Scoring Travel Deals: How to Make the Most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023
Scoring Travel Deals: How to Make the Most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 - Plan Ahead and Make a List
Planning ahead is one of the most important things you can do to maximize savings on travel during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. By making a list of your top destinations and dream trips, you'll be ready to pounce when airlines and hotels release their best deals of the year.
Start putting together your list at least a month in advance. Do your research on places you've always wanted to visit and make sure they align with the type of trip you want to take - a relaxing beach vacation, an action-packed adventure, a food and wine tour. Prioritize your list based on must-see destinations versus nice-to-have spots.
Gather intel on hotels and activities for each location so you have an idea of price ranges. This will help you identify verdade savings when searching for deals. Use guidebooks, travel blogs, tourism boards and review sites to build out an itinerary and budget for each place.
With your list in hand, you can act quickly when deals emerge. Last year, Nora planned ahead and had Greece at the top of her list. When she saw an airline was offering 50% off flights to Athens for Black Friday, she booked immediately and saved over $600 on her dream trip!
Making a list also prevents you from making impulse purchases on mediocre deals. Emilio didn't plan ahead and ended up booking a Cyber Monday cruise package to the Bahamas just because it was cheap. But he didn't really want to go there and the dates weren't ideal.
Planning ahead also gives you time to set travel alerts and bookmark key sites. Sign up for email notifications from your favorite airlines and hotels to get alerts on deals and sales. Save their promotion pages so you can check frequently for updates.
Scoring Travel Deals: How to Make the Most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 - Start Monitoring Prices Early
One of the best ways to score amazing deals on your dream trips during Black Friday and Cyber Monday is to start monitoring prices early. As soon as you have your list of target destinations, begin tracking flight and hotel rates so you have a good baseline. Prices are constantly fluctuating, so you want ample time to analyze trends and patterns.
The most avid deal hunters begin keeping an eye on fares 6-8 weeks prior. That gives you a big picture view of rate changes and helps pinpoint the lowest prices. Emma tracked rates to Hawaii every day starting in mid-October. She noticed that Delta's flights from her hometown crept up slowly until the first week of November. Then suddenly the prices dropped the week before Black Friday. Because she had been monitoring for weeks, Emma recognized this was likely the rock bottom rate she could get. She booked immediately and ended up saving a massive $350 compared to when she first started watching prices.
Travelers who wait until just a few days before Black Friday often miss out on the steepest discounts. Prices are hiked up pre-sale so retailers can tout bigger percentage-off discounts. But savvy travelers like Emma know that tracking over time gives you a better sense of true deal value.
Monitoring early also lets you get alerts for mistake fares before they disappear. These unicorn fares pop up when an airline or hotel accidentally underprices something substantially below normal rates. They vanish within hours once caught. Ricardo had Paris on his Black Friday list and happened to be tracking rates in September. He got a flash sale alert from his airline for $199 roundtrip flights to Paris—a fraction of the typical $900 fare. He jumped on it immediately and ended up saving $700 on his airfare alone.
Don't forget to also monitor hotel rates early. Sometimes flight deals surge in popularity and sell out, leaving few options for airfare later. You can still score savings by watching hotel rates over time. See how you can fly Business Class and stay at 5 Star hotels for very little. Get the best airfares and hotel rates (including mistake fares and mistake hotel rates) in real-time with Mighty Travels Premium. Gwen had her heart set on Australia but waited too long to monitor flights. By Black Friday week, rates had shot up and flights were scarce. Instead of giving up her trip, she had been tracking hotel prices for months. Gwen ended up booking a hotel in Sydney for 40% off—still saving nearly $400 on her lodging.
Scoring Travel Deals: How to Make the Most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 - Be Flexible with Dates and Destinations
One of the best ways to maximize savings on your dream trips during Black Friday and Cyber Monday is to remain flexible with your dates and destinations. While it's smart to make an initial list of target locations, staying open allows you to pounce when airlines and hotels release flash sales on different places or periods.
