Don’t Forget the Most Important New Year’s Resolution!

Posted on January 2, 2014 by wpengine

That’s it for 2013.  If you wanted to do something special before the year ended, you missed your chance.  Those goals and aspirations will never come to fruition.  Somehow another year has escaped you, now you’re a year older, and one year closer to death.

Brad’s post the other day about not missing out on the world changing inspired me.  If you missed it, go back and read about 7 Cases of How the World is Changing and Why You Need to See it Now.  This post will make you reconsider life and your goals moving into a new year.  If you’re the typical American, these are your resolution’s:

  1. Lose 10 pounds
  2. Earn more money
  3. Get a new job
  4. Spend more time with family
  5. Eat healthier foods

Don’t get me wrong, these are all worthwhile goals.  You should probably do all of these things next year.  I just don’t want you to forget about living your life while you’re working on your life.  As Americans we are terrible about taking vacations.  We are the No-Vacation Nation.  Make it change for you.  Time to make a travel resolution!

Why you need to add “Take a Sweet Vacation” to your New Year’s Resolution”

Think about yourself at the hospital on the last day of your life.  You know the cancer is taking you away today.  As you flash back through your life, are you really going to say to yourself, “I sure am glad that I got that raise back in 2014.”  That was the highlight of my life.  Or how about “I lost 10 pounds in 2014, then somehow regained 20 in 2015.”

Travel resolution

Memories that will never fade

I picture myself looking back over my life thinking, “Did I live my life to the fullest?.  Did spend time with those that I loved, and do they know that I loved them?” In my mind, some of the most memorable times spent with my family have been on vacation.  Why not do more of this with your family?

When you’re on a trip you’re not focused on getting home from work so you can finish the laundry and dishes before you call it quits until the following day.  It’s not all about homework, mowing the lawn, and replacing the burned out bulbs in your bedroom.

The luxury of being on an awesome trip is that you are spending time with the ones you love.  You’re together 24 hours a day (for better or worse) and out enjoying stuff.  You’re experiencing things that will burn in your mind forever.  I just dare you to pry the memories of riding a gondola in Venice with my family in 2012.  Or how about the time that my brothers Brad and Colby went on a motorcycle ride across Arizona.  Try to make me forget about when my wife and I pulled off a 3 weeks excursion across Southeast Asia.

You’ll probably struggle reading the map, or dealing with the heat.  But these struggles will bring you closer together.  If you want to learn more about someone, take a trip with them.  Your relationship with your children will grow, and your casual friend will become a best friend.

But I can’t Afford a Sweet Vacation

Yes you can.  Subscribe to our blog.  Read through our old posts and learn about how WorldWanderlusting can help you take more than one sweet vacation a year.  Hopefully you can take multiple incredible vacations this year.

Read posts from readers like John, or Bonnie, who have both become subscribers and followers who have been able to take unforgettable vacations that would otherwise have stayed home.

But I have children

Believe me, I know about this one.  Having a 2 year old and an infant is not easy to even leave the house, let alone take a big trip.  Try a few of these ideas to make it easier:

  • Plan the trip with the kids in mind- Pick activities that the kids will enjoy.  Plan around their naps most days.
  • Stay in one location-Don’t move around too much
  • Stay with family
  • Leave them- Fly in grandma (with points) to stay with your children while you take a vacation.

Start Planning

Pick your destination and figure out how many points it is going to get there.  Start working on getting the points and miles that you’ll need to make your Resolution a Memory you’ll never forget!

Where do you want to go?  What memories will you create in 2014?

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Children's Travel, How to Wanderlust | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

7 Cases of How the World is Changing and Why You Need to See it Now

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Brad Christensen

I’m on the phone with my brother, who’s standing at the base of the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica. He’s telling me about their amazing adventures and how much they enjoyed a horseback ride into a remote waterfall, delicious casados doused with salsa Lizano, and learning to surf in the waves of Dominical.  They’ve just spent the evening at Tabacon hot springs, soaking it up in a lush jungle environment – an incredible experience by anyone’s standards. I say, “Isn’t it freaking amazing how you can hear the volcano rumble,” and his response is, disappointingly, “Huh?”

Recalling our stay near Arenal in 2006, I prod, “You know, like the groan of the volcano… the way it rumbles. And can’t you see the lava tumble down in the dark?” Again, his response is lackluster, “No, man I don’t hear anything and I don’t see anything.”

