You have heard of and probably have participated in Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Those days are great for finding deals on all kinds of items for Christmas. There is one more day to find great deals and that is Travel Tuesday.
You may or may not have heard of Travel Tuesday. In this blog post, I am going to share what Travel Tuesday is and how you can take advantage of the day to get a great deal on a travel related purchase.
What is Travel Tuesday?
Travel Tuesday is a promotional event within the travel industry that occurs on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It’s akin to Black Friday and Cyber Monday but specifically tailored for travel-related deals and discounts.
Many airlines, travel agencies, hotels, and online booking platforms offer significant discounts on flights, accommodations, vacation packages, and other travel-related services on this day.
It’s become a prime opportunity for travelers to snag incredible deals and plan their next adventure at a fraction of the usual cost.
What Are the Deals Like?
According to the travel site Hopper, last year on Travel Tuesday there were 78% more deals than Cyber Monday and 2 times more deals than Black Friday.
Hopper also detected 20 deals per second last year on Travel Tuesday which was up 42% more than normal
Hopper found 52,000 flight deals last year on Travel Tuesday. They also found that travelers were able to get 60% savings on flights to places like Lisbon, Los Angeles, Puerto Rico, London and more.
Other Deals on Travel Tuesday last year included:
- Alaska Airlines had flight deals one way for as low as $29.
- Palm Spring hotels for as little as $129 per night
- A 6 night flight, bed and breakfast, and rental car vacation to Ireland for two for $1,972
- Spirit Airlines had fares as low as $20.22 one way
How to Take Advantage of Travel Tuesday Deals?
Activate Price Alerts
Do you have a flight in mind already? If that is the case, then you can use sites like Google Flights or Skyscanner to set alerts. Both of the sites will send you an alert when prices change on the flight you are tracking.
Be Ready to Pull the Trigger on a Deal
He who hesitates is lost is very true when it comes to many Travel Tuesday deals. The travel deals on this day can sell out quickly. You need to have what you want in mind and how much you are willing to pay.
There are a couple things to keep in mind when making a quick decision on a deal. First, is that airlines must refund the price of a ticket if you cancel it within 24 hours of buying the ticket. So, you can purchase the deal and then cancel within 24 hours if it doesn’t work out for you.
Secondly, if you book a hotel stay that has free cancellation, you just need to make sure to cancel by the date that they show you.
Sign Up for Emails
If there are some favorite travel companies or online agencies that you like to use, then make sure to sign up for emails from them. Sometimes email subscribers will get first notice of a sale that is taking place.
Have Flexibility with Destination
One way to get a great deal on a flight is by having flexibility in where you can go on your trip. An easy way to check all kinds of places at one time is by using Google Flights.
When doing a search, put in the airport you want to leave from and the dates you want to go. Leave the destination blank and then do your search.
A map will load with all kinds of destinations. You can then move around on the map to find other destinations.
It makes it easy to see what the prices are for each location and then you can choose one that has a great price and fits your needs.
Be Flexible with Travel Dates
Flexibility with travel dates can help you save money no matter if it is a flight, hotel, or cruise. Adjusting your dates by just one or two days can sometimes save you a significant amount of money on flights, cruises and accommodations.
This is where Google Flights can come in handy, again. This time when you do a search leave the dates blank. When you do the search, it will show you some date ranges that you can choose to see what flights are available.
Consider Other Airports
You may have an airport or two that you live near to. They may not always have the best deals for what you are looking for on a flight. Repositioning to another airport that may be a little further away can save you a significant amount of money at times.
Apply Credit Card Offers and Promo Codes
Promo Codes which are usually available through airlines, travel agencies or email subscriptions can help you to save money on flights, vacation packages, and accommodations.
Make sure to watch out for these promo codes and apply them to any of the purchases you make when appropriate.
Many credit cards, like Chase, American Express and others, have offers that you can apply to the credit card. After you apply the offer to the card, you can use the credit card and the offer will be applied to your card.
For example, the photo below shows a 10% cash back offer for Air Canada on my one credit card. If I use the card for a great deal that Air Canada has on Travel Tuesday, I will also get 10% back on my purchase.
Use a Shopping Portal
Another way to get some more cash back, credit card points or travel miles on Travel Tuesday is by using a shopping portal. A great site to use for this is Cashback Monitor.
The site searches almost all of the shopping portals, including cashback, travel points/miles, credit card points and other reward points.
At the top of the page type in the airline, hotel or online travel agency in the search bar.
It will then show you all of the sites that you can use to earn cash back, travel points or credit card points.
All you need to do is click on the one that you like. It will then take you to the page where you will enter the site and you will shop like you normally do.
Make Sure to Read the Fine Print
Make sure to read over the terms and conditions when it comes to booking any of the deals. You want to make sure what the cancellation policies are. Some companies are going to be more lenient than others.
You want to make sure that you are okay with all of the terms before you hit the submit button on any deal that you are looking at.
Final Thoughts
As you can see Travel Tuesday is a great day to snag a flight, hotel, cruise or travel package you have been wanting to take. It really helps to have a game plan in place going into the day.
The following tips can help you have that game plan so that you can walk away happy knowing you found a great deal.
Check out my blog Travelwidstom to learn more on how to save on travel, travel destinations, travel itineraries, and how to earn and use credit card points and miles.
