This year, Travel Tuesday will take place on December 3, 2024. The shopping holiday is relatively new, having only started in 2016. In the years since, almost every major travel company has joined , which means that there are a lot of offers to take advantage of it. But not all of these travel deals are created equal.
Brands know you'll be looking to spend money during major shopping holidays like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Travel Tuesday. There will be a lot of “deals” to come your phone or laptop screen who will have the impression that they are “not to be missed”. And while shoppers can save between 15% and 30% on Travel Tuesday, it's still worth taking a strategic approach to determine the true good deals self-proclaimed savings that don't save you much.
Some strategies, like creating price alerts and following brands on social media, apply to any shopping vacation. But to help us craft a Travel Tuesday-specific buying strategy, Thrillist spoke with On the wayKaty Nastro, resident travel expert. Here are four tips you need to know before purchasing that “60% off travel package” that might actually be loaded with hidden fees or additional costs.
1. Be skeptical about traveling
“Take every sale with a grain of salt. It may have great graphics and rush copy, but the advertised price may only be 20 to 30 percent lower than the average prices found,” Nastro said.
Nastro said many advertised sales, especially on airline tickets, are actually not much cheaper than what you can buy at other times of the year. “For example, the Scandinavian carrier SAS ran $375 round-trip flights to some European cities,” Nastro explained. “Over the past few months, we have sent out numerous offers on SAS and other full-service carriers with similar rates, sometimes even cheaper! »
2. Know what deals you're looking for
“It's best to go into Travel Tuesday with a rough idea of the going prices for a specific trip you're considering,” Nastro said. “The best way to do this is to do some research for travel you would like to do on your search platform of choice.”
This research will help you determine whether the lower prices you see on Travel Tuesday are actually good deals you should take advantage of or something worth ignoring.
“Be sure to look outside of peak season (like mid-summer or during Christmas week), as prices tend to be higher during this time in general,” Nastro explained. “This will give you a general understanding of the current airfare situation, but be aware that airfares operate in ranges, not absolutes. Alternatively, using Going's average deal price chart or any other travel platform's average pricing tools can help you determine this airfare range to understand if the deal you're seeing is actually worth your spend. “
3. Read the fine print
The adrenaline rush you can get from seeing something marked “75% off until midnight” can lead any otherwise rational person to make impulsive purchases. Start your Travel Tuesday shopping with the intention of reading all the fine print before handing over your credit card information.
“Blackout dates, savings caps, travel deadlines, etc.,” Nastro said. “Some of the brightest deals here may come with the most restrictions. Triple-checking the fine print can be especially helpful when browsing sales to make sure you can take advantage of the savings.
Finding a cruise package for $600 off per person is great, but if it has blackout dates throughout your potential PTO for next year, you might not really be able to take advantage of it. “Only being able to travel X number of days during the week or between certain periods may be good for the flexible traveler, but not so much for inflexible travelers, like many of us,” Nastro said.
4. Don’t think this is the only time to get a good travel deal
Traveling on Tuesday is great, and if you have all your ducks in a row, it can actually be a great way to save money. But a shopping vacation is far from the only day of the year when you can find cheap flights, hotels and cruises.
“While yes, there can be significant savings like +50% off hotels and other vacation packages, it's definitely not the only day of the year you'll experience savings,” Nastro said. “These sales don't happen once a year, so don't get too discouraged if you don't take advantage of anything on Travel Tuesday itself. There are still 364 days left in the year to take advantage of cheap flights when they arrive. »
