According to a recent Hopper investigation, 90% of travelers say price and affordability are a priority when planning a trip in spring 2024. Yahoo Finance Reporter Kerry Hannon joins the Live show for Travel Guide 2024: Industry Insights, sharing her best tips for saving on travel. Number one on Hannon's list: plan ahead.
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Editor's note: This article was written by Nicolas Jacobino
Video transcription
– Affordability is a priority for most Americans as they prepare to book their spring and summer travel. That's according to a recent survey on the best ways to save on upcoming trips. We're joined by Yahoo Finance's Kerry Hannon as part of Yahoo Finance's 2024 Industry Outlook Travel Guide. So Kerry, what are some good tips for saving?
KERRY HANNON: Oh, absolutely, I want to go now. But the number one tip is to plan ahead. So if you can book your plane ticket a month in advance, two is better. But now we are talking about summer vacations there. In hotels, there aren't many good deals right now, but between 10 days and two weeks is good there. But it's really important to think about it when you travel.
So flights tend to be cheaper midweek, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, or return on a Monday rather than a weekend. So these are just a few nuggets to consider when you're planning. Second, try to travel outside peak times if possible. So maybe you don't go now during spring break. But you go in May or between Labor Day and right before Thanksgiving. These shoulder periods.
You can get great offers like hey, I want to go to Saint Barth. Well, if you want to go to St. Barts at the end of October, believe me, you can find a Villa at a quarter of the price during peak season. And you might even get a free car rental at the same time. So think about these things. The third thing is to use a price tracking tool. These things are fabulous and most major travel apps offer them. Hopper has it Google Flights.
So if you know where you want to go and roughly your dates, plug it in there. Because even though we can say, oh, here are the rates and they go up as you get closer, there's a fluidity here. This way, they will alert you in the event of a dip. And if there is a drop, by all means buy it. The next thing is, please travel light. Alright, carry on packing, because seriously, both United and American have increased their checked baggage fees.
And they now cost about $40 to check a bag if you don't have their credit card or something. So seriously, I say pack light and you won't have to wait for your luggage if it gets lost. And the last thing you should really think about, and I think you're going to explore this more, is your credit card points. a great way to find savings or your loyalty programs that you have in hotels and those things.
– Kerry, I love the buy the dip advice, which fits perfectly into our coverage here at Yahoo Finance. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it and have a great weekend. Thank you so much.