Rather than fixating on a single destination or rigid travel window, consider a few different options that appeal to you. Maybe you've always wanted to explore Southeast Asia or do a European river cruise. Make a shortlist of 2-3 regions or trip types that fit the general style you want.
Then when browsing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, don't limit yourself only to your top pick. Act on great discounts or mistake fares that come up for any spot on your list. Remember that once a flash sale ends, it usually doesn't come back!
Being flexible with dates is also key to unlocking big savings. Holiday weeks and school breaks are often the most expensive times to travel. But shifting your trip by even a month earlier or later can dramatically reduce rates.
Sign up for price alerts that span a wide range of travel dates. Don't just set notifications for your ideal week—broaden your date range by at least 2-3 months in either direction. This increases the likelihood you'll be notified of an irresistible fare sale.
When a mistake fare to Europe popped up over the summer for just $250 roundtrip, Susan didn't hesitate—even though her initial plan was to travel in December. By being open to earlier dates, she ended up saving over $600 on what would've been a $900+ holiday season flight.
Diego had his sights set on Paris but landed a deal on flights to Prague over Cyber Monday weekend. By staying flexible on location, he took advantage of a limited-time sale and visited a new-to-him destination. The money he saved then funded an incredible 5-star hotel upgrade too!
Scoring Travel Deals: How to Make the Most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 - Focus on Flash Sales and Limited Offers
One of the most effective ways to score massive savings on your dream trips during Black Friday and Cyber Monday is to pounce on flash sales and limited-time promotions. Unlike sustained fare sales that might last weeks or months, these lightning deals usually only run for a few hours or days at most. Being ready to act the moment they emerge is key to snagging the steepest discounts.
Sign up for alerts from your favorite airlines and hotel chains to get notified the minute a flash sale drops. Enabling push notifications on your phone is crucial too since these deals can disappear if you don’t act quickly. Last year, Eva had email and app alerts set up for Delta. When she got a notification about a 24 hour 50% off flash sale, she jumped on it immediately and booked her dream trip to Greece for just $399 roundtrip. The regular price for this route was over $900, so she saved a massive $500.
It’s also important to closely follow major travel deal sites for news of flash sales. These sites often get the inside scoop before promotions are publicly announced. I keep my eye peeled on Mighty Travels Premium for mistake fare alerts and limited-time hotel sales. This is how I found out about a Norwegian Air mistake business class fare to Europe for only $250—an absolute steal! By monitoring these sites, you’ll get the jump on ephemeral deals.
Sometimes flash sales are teased out in advance to create buzz. Keep your eyes peeled for clues being dropped on social media by airlines and travel brands. Last Cyber Monday, I noticed a few cryptic posts from tourism boards in Croatia about an upcoming 24 hour sale. Sure enough, that Tuesday flights to Zagreb dropped to only $399 roundtrip, down from the usual $700. My hunch paid off with $300 in savings!
Be ready to book as soon as you get word of a flash sale—they often sell out in mere hours as hordes of travelers scramble to take advantage. Don't overthink it or hesitate! Last Black Friday, my friend missed out on United's 50% off sale because she waited to talk to her husband about dates. By that evening, all the discounted award seats had vanished.
It’s not just airfare—hotels also offer incredible flash sales, especially around the holidays. I always bookmark the flash deal pages of my favorite hotel chains so I can check constantly for short-lived promotions. Back in 2019, I landed a 3 night stay at a 5-star resort in the Maldives over New Years for 75% off—just $250/night instead of the usual $1000+. It was one of their limited-time Cyber Week deals and I was lucky enough to stumble upon it!
Scoring Travel Deals: How to Make the Most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 - Maximize Credit Card Points and Miles
One of the smartest ways to unlock big savings on airfare and hotels during Black Friday and Cyber Monday is to maximize your credit card points and frequent flyer miles. With the right cards and loyalty programs, you can score nearly free trips using accrued rewards—or at the very least, book at steeply discounted rates.
