevada), so flights are dirt cheap. Other cheap airports in the United States include Chicago (Midway), Dallas (Love Field), and New Orleans.

Buy One Ticket At A Time

Sports fans know that it’s much cheaper to buy one ticket instead of sets of two or more. This is because it’s hard for people to dump off just one ticket in between other sets, and the box office is willing to sell them for a cheaper price. The same thing applies to airlines, and sitting two or three people next to each other is a big part of supply and demand. Families want to tend to sit next to each other, and airlines can charge a premium to have you do so.

If you’re not traveling with children, buy your tickets one at a time so that you can all get cheaper seats. Most of us end up sleeping on an airplane, anyway, so it really doesn’t matter for most to have our loved ones sitting just inches away for the next couple of hours. Splitting your ticket purchases can literally save thousands, and you may still end up getting lucky and sitting next to each other (or at least in the same row).