All In On Leisure Travel: Money Saving Tactics

by Robert McGarvey

I just spent almost $500 on a roundtrip ticket from PHX to DEN in March and that was maybe twice what I had expected to pay. Exactly what is happening here?

The answer is simple: as a people we in the US have a ravenous appetite for travel. Initially that had been explained as a post pandemic frenzy but that can’t still be the explanation. One third more Americans now plan a leisure trip this year than did last year, per an NPD survey.

In the process prices for just about all things travel have been climbing, partly due to today’s inflation but also the apparently unquenchable consumer appetite for travel.

That appetite is so strong it’s even impacting sales of gear like backpacks and travel gear per NPD: “The travel accessories market, including luggage, backpacks, duffle bags, fanny and chest packs, garment bags, and toiletry cases, not only regained the revenue it lost in 2020 but also added more than $1 billion in U.S. sales revenue.”

We even are deferring clothing purchases in favor of putting our money to use traveling. “U.S. consumers are transferring some of their apparel spending toward travel plans. In the fourth quarter of 2022, 41% of consumers reported giving up apparel purchases in favor of travel, according to NPD Future of Apparel findings.”

Per Insider Intelligence, 22% of US adults name leisure travel as a top budget priority in 2023.

The upshot: don’t think that waiting will likely bring us cheaper air fares. Very possibly dramatic price cuts for oil – which no one expects as the Saudis have cut production – would prompt lower prices for airfares. So would an economic recession but few see that in the United States’ near-term future.

Show Me The Bargains

How can a penny-pinching traveler best navigate this terrain? Today, just about every traveler is actively hunting for discounts and deals. That means competition for these discounts is keen. The early bird will catch this worm; late comers will stay hungry. That means if you see a deal on a website, act on it. Don’t dither.

An upshot is that, suddenly, there is surging interest in sites such as The Points Guy where today I see a half off airfare to the Dominican Republic, via Jet Blue and Delta, that will have expired before this story posts.

Deals now seem to sell out in a day or two, quantities are limited, and quick action is rewarded.

Know Your Limits

I want to save money but I am not a fan of self-flagellation. Which means I generally will dodge discount airlines. The sticker prices for a flight may be tempting but the add on charges are not only annoying but may erase most of the savings.

I also like low priced hotels but there, too, there are limits.

Know your own limits when you set off on this bargain hunting quest.

Use the Many Credit Card Discounts You Probably Have

American Express cards usually feature around 100 deals and discounts for cardholders. Many involve travel brands.

Many other credit cards do likewise.

Some times the quickest way to cut travel costs is to use the discounts that already are extended to you.

Travel Against the Crowd

Wee Willie Keeler, a baseball Hall of Famer, famously offered this advice: Hit the ball where they ain’t.

Borrowing from Keeler my advice to the frugal traveler is go where they ain’t.

For years an habitual trip of mine was to spend Thanksgiving in the United Kingdom and/or Ireland. Airfares always were minuscule, hotel rooms were cheap and plentiful, and only once do I remember there being snow (in Belfast) and it had pretty much melted by the next afternoon.

See a blizzard of stories and social media posts about particular destinations – Portugal for instance is spectacularly popular nowadays as are polar cruises, to pick two comparative newcomers to mass acclaim – and you can assume prices match the high interest.

Me, I’ll go to Spain in early fall (not the pricey and hot summer).

While I’m at this, I will stay not in wildly popular Barcelona but in Madrid. Second cities are usually a good money saving tactic – and oftentimes are more welcoming to travelers.

Where do you want to go where legions of leisure travelers aren’t?

Spend Accrued Miles

Yes, carriers are demanding – and getting – huge piles of miles for award travel. Now American has joined other carriers in dynamically pricing award trips – which means more expensive in many cases. But my advice remains: use your miles because their value only seems to go down as carriers mint ever more of them. Besides, redeeming miles is one sure way to lower the cost of flying.