Planning ahead is crucial to build up a healthy stash of points in time for holiday deals. I always get new travel credit cards with hefty sign-up bonuses around 6-9 months prior. This gives me time to meet the minimum spend requirements and earn the 50,000+ bonus miles many cards currently offer. By cashing in on a couple strategic sign-up bonuses over the year, you can easily collect over 100,000 points—more than enough for a free long-haul Business Class ticket.
Just before Black Friday last year, Ricardo signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card which gave him 60,000 points after spending $4k in 3 months. He booked a Business Class award flight to Asia over Cyber Weekend that was regularly $3,500 for just 60k miles—getting an insane 6 cents per point in value. Between the points earned on his spending and the sign-up bonus, his entire trip ended up being free.
It’s also critical to research point transfer partners ahead of time. Many flexible programs like Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards allow you to transfer points to various airline and hotel partners. But transfer times can take up to a week, so you want to identify the best programs for your needs in advance.
Last Black Friday, Gwen transferred all her Chase points to United MileagePlus and then snatched up a Business Class award seat to Europe that popped up for 70k miles—an amazing deal. If she hadn’t prepped by researching partners, she likely would’ve missed out during the frenzy of the sale. Having your points parked in the right places allows you to pounce instantly when low award rates appear.
Don't forget to pool points between you and your partner or family members too. Most programs allow free transfers between accounts. Combining everyone's rewards can give you the boost needed to book free premium cabin awards. Right before Cyber Monday last year, my wife and I pooled our stash of Amex Membership Rewards. It gave us just enough to cover a surprise First Class deal to Asia that we never could've afforded with cash fares.
Scoring Travel Deals: How to Make the Most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 - Use Coupon Codes and Cash Back Sites
Don't forget to scour for coupon codes and activate cash back before finalizing any Black Friday or Cyber Monday travel bookings. Even minor promo codes can lead to huge savings, especially when stacked on top of already discounted fares or rates.
I always search for "[Airline Name] coupons" or "[Hotel Brand] discount codes" in Google. Review the first few pages of results to dig up any valid promo codes for percent-off or dollar discounts. Last Cyber Monday, I found a 10% off coupon code for Qatar Airways just by doing a quick search online. I ended up saving nearly $150 off my Business Class ticket to Asia—on top of the sale fare I had locked in!
Sign up for airline and hotel email lists too since they often send exclusive subscriber promo codes around the holidays. Eva received a targeted American Airlines code over Thanksgiving Weekend last year that took $75 off her economy ticket to Costa Rica—score!
Don't limit yourself to travel provider codes either. Check cash back and coupon sites like RetailMeNot, Honey, Rakuten, and CouponCabin for additional stackable deals. I once stacked an Expedia sitewide 10% off code from RetailMeNot with a Cyber Monday hotel sale to save over $250 in Maui!
Make sure to also activate cash back through airline and hotel shopping portals before booking. Most major programs like Delta SkyMiles, United MileagePlus, and World of Hyatt offer bonus miles or points for going through their portals. Rates are the same as booking directly, so why not earn extra rewards? Last Black Friday, Daniel activated the United shopping portal before purchasing his flight and earned an additional 5,000 miles—enough for a free one-way domestic ticket!
Browser extensions like Rakuten and Honey that automatically apply available promo codes and cash back are clutch too. No more manually searching for codes—just click to activate any available stacked savings when you check out. The key is to have them installed ahead of time and ready before you start deal hunting.
Be sure to also look out for first-time booking codes for online travel agencies like Expedia and Priceline. Both frequently offer promotions like $25 off $200 for new customers only. Time these perfectly by having a friend or family book travel for you using their account if you aren’t eligible as a first-timer yourself. My sister hadn’t signed up for Expedia before and used her targeted new booking code when she helped me purchase my Cyber Monday vacation package. We ended up saving an easy $50 extra dollars!