We just returned from a whirl wind 3 weeks of traveling. We saw lots of family and explored multiple cities. You might think to yourself…how in the world do you do something like that and not break the bank? It was a combination of money saving tricks, but one of the biggest was low cost flights.
We flew 4 of us from Texas to Florida, Florida to Colorado, and then back to Texas for $364.93! I know you are thinking impossible but it’s not! We had 3 tricks up our sleeves to pull this off.
Trick # 1
We are apart of Frontier’s bare fare club. This means we pay 59.00 dollars a year to get access to discounted flights and the kids fly for free option. With the amount of flying we do, this pays for itself and then some. Honestly it can easily pay for itself in one flight depending on what kind of discount it is giving. Example, we can find a one way flight that is 69.99 regular price per person, with the bare fair it can range in price from 46 to 58 dollars per person. Once you calculate that for every person flying with you it adds up. Their is 4 of us so that is 48 to 96 dollars in savings for one flight and 96 to 192 dollars round trip.
Trick #2
Two out of three of our flights we were able to use the kids fly for free option that comes with the bare fare club. That means that for every adult that flew we were able to have a child 14 and under fly for free. This alone saved us $238! This offer is not valid for every single flight so do your research. Our 2nd flight was the day before a holiday, so it didn’t allow us this option but we scored a flight that was only $58 a person!
Trick #3
The Florida part of our trip was a work trip for my husband. His flight to Florida and leaving Florida was paid for by his job. This also saved us $108. He did not get to experience all of the fun we had while in Florida but I would say it was a memorable experience for him as well.
Breakdown:
Flight 1: 49.99 per person
2 adults: 99.98
2 kids: free
Flight 2: 58.98 per person
4 people: 235.92
Flight 3: 69.00 per person
2 adults: 138.00
2 kids: free
In total we paid 473.90 but were reimbursed for my husbands two flights which totaled to 108.97 in savings.
So we paid 364.93. I’m not sure we could have driven for cheaper than this because of the amount of time it would have taken to drive cross country.
Other ways we saved
2 out of the 3 weeks we stayed with family/friends
We used our credit card travel points to pay for rental cars when needed (we didn’t rent a car the whole time)
We traveled with a group of people part of the time which helps split the cost of things.
When we stayed with family/friends we were able to cook meals and store snacks.
If you are hoping to travel with your family but feel it is impossible to afford it, you are wrong! It takes some patience and research but you can see the world and not break the bank in process!
Barrons on the go... 