Hmm…”oh well” I think and we continue talking about his visit to La Fortuna waterfall, a plunging stream of crystal water with an inviting swimming pool some 400 steps down into a gorge.

But later, after thinking about it, I had to do some research.  We had been to Costa Rica in 2009 as well, but stayed further south and never made it to the Arenal area.  Had the volcano gone dormant? A quick search brought me to this article, stating that Arenal went quiet in October of 2010.

It was like a gut punch, catching me off-guard and leaving me with a sick feeling – but it confirmed something I have believed for a long time, and always used this blog as a platform to communicate: Don’t put off travel for an uncertain future.

Here’s a reality that won’t change: The world is changing. Every day, small subtle changes will leave it far more homogeneous and less interesting than it is today. Have a hard time believing me?  Try these examples out:

The World is Changing

1. In Costa Rica, the grumbling lava-spewing of a once-active volcano has become a remnant of the past.

Dormant Arenal

An Active Arenal in 2006

2. Cuba will eventually become less of an isolated, time-travel-like experience.

Cuba Cars

Classic Cars in Havana

3. The delicate balance that allows glowing microbes to survive in hyper-salinated bays in Puerto Rico may not exist forever.
Photos of Bioluminescent Bay, Fajardo
This photo of Bioluminescent Bay is courtesy of TripAdvisor

4. At some point the Mayan people will no longer allow people to enter Actun Tunichil Muknal cave to see the most impressive array of century-old artifacts and the remains of sacrifice victims.

Actun Tunichil Muknal

The Crystal Maiden in Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave, Belize

5. The fragile economy and infrastructure of the entire country of Haiti was radically demolished by an earthquake which lasted less than a minute.

Haiti Rubble

Rubble from the Destruction of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake

6. Native cultures everywhere around the world are slowly waning – the Kuna Yala people of the San Blas Islands are shedding their traditional, colorful-beaded dress.

kuna yala

A Kuna Yala indian girl of the San Blas Islands, Panama

7. Go to Poland and you’ll find that authentic restaurants suffer relative to international powerhouses like McDonald’s.

mcdonalds

McDonald’s in Poland – wikipedia.org

Visit any big city in the world and you’ll instantly notice something – things are not all that different anymore. Enter a modern shopping center in Panama City,  Rome, or Salt Lake City, and with few exceptions you’ll have a hard time distinguishing where you are.  You might be able to visit a far different country and never have the full concept of paying with a foreign currency because the banks and credit card companies handle all that.

For all of these reasons and more that I don’t have time to incorporate, I’m urging you – travel now.  Don’t let weak impediments like “but we can’t afford it,” or “who would watch our kids?” prohibit you from experiencing the world in all its grandeur.

Consider this: Between 1805 and 1806, Lewis and Clark voyaged into the Western US as intrepid explorers, requiring Indian guides and months of supplies. By 1826 the Western US was a bustling enterprise zone, home to the Rocky Mountain Fur Company among others.  In 1849, a gold rush in California made transcontinental trips commonplace.  And in 1869, the railroad connected the entire country, reducing the scope of trips from semi-permanent, to transient, tourist visits.  That all happened in a span of 65 years – far less than a lifetime. With technology and air travel of today, do we not have every reason to believe that the transfer of culture and the diminution of tradition is occurring at a much greater rate?

If the world is changing along with our opportunity to experience it, doesn’t that add some urgency to our travel aspirations?  Should we not be more aggressive in pursuing genuine cultural experiences that may not outlive our lifetimes?

Can you think of other examples of how the world is changing and how our potential to enjoy it is slowly being diminished?  Would you share them in the comments?  Also, would you join me in saying that you’ll commit to overcoming the barriers to making at least one travel aspiration happen in 2014?  Comment below and if we can help you make it happen, we will.

Thanks for always wanderlusting with us!

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Travel Tips | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How the American Airlines & US Airways Merger Will Benefit You

Posted on December 27, 2013 by wpengine

The deed is done.  American Airlines and US Airways’ merger has been approved by the government, and now it is only a matter of time that US Airways disappears from the map. This is set to create the world’s largest airliner now that their forces will be combined.

American airlines merger

American and US Airways will become one

We’re now left with Delta, United, and American as far as the legacy airline carriers in the US.  This 10 year window of consolidation in the airline industry has removed a significant amount of competition, which generally means bad thing for the consumer.

