TAMPA, Fla. — Over the past few years, Travel Tuesday has grown in popularity.
“Not just in terms of how many people are searching for the term, but also in terms of how many travel brands are participating and getting in on that retail action,” said Katy Nastro, a travel expert with Going.
That means more savings for consumers.
“You can go in and find some of those different deals that are taking place,” said Stephanie Carls, Retail Insights Expert for RetailMeNot.
Travel experts expect more US airlines to participate in dropping prices this Travel Tuesday.
“With special discounts and bonus miles to sweeten the deal, so that’s new,” said Lori Judd, Certified Travel Advisor with Prestige Travel Vacations.
Travel Tuesday is the day when you can find discounts on flights, hotels, cruises, rental homes, and all-inclusive vacations.
“You can find 20% off tours, 30-50% off hotel stays, cruise discounts are up to 40%. Some even offering additional passengers,” said Judd.
“For those considering bucket list experiences like river cruises, safaris, or expedition trips, Travel Tuesday is an ideal time to explore savings,” she added.
According to travel experts, you’ll most likely find deals on travel packages for the off-season, like the winter and spring.
“Consider off-peak times like early December to save even more,” said Carls.
If you plan on booking a trip today, you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you’re flexible on travel dates and destinations.
“If you’re considering taking a trip over to Asia, this is really the time period to do so because average price of airfare to Asia in general from the US is down 13% year-over-year, and that’s big, big savings,” said Nastro.
Consider traveling during the week instead of the weekend.
"Maybe leaving on a Tuesday or Wednesday will save you some money," said Judd.
If you’re booking a flight on Travel Tuesday, don’t forget to use your points and miles to save even more.
“Make sure that you’re stacking your points and miles, so this can mean shopping in dedicated airline portals for various gifts across the holiday season, and that can just help to sort of stack up those currencies to be used in the future,” said Nastro.
If you see a good deal, make sure you read the fine print.
“We want people to be really skeptical and sort of do their homework,” said Nastro.
A lot of these discounts on Travel Tuesday may be non-refundable and could come with restrictions.
“Make sure you’re really understanding what you’re getting into before you hit purchase so you can safeguard yourself from purchasing something that maybe didn’t exactly fit what your travel goals were,” said Nastro.
She warned that you might not find the most rock-bottom prices on certain trips on Travel Tuesday, so don’t feel pressured to buy if you’re not seeing a good deal on where you want to go.
“Especially because a lot of times, advertised sales aren’t necessarily sort of the best prices you might be able to get outside of that dedicated day, that once-a-year day,” said Nastro.
“Travel Tuesday can be a day to look at if you have a specific trip in mind that you already have been sort of doing your homework on and you want to take advantage of some of the great deals that do actually pop up and are worth people’s time,” she added.
Consider contacting a certified travel advisor to help you navigate the deals, and consider getting trip insurance if you do make a Travel Tuesday purchase.
“Get trip insurance to help protect your non-refundable trip costs, assist you when flights are delayed or if your luggage is lost, or if you have a medical emergency. You put a lot of money out for those trips. You want to protect it,” said Judd.
