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Travel Tuesday can be a great time to book your summer vacation and save a chunk of money. But how do you know you’re actually getting an advertised 30% or 50% off a flight, hotel or car rental? Prices change frequently and vary based on when you travel or where you’re going, making it difficult to calculate a discount when the baseline cost is constantly shifting. And that’s not accounting for the possibility of AI pricing tools.
To be clear, there are great deals on Travel Tuesday, but they can have limited availability and get scooped up fast. You don’t want to dump your savings into a limited-time offer, only to find out about blackout dates or other restrictions after the fact. Instead, use these tips and credit card perks to help you secure the best deal, regardless of when you’re booking.
What is Travel Tuesday?
If you’re planning to pay close attention to the event, be sure to start following your favorite travel sites and travel providers early. Just like with the Black Friday deals you can grab before Thanksgiving, travel discounts and bonuses may be available before Travel Tuesday officially begins.
Make the most of your next trip with one of these top travel credit cards
Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.
Travel Tuesday tips for securing cheap flights
Outside of being fast or lucky enough to snag a comically good deal on Tuesday, many of the strategies for taking advantage of Travel Tuesday are universal. You can follow this advice regardless of the time of year or day of the week.
1. Compare all your options
To get a great deal, or at least a better-than-average price, look at every airline that flies where you want to go. Google Flights is a great tool for reviewing most options in one place. You can filter your search in all the ways you expect: by airline, airline alliance, cabin, number of stops and more.
Plus, once you enter your departure and destination airports, you can click the date fields to view a price calendar. This makes it easy to see how prices fluctuate based on your departure and return dates.
Google Flights shows you whether carry-on or checked bags are included and any relevant fees. However, those costs aren’t included in the price displayed in the search results. If you’re booking an ultra-low-cost airline or a no-frills ticket, be sure to factor in add-ons.
2. Be flexible
Booking the cheapest flight is more art than science. When you travel and where you go are two of the biggest factors in determining a ticket price. If you can be flexible with your travel dates, destination or even the arrival or departure airport, you can save significant cash.
Traveling during a shoulder season or off-season can be much cheaper, but that’s not always a reasonable option. In that case, flying during a less popular day of the week can help. It varies by destination, but leaving or arriving on a Tuesday or Wednesday can be cheaper than traveling on a weekend day.
If you’re not set on a specific location, you can cherry-pick the cheapest flights. You may want to relax on a tropical beach that’s in a U.S. timezone; in that scenario, you have dozens of options to compare. If you’re itching to hit the slopes this winter, the Salt Lake City area is great, but you may have just as much fun in Colorado, Vermont or Lake Tahoe, California.
Think of it this way: The less specific you are with where you go, the cheaper you’ll be able to get there.
3. Look at one-way and round-trip flights
Round-trip flights are often cheaper than booking two one-way flights, except when they’re not. Take a look at how the cost changes when you split your travel into multiple reservations. This gives you the flexibility to book different airlines in each direction. If you’re booking multiple one-way flights, pay attention to change or cancellation fees. While they don’t always apply, with two reservations, you could be on the hook for double the fees if your plans change.
If you’re traveling to multiple destinations on the same trip, price out what is known as open-jaw flights. This is a strategy in which your arrival and return airports are different: You depart from city A to city B and return from city C to city A. This is especially helpful if you’re flying internationally with miles, since taxes and fees can vary dramatically between airports or countries.
Stack Travel Tuesday savings with a credit card
Award flights and discounts
One of the most valuable ways to use travel rewards is to book award flights. When you book a flight with miles or points, you typically only pay the taxes and fees, which are $5.60 each way for domestic flights (with most U.S.-based loyalty programs). If you’re booking international flights, the taxes will be higher, but so will your savings.
If you want a travel card that offers a little bit of everything, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a great option for earning rewards that you can transfer to partner airlines and hotels. But if navigating complicated travel loyalty programs isn’t for you, you can still easily use your miles for your next vacation by redeeming them at 1 cent each to offset travel charges.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a reasonable annual fee and earns flexible travel rewards, which makes it a great travel card for beginners or heavy travelers.
- Valuable welcome offer worth at least $750 in travel
- You can transfer miles to over 15 Capital One partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- No foreign transaction fees
- Lacks ongoing travel benefits such as statement credits or lounge access
- Limited bonus spending category that only applies to certain Capital One Travel bookings
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won’t expire for the life of the account and there’s no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
Balance transfer fee
$0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
Foreign transaction fee
You can also save using card-linked offers with most of the major credit card issuers. After activation, these targeted deals let you receive a discount or extra rewards with a qualifying purchase. These can apply to airlines, hotels, rental cars and other travel expenses and are available for eligible cards issued by Bank of America, Chase, American Express, Wells Fargo and more.