There are tons of views on how the glass is half-empty about the American Airlines and US Airways will hurt you.  There is plenty of evidence of why this is the case, but for this post I’ll give the half-full viewpoint of how this merger will help you.

  • Consolidate accounts–  It will be great for me when my 62,000 US Airways Dividend Miles merge into my AAdvantage account and put my total to over 200,000 AAdvantage miles. My wife’s points will do the same, which will be great when we look at booking our next vacation.  Putting all the points into one currency gives me more chances.
  • Access to more hubs–  Living in Idaho is difficult for travel.  We are very limited on our options, and for that reason, most of the time we end up driving to Salt Lake.  Although this merger doesn’t change the flights that come in and out of Idaho Falls, it will give me additional flights out of Salt Lake.  My hopes are that this will create more opportunities for additional American flights, which give me better chances of using my miles.
  • You still have time to score the The US Airways Premier World MasterCard®– Barclaycard has come out and said that I can continue to earn US Airways miles:

American MergerThis is a great way to pick up some (soon to be) American Airlines miles.  The US Airways Premier World MasterCard® usually pulls credit from TransUnion, which is the least commonly used agency.  The bonus isn’t massive, but the spending requirement is ridiculously low, so it is best paired with a couple of other cards.  🙂  Get this card before the offer is gone.  It is another way to bulk up your AAdvantage account.  It is estimated that you will be able to transfer your Dividend Miles into your AAdvantage account early in 2014.

Citi has announced that it will continue to offer the American Airlines co-branded credit card moving forward, so make sure you take advantage of this card before it disappears.

  • People with Status-It will be great for fliers who have status with either carrier.  Their status will be honored by both carriers at an unspecified date, which will be nice especially while they continue to operate as two separate companies for a while.

Overall I don’t really think that this is an advantage to most fliers.  It allows for less competition in the market, which inevitably results in higher prices paid.  Either way, it is here to stay, so let’s just take advantage of everything we can to make it as good as possible for us!

 

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in American Airlines, US Airways | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

7 Key Tricks to Get the Most out of Skymiles

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Brad Christensen

Reader Question:

I am excited about the possibility of free travel. I have some questions maybe you can help me out with. I have a true passion for travel and am always searching for the cheapest way to travel and find the most value for our money. My wife has been an extreme coupon lady for about 3 years and to say the least we are frugal. 

Our favorite type of travel lately has been cruises. The cruise itself I have found some great deals and value but the flights are biggest expense. I am excited to start looking into good credit card offers.

Years ago I took advantage of American Express deals for Delta Skymiles and currently have 216,831 miles. I have always wanted to take a trip to somewhere in Europe and planned on using my Skymiles to make that happen. Recently I have wondered whether it would be good to hold on to our miles and plan a trip in the future to Europe or Australia or use them sooner for domestic travel for more cruises or something else. Can you give me some recommendations on how to use my Skymiles the most efficient way on Delta? 

Dear WorldWanderluster:

It’s exciting to see you drooling at the possibilities of travel that lay before you. With your passion for travel, frugality, and flexible-for-adventure spirit, you are precisely the kind of visitor we’d like to see more of. Thank you for reaching out.

Use Miles Now? Or Wait?

My policy is always to travel as soon, as often, and as much as your employment, family life, finances, and awardwallet will allow.  This means erring on the side of doing things now.

First off, I say this because you don’t know what the future holds. I have a close friend who died suddenly at age 46 from complications that arose from a rather routine knee surgery. None of us plan on dying, but you never know what might prevent you from setting out to see the world.

Another factor is that the value of your miles is constantly vulnerable to travel-reward-inflation.  Some time ago, we were contacted for an article that appeared on Foxnews.com Travel.  The article referenced the many programs which have increased the amounts necessary for airline and hotel bookings. Even more recently, Delta announced increased point thresholds of their own. Points are being devalued.  Don’t hoard them.

New Delta Award Chart

New Delta Award Chart After June 2014

That said, it is smart to budget them. It would be frustrating to spend your points down to 116k and leave yourself 4k shy of the required 120k necessary to book two of you to Europe at the Saver Award level. Identify your priorities and keep your points in various programs in “buckets” to ensure that you have enough to meet your objectives.  Keep some flexibility, though, because that’s the key to using them efficiently.

