Despite concerns about inflation and Americans pulling back on their spending, they are still pulling out their credit cards for flights. So how do you save money this summer?
The Points Guy Founder Brian Kelly says that though "airfare this summer is going to be about the same as last year, there are still deals out there." His biggest tip? Use the "Explore" search function on Google Flights. He says the function allows you to search from your home airport to destinations around the world, allowing you to "hunt out snd sniff those cheapest fair deals."
Watch the video above to hear Kelly's advice on how to use your credit card points to save money on airfare.
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This post was written by Stephanie Mikulich.
Video Transcript
BRAD SMITH: Well, United was the latest airline to report its quarterly results Tuesday. Despite its latest issues with plane groundings and safety concerns, it managed to report a narrower loss than analysts expected, thanks to the continued high demand for travel that airlines have seen these last few months. So can we expect the demand picture to remain this hot through the summer, that very topic that they were talking about on the earnings call? Joining me now on this, we've got Brian Kelly, founder of The Points Guy. Brian, great to speak with you, great to get some tips from you as well, even amid this high-demand environment that all of the airline executives are speaking about. I was listening in to the United executives on their call. I spoke with Delta CEO Ed Bastian last week after their earnings. How can consumers still find deals in this environment of high demand?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, there are still deals out there. I'm booking some European trips right now. So I'm in the thick of it. I actually just saw in August. What I'm noticing in June and July, I think, due to the Olympics, especially, airfares are much higher. August is, normally, the more expensive month. But. This year I'm seeing better deals, New York to parts of Italy for $4,000 in first class on British Airways, I was finding yesterday. Last summer, we saw business class $5,000, $6,000, $7,000 fares across the board.
So there is while I think I agree that airfare this summer is going to be about the same as last year, there are still deals out there. And my biggest tip for those searching for flights, use Google Flights. So google.com/flights, and click the Explore tab. And what the Explore tab will do is, instead of just putting in your home city and then one city in Europe or Asia or wherever you want to go, you can actually search from your home airport to an entire continent and hunt out and sniff those cheapest fare deals because especially within Europe, it's really cheap to pop around once you get onto the continent.
BRAD SMITH: It's interesting. We were talking with an analyst from Morningstar earlier today about some of the airline results. And for consumers out there, listen up, because as we talk about 40 is the new 20 with our age and everything like that, there could be a new kind of barometer that we need to look at when it comes to pricing, and here's what that analyst had to say, and then I'll get your reaction on the other side.
NICK OWENS: I've been joking with friends and family that 400 is the new 250 for an airfare.
BRAD SMITH: Oh, Interesting. OK, well, brief as it was. At the end of the day, is 400 the new 250 out here?
BRIAN KELLY: No, because it hasn't-- I think stats like that are very anecdotal. When you look at the large data sets, you're not seeing mega increases. Now where I do see that is in luxury hotels. $1,000 used to get you the top tier four seasons in Italy. Now that's 2,000 and up at fancy hotels, and it's even creeping up into the $3,000 a night, which I think is just absolutely crazy. It can be cheaper to rent a yacht than stay in luxury hotels these days. But I also will be remiss. You can still use your frequent flyer miles, and I think the biggest mistake people make there is, you go online, you check your airline, and you assume that there's nothing when you check one singular time, which is just one tiny data point.
There are now tools like Point.me is now integrated into Amex and built where it'll actually search all available transfer partners. So they'll search hundreds and hundreds of options, more than you ever could as a human. There's another tool, Seats.aero, where you can scan. You say you want to hunt for Air France Premium Economy seats, you can scan a year in advance, and that's how you snag the best points deals. You can still get 100,000 mile round trips to Europe. You just need to know how to find them.
BRAD SMITH: When is it right to activate your points? I mean, you've got people that are changing the way that they deploy their spending and leaning perhaps less on cash and making sure that they're using the credit card appropriately for travel, but also racking up points that they can then, like we heard on the United call as well, be able to pull in some cases with their friends and family. When is it the right time for people to put those points in play?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, and I just want to give a kudos to United for allowing that mileage pooling with no fees or penalties. Most airlines will charge you 1%, or $0.01 per point, which negates the value of the points. United, kudos to you. But in terms of using your points, look, Last Minute, the airline. If an airline has an open seat, you would be shocked at how many last-minute seats they open up at the lowest amount of frequent flyer miles. So if you're a last-minute traveler-- and airfare is at the same time are way expensive because they're trying to take advantage of those people corporate travelers who have to go last minute.
But at the same point, they don't want the ticket going empty. So they'll open it up at the saver level. So I highly encourage, even if you've booked this summer, and you used a lot of miles, keep checking because most frequent flyer programs will let you cancel for maybe $50 or free and rebook at the much lower rate. So if you're going to say 50,000, 100,000 miles by rebooking, even a day before, it can very well be worth it.
BRAD SMITH: Hey Brian just lastly while we have here, and I think a lot of people want to know the verdict on this one. We used to hear all the time that the best day to book was Tuesdays. Is that still the case?
BRIAN KELLY: that's all false, and there's so many myths in airfare, and no, going in incognito mode is not going to trick the airlines because they're not going to be able to see you. That's false too. There's no one day that's the best. Now traveling on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, in general, is cheaper because most people want to travel on weekends, and business travelers are very Monday, Thursday, Friday. So there are certain days that historically, it's cheaper. But I cannot stress enough. The way you're going to get the cheapest fares, teach yourself how to use Google Flights, and teach yourself how to use these apps that will help you get the most value out of your points. A little bit of time into knowing the ins and outs is what's going to save you tons over the long term.
BRAD SMITH: Brian Kelly, The Points Guy founder. I guess we could just call you The Points Guy, Brian.
BRIAN KELLY: The Points Guy, the original.
BRAD SMITH: Indeed, like they say, the Ohio State, The Points Guy. Brian, thanks so much for taking the time. We appreciate it