Fees
The sticker price of your flight isn’t always the final cost, so be sure to factor in fees when comparing prices. Co-branded airline credit cards can help offset or eliminate many of these extra costs.
All major U.S.-based airlines charge for checked bags, but they also offer credit cards that can eliminate those fees. For example, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card grants the primary cardholder and up to eight people traveling on the same Delta reservation a first checked bag at no charge (up to $70 per person on a round-trip Delta flight). The United℠ Explorer Card (see rates and fees) provides a free first checked bag on eligible United flights (when you pay for the flight with the card) for the primary cardholder and one companion.
If you check bags on just a couple of trips a year, these cards can easily pay for themselves. The main caveat is that the benefit only applies to flights with that airline, so if you find a better deal elsewhere, you may be stuck paying for your checked luggage.
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card has the right mix of benefits if you occasionally fly with Delta, such as free checked bags, priority boarding and discounts.
- Earn up to $300 in travel credit every year
- First checked bag free for you and up to eight companions on eligible flights
- Discounts on eligible in-flight purchases and on Delta award flights (Not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees).
- Annual fee after the first year
- Delta flight credit benefit has a high spending requirement to earn
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Enjoy a $0 introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $150.
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- $200 Delta Flight Credit: After you spend $10,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can receive a $200 Delta Flight Credit to use toward future travel.
- When you use your Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, you can earn: 2X miles on Delta Purchases, 2X miles at restaurants, 2X miles at U.S. supermarkets, 1X miles on all other eligible purchases. Every mile you earn brings you closer to the places you want to go. Turn them into your next trip, use them for seat upgrades, and more.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights and save up to $70 per person on a round-trip Delta flight.
- Receive Zone 5 Priority Boarding on Delta flights; board early, stow your carry-on bag and settle in sooner.
- $100 Delta Stays Credit: Get up to $100 back per year as a statement credit after using your Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays on delta.com.
- Want even more flexibility? Take up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book on delta.com.
- Receive a 20% savings in the form of a statement credit on eligible Delta in-flight purchases after using your Card.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- With Send & Split®, you can send money and split your Card purchases with any other Venmo or PayPal user, directly from the Amex App. Enroll today.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you’re approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you’re approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees.
The United℠ Explorer Card is worth it even if you only fly with United Airlines once or twice a year because you can take advantage of two United Club℠ passes per year when the primary cardmember or authorized user is traveling and you can receive free checked bags.
- No annual fee for the first year
- Unlocks upgrades for elite members on award flights
- Two free United Club airport lounge passes every year
- Valuable United Airlines perks, such as in-flight purchase discounts and the ability to earn elite status credit through credit card spending
- First checked bag free benefit requires you to pay for the flight with the card
- United Airlines has a dynamic award chart which can limit the value and flexibility of your miles
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Earn 60,000 bonus miles
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150
- 2x miles on United® purchases, dining, and hotel stays when booked with the hotel
- Free first checked bag – a savings of up to $160 per roundtrip. Terms Apply.
- Priority boarding on United® flights
- 2 United Club one-time passes per year – over a $100 value
- Over $500 in partner credits each year
- Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
- Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Insurance
It is rare to make a big purchase without being asked whether you want to add an extended warranty or pay for additional protection. However, the right credit card can save you the hassle of deciding whether paying for travel insurance is worth it, since it may offer it at no additional cost.
For top-tier insurance, you’ll need a premium credit card, and one of the best is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees). It offers all of the insurance perks mentioned above, plus primary rental car coverage, roadside assistance, emergency evacuation and transportation, emergency medical and dental benefits and shopping protections.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a standout premium credit card with plenty of luxury perks and statement credits to justify its annual fee.
- Access over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide with a complimentary Priority PassTM Select membership, plus every Chase Sapphire Lounge® by The Club with two guests.
- Up to $300 in annual travel credit each account anniversary year
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase’s travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Top-tier travel and shopping protections
- High annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Earn 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Get more than $2,700 in annual value with Sapphire Reserve.
- Earn 8x points on all purchases through Chase TravelSM, including The EditSM and 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct. Plus, earn 3x points on dining worldwide & 1x points on all other purchases
- $300 annual travel credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Access over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide with a complimentary Priority PassTM Select membership, plus every Chase Sapphire Lounge® by The Club with two guests. Plus, up to $120 towards Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck® every 4 years
- Get up to $150 in statement credits every six months for a maximum of $300 annually for dining at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and more.
- Get complimentary Apple TV+, the exclusive streaming home of Apple Originals. Plus Apple Music — all the music you love, across all your devices. Subscriptions run through 6/22/27 — a value of $250 annually
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater
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For rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