Most Efficient Way to Use Skymiles

Delta’s Skymiles program is continually ranked behind other carriers in the spectrum for its meager availability and high redemption rates.  What that means is that you have to be even more careful in finding ways to use them efficiently.  First, a few things to remember about the Skymiles program:

  1. There is no booking one-ways, open jaws, or creative multi-destination flights with Delta.  This is a real drawback as we’ve done some great posts on ways to do this with American AAdvantage and United Mileage Plus.
  2. Skymiles don’t expire. We’re telling you to spend them anyway, but it is nice to know that there’s not a chance you’ll miss a date and have them disappear on you.
  3. Bookings are always done on Delta.com.  Even if you wind up traveling on a partner carrier, you still book on Delta.com. You may as well bookmark it because one key will be to visit often and check out your options.

Now, budget your points based on the Saver Award level numbers.  Let’s just say you decide to take your wife and daughter on a domestic trip (25k each) and then later take your wife to the Philippines (Northern Asia – 70k each).  With your 216k, you can pull this off. Another combination might be to make a trip for two to Costa Rica (35k each) and to Europe (60k each).

In order to find availability at the Saver Award level, you need to have some things working for you – First, have a willingness to go anywhere the deal works.  If you’re into cruises, check www.Vacationstogo.com for what departure ports might work and try those destinations. Second, book either way in advance or within 4-2 months of travel. Third, check in on Delta.com often.  So many things affect the pricing on flights, your best bet is just to check in often and, when you do find something that works, don’t hesitate.

Now, here are some other key tricks to making sure you get the most bang for your points-buck when booking with Skymiles on Delta.

  1. Don’t be afraid to consider First Class.  I flew to Guatemala this year and my dates were fixed.  I couldn’t get the Saver award to work for me on Economy seats, but I did find First Class seats for 60k Skymiles.  Normally I’m pretty frugal even with points, but where it was either cough up $1200 to pay for them out of pocket or use the points, it made the decision easy and the flight comfortable.
  2. Consider flying out of an alternate airport. The nice thing about booking with points is that you can usually fly out of your local airport for the same “price.”  But if that’s not working, don’t hesitate to try flying out of a nearby city or particularly a hub.
  3. Weigh using a companion pass. AMEX salts out companion passes every year, and sometimes you’ll be better off using one of those than trying to make a points-booking.
  4. Fly and drive. Earlier this year we had a travel bloggers conference in Toronto.  Flights were expensive, especially once you added in the international taxes.  In the end, we were far better off to fly into Buffalo, NY and drive across.  Cheaper and more scenic.
  5. Pick a destination where you have free hotel stays. It’s not enough just to have free flights.  You need to have some hotel points, as well… especially hotels that have free breakfast – then you’re really saving on out of pocket costs.
  6. Get points you forgot about. If you were naughty and didn’t add your Skymiles flight you’ve taken in the past 9 months, I have good news for you – you can still get them.  Submit your flight info to: http://www.delta.com/acctactvty/mileagecredit.action
  7. Ask for points when things go wrong. Somehow Google really likes to share our “How to Write an Airline Complaint Letter” with searchers.  Go ahead and read it, then put it into practice.  It never hurts to ask.

There’s probably more advice we could give, but that will get you started.  Thanks for Wanderlusting with us!  We hope all our readers comment with any questions and invite us to help you spend your points.  Please be sure to subscribe so you get post summaries and always read what’s pertinent to you.
Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Delta | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Long Weekend in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Brad Christensen

My best Christmas present won’t likely arrive until the end of January – that’s when I calculate that I’ll reach the required 110,000 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points and qualify for the companion pass for the remainder of 2014 and all of 2015, enabling me to bring a companion along for free on any flight I book with all these points I’ve accumulated.

I’m in a position to capture all these points so quickly because I got both the personal Southwest Plus card, as well as the business Southwest Premier card as I outlined in this post.  Both of my spending limits will be met in the last days of this month and I’ll be poised for two years of amazingly-free travel not just for myself, but for a lucky companion, who I’ll be able to change approximately every six months.

In that first post, I laid out an itinerary for a trip every month of the year.  Looking at it today, it may be a little aggressive, but I am going to try to squeeze in a lot of domestic travel while it’s free for me and a friend/wife/son.  One of the first free trips I’d like to do is to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area.

Where to Stay Near Cincinnati with Club Carlson

Now I’d hate to go and spoil a free airfare trip by having to actually fork over green for my hotel room, so step one is to try to find where I can stay for free.  I happen to have about 150k Club Carlson Gold Points, which I’ve accumulated from using my credit prudently to obtain free travel with the Club Carlson Premier Visa.

It just so happens that there’s a great Country Inn & Suites property in Hebron, KY near the airport (strangely enough, the Cincinnati airport is actually in Kentucky).  With the “last night free” feature I have as a cardholder, I can stay two nights in this category 2 hotel for only 15k points.

What to do Near Cincinnati

Well, the first thing to do, of course, is to have a 3-way.  Anyone who’s ever had one continues to crave it for the remainder of their life. You just can’t stop thinking about it and you want it bad. If you’ll pull your mind out of the gutter for just a moment I’ll tell you what it is.  A 3-way is a dish from Skyline Chili which includes spaghetti, chili, and cheese, and it really is that good. (You also must try Goetta sausage).

3-way

Skyline Chili 3-way

Once satisfied with the 3-way experience, the next step is the Art Deco Cincinnati Union Terminal, which houses the Cincinnati Museum. The building itself is very unique and the history is fascinating.

Another must-do is Findlay Market on the weekend, where you can find meats, cheeses, ethnic food, and fresh produce.  It’s in a nice area of town that’s worth checking out as well.

Other things that might be enticing may include seeing a baseball or football game, taking a tour of the abandoned subway, or a Music Hall Ghost Tour.

Where to Stay Near Red River Gorge

Part of the impetus for choosing Kentucky in the first place is to explore the natural beauty of Red River Gorge. And to visit the gorge but then have to return back to the city would just be a shame. In a great world we’d be able to find a quaint place to stay right in the middle of all that beauty. In a perfect world, we’d be able to stay there for free.

Well, luckily, we live in a perfect world. The best vacation rentals to be found in the Red River Gorge area are to be found at http://www.rrgcabin.com/. Not only are they incredibly well-located, they have a number which are secluded, have phenomenal views, and/or are completely off-the-grid.

Not only are they beautiful and offer a genuine experience, but there’s also a way to make them 100% free.  One of our favorite offers right now is on the Barclaycard Arrival(TM) World MasterCard® – Earn 2x on All Purchases .  This card offers $440 in travel reimbursement after spending $1000 in the first three months.  I’ll be able to stay 2-3 nights, or even more, and fully reimburse myself.

What to do in the Red River Gorge Area

Of course the main attraction is simply to enjoy the natural beauty of the area.  There are an abundance of trails that are fun to explore.  Staying right in the midst of it all certainly adds to the experience and really that’s what it’s about.

Even so, there are some activities which can really add to the adventure.  Most people who go to the Gorge, go to rock climb, and even amateurs can give it a shot.  If you’re not that adventuresome, maybe you could get your kicks simply by watching.

If water is more your thing, you can also take a tour of the gorge in a canoe or a kayak. This makes for some awesome picture opportunities and a change to really get into the area.

Make sure you also see the Natural Bridge.  In the State Park where it’s located, there are many short trails which may give you an opportunity to see one of the areas premier draws – an abundance of critters that any family would love to enjoy.

Wrap-up

In the end, this will be a great trip with both free airfare and free lodging.  I’ll spend very little on food and entertainment and have a great experience in both the city and in the back woods.

This is the kind of trip I’d really have a hard time justifying if I weren’t able to do these things so inexpensively.  That’s really what we’re about at WorldWanderlusting – freeing you up to enjoy every piece of the world.

Thanks for wanderlusting with us.

 

Posted in Barclaycard, Southwest, Vacation Rentals | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Alaska Airlines BoA Credit Card 50k Bonus

Posted on December 12, 2013 by wpengine

Although they aren’t Delta, American, or United, Alaska Airlines has a real niche for those traveling in the Western United States.  I recently stumbled upon this enticing offer of 50,000 Alaska Airlines miles.

frequent flyer miles

Alaska Airlines 50k Offer

Per One Mile at a Time, many people have been able to score this deal for 50k even with this disclaimer right on the application page:
Alaska Airlines 50k

More than likely you haven’t been targeted for this deal, but hopeful you can still qualify for this limited-time offer.

Features of the Alaska Airlines 50k Offer

Here is the good stuff:

  • 25,000 Miles are given upon approval.
  • Another 25,000 miles are given after a low spending requirement of $1000 within the first 90 days of opening the account.
  • Coach Companion Fare every year from $118- This works even when flying to Hawaii or Alaska. (This is unique)
  • People have reported scoring this card multiple times throughout time.

The bad and ugly:

  • $75 Annual fee is NOT waived the first year
  • In the fine print….”The value of this reward may constitute taxable income to you. You may be issued an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099 (or other appropriate form) that reflects the value of such reward”
  • More fine print…”If your application is approved with a credit line of $5,000 or greater, you will receive a Visa Signature® account [50k offer]; if your credit line is less than $5,000, but greater or equal to $2,000, you will receive a Platinum Plus® account [5,000 miles offer]; if your credit line is less than $2,000, you will receive a Preferred account. [3,000 miles offer]”

Using 50k Alaska Airlines Miles

Dreaming of where you can put 50k miles to use?  Try these on for size:

  • Anywhere that Alaska flies within the lower 48, Canada, and Alaska: 25,000 round trip.  Great value for someone going to Alaska!
  • Europe flying on American Airlines between October 15th-May 15th: 40,000 round trip.
  • Getting to the coveted Hawaii: 40,000 round trip.
  • Quieres ir a Mexico a tomar pina coladas en la playa?  35,000 ida y vuelta

For other ideas and partner flights check out Alaska Airlines’ Earn & Use Miles page that shows the points requirements.  You’ll quickly see how valuable these points could be for you.

All of these assume that you’re able to fly in a sardine can (coach) and that you have the patience to find availability on the “Saver” awards.  If you missed Monday’s post, read it.  The post teaches you about the value in being flexible when booking award travel.

Summary of the Alaska Airlines 50k Offer

This is really the Lone Ranger when it comes to Bank of America travel credit cards.  It is always nice to spread your cards across multiple issuers, so when this card bumps up, it is one that I definitely consider.

I’m a little concerned that they offer people their cards with very small bonuses, or that they don’t honor this bonus of 50k as none of you were really targeted with this offer.  The $75 annual fee the first year hurts, and makes me hesitate as well.

If you’ve burned through all the other cards and you’re willing to take a risk on this one, make the plunge.  Let us know how things turn out for you.  I’m heavily considering getting this card for its value to Alaska (somewhere I’ve yet to go) or for using it to book a trip to Europe.

What are your thoughts about the card?  Will you go for it?

 

 

Posted in alaska airlines, Bank of America, Credit Cards | Leave a comment

Best Days to Travel Cheaply

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Brad Christensen

I had the troublesome experience of trying to help a friend book a trip for the day after Christmas.  Normally, booking travel is pretty much my favorite thing to do, even if it’s not for myself.  But put me in a box like “We have to leave on Friday the 26th of December and come back on Friday the 3rd,” and I’ll just shudder.

You see, for a guy who calculates how the various carton quantities and brands of eggs derive to “price per egg,” paying day-after-Christmas prices for travel is extraordinarily painful.

In the end we were at least marginally successful.  My friend was able to buy 120k Delta Skymiles for $1200 and fly a great itinerary that gets them right out of our small local airport and direct into Orlando.  To pay cash for the same flights would have cost him $3027.  $600 for Friday to Friday flights the day after Christmas is pretty much unheard of.  In fact, with airplane load rates very high, I’m fairly confident he’ll get an opportunity to take “The Bump” and score some vouchers that may make his next trip even sooner and cheaper.

Delta flights

Even so, I’ve resolved to tell the world how not to get themselves into this situation in the first place with this post on which are the best days to travel cheaply.

Best Days to Travel Cheaply

The principles of cheap travel are generally cross-applicable whether you’re booking with points or (wince) still actually paying for travel. The first and foremost is probably a given, but I’m going to say it because so many people still fail to understand it: BE FLEXIBLE.

So many people are convinced that they need to travel on specific days – Anniversary trips that must occur over the exact date, being home in time for children’s birthdays, being back for work the next Monday.  All of these are not as absolutely necessary as they first may seem.

Best Days of the Week

Pricing is supply and demand elastic, so it should come as no surprise that the days that most people prefer to travel tend to fetch the highest prices. This varies by whether the route is generally a business route or a leisure route, but it’s pretty universal. Here they are in order of least to most expensive:

  1. Wednesday
  2. Tuesday
  3. Saturday
  4. Thursday
  5. Monday
  6. Sunday
  7. Friday

Far too many novice travelers pay a premium to fly out on a Friday and come back on a Friday.  Leave on a Wednesday and come back on a Wednesday.  That way you take off the same number of days, save points or money, and you get the benefit of cutting two work weeks in half – that’s reason enough right there to do it this way.

Best Times of the Year

This is also a factor that will vary by destination.  Every place has its peak seasons, its off seasons, and its shoulder seasons. Of course travel really tends to accelerate through the summer when children are out of school. June to August happens to be a beautiful time for me to stay right here in Idaho.  If we do anything at all, we roadtrip it.

Shoulder seasons tend to be my favorite time to travel – just before or right after the tourism season really kicks in.  For Domestic and European travel, this is of course Spring and Fall.  We recently did our Italy trip from Oct 15-29.  In my mind this was an absolutely perfect time to travel.  We started off in Slovenia where the fall colors where just kicking in and the weather in Italy was perfect and the crowds were much thinner than other times of the year.

Most Airline loyalty programs prescribe their off-peak timeframes.  For American in Europe it runs from Oct 15-May 15. Here’s a post we did on booking an American Airlines AAdvantage trip to Europe without surcharges.

AAdvantage off peak

Off-peak dates for American Airlines AAdvantage

To research other off-peak timeframes for other airlines, look at the award charts on our Using Airline Miles page.

Costa Rica

Living it up at Nauyaca Waterfall in Costa Rica

Keep in mind that “Off-peak” times are usually that way for a reason – but with that said, you have to consider exactly what you’re after.  Back in the days when I actually used money to pay for flights, I booked a flight to Costa Rica in November, which is their rainy season. We absolutely loved it.  The greens were even greener and our rainforest hike to Nauyaca waterfall was muddy, slippery, and immensely memorable.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Rain is actually quite refreshing when it’s a constant 80 degrees.

[In fact, I’m sitting here recalling learning to surf in Dominical, Costa Rica. I was enjoying every part of the experience with the exception of the salt-water grime coating my face.  A dark blanket of clouds rolled in. I turned my face up to the sky and let the most wonderful rainstorm clean and refresh me.]

Sheldon’s trip to the Alps was no different – you’d never think to visit high mountains in the spring, but talk about capturing nature in its full glory.

Don’t be afraid to travel in the off-peak and shoulder seasons.  Embrace it. You’ll save money and enjoy the experience.

Best Days to Cruise

The real answer here is, “last minute.” I can’t tell you how much I love to peruse the Vacationstogo.com 90-day Ticker. We are plotting an Alaskan Cruise this summer but I won’t buy it until the absolute last-minute when it is bare-bones cheap.  Cruises are the ultimate in supply and demand and a very small percentage of them actually sell-out.

Aside from that, you’ll see that Caribbean cruises are often very cheap in Sept-October. This is the one instance where I’m going to say that they’re cheap for good reason.  Of course that’s hurricane season and it’s just not worth it to gamble non-refundable flights and cruise bookings with that kind of a threat.  That said, if you’re looking at leaving right away like I just told you to, you have the compounding of low demand and last-minute working for you, plus the benefit of being able to see the weather forecast.

Another great timeframe for cruises is the first week of December.  While the rest of America wastes money on frivolous Christmas gifts, invest in an amazing experience.

Days to Completely Avoid

There are some days that you just have no business flying.  Unless you’re trying to get onto an oversold flight in order to get offered a voucher in exchange for taking a later flight – and if that’s the case, good for you.

December 26th is one of those days, along with December 30th, January 1st and the day before Thanksgiving. Travel anytime around the Superbowl and other events and holidays also calls for a premium.

Spring Break has to be an invention of the airlines to force travel to a few specific dates and charge preposterous rates for travel.  Use your spring break time to take a road trip or get some cleaning done so you feel free to get away another time when the fares are lower.

The first few days of June are also horrific as families set out on their summer vacations, steer clear of those days as well.

For more educational information on how to time your flights, see this post on the subject from FareCompare, and see our database of the best travel credit cards where you can pile up thousands of frequent flyer miles to fly for free.

Posted in How to Wanderlust, Travel Tips, Travel Tricks | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments