Title: How to Save Money on Fall Travel

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Alison Stewart: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. All week long, we've talked about how to be an ethical tourist, planning group trips, the perfect weekend getaway, and your most memorable family vacations, but do you know what I like to do in the final days when I am on a vacation? Plan my next trip. Today, we're looking ahead to fall travel. Some people say the secret to a great trip is preparation. Right now, you have plenty of time to think about September, October, and even November. Joining us in person to give some tips on where to look for deals on travel this fall is NerdWallet's lead travel writer and Smart Travel podcast host, Sally French. It's nice to see you in person, Sally.

Sally French: Great to see you in person. You've had a great lineup of travel content, but thinking forward is my most exciting thing to do.

Alison Stewart: My girl, that is my girl. Listeners, how are you planning out your trips for the rest of the year? Where do you plan on going? Tell us what tips you've picked up along the way to avoid paying costly fees or great deals you've gotten from just doing your research, or if you want to ask for some saving tips or some suggestions from Nerd writer Sally French, you can do that, too. Call or text us at 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. You can join us on the air, or you can text us, or you can send us a message on social media, @allofitwnyc. Okay, it's August. We have a couple weeks left of summer. Do you think it's too late to plan a summer trip?

Sally French: It is kind of closing in on the end. Typically, NerdWallet says for domestic travel, you should book your flights one to three months in advance and international travel two to eight months out. Labor Day is closer than we know. Can you believe it? We are closing in on that, but the good news is for people who want to do maybe a road trip, what NerdWallet has actually found is that rental cars are cheaper booked last minute, and also, you can often find great last-minute hotel deals. For my road trippers, this Labor Day might be the time to go.

Alison Stewart: In a recent episode of your Smart Travel podcast, you and your co-host, Meghan Coyle, talked about how travel spending declined in June when compared to June of the previous year. Why is that worth noting?

Sally French: Yes, that is absolutely right. Travel spending is down, and there are two big reasons for that. That is lower airfares and lower hotel prices. Now, there are some travel expenses that are higher, and these are not just travel expenses, but these are travel expenses that we face every day. I'm talking about entertainment, the cost of eating out. Those are expenses that hit especially hard during travel since we typically tend to eat out the most then, but the good news is that airfares are still dropping. Again, if people are looking for that good end-of-summer deal or even thinking ahead into the holidays, there is good news for air travelers.

Alison Stewart: What's some of the reasons that air prices are dropping?

Sally French: Yes. Alison, there are so many reasons. Some of it is just some people are feeling a little economic uncertainty, and so they are actually not traveling. Airlines are saying, "We have to offer deals to get people in the door." Another thing is that we are seeing a decrease in international travelers. The good news for that is that domestic travelers can actually capitalize on the deals. We are not competing with people from other countries in the US. We have fewer of them. That means more opportunities for US travelers to get deals here in the US.

Alison Stewart: What's a good example of a deal or a discount that you've seen and you've been like, "Wow, that's a good deal."

Sally French: There are deals even in places that are notoriously expensive. I'm thinking about a place like Disney World. In fact, Disney, in their recent earnings report, said that international travel is still below COVID levels into its theme parks, but they are seeing healthy domestic travel. At a place like the Disney parks, they are offering some deals, like if you commit to three days at the parks, less than $100 per day. That is pretty surprising when you figure, on a regular vacation, you might go to a museum and a show, and that combined can often cost more than $100.

Alison Stewart: My guest is Sally French. She's NerdWallet's lead travel writer and Smart Travel podcast host. We're talking about how to save money on fall travel. We want to hear from you. Are you planning your trips for the rest of the year? Where do you plan on going? Tell us what trips you've picked up on along the way and some tips that you had for keeping those costly fees at bay. Our phone number is 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC, or if you have a question for NerdWallet writer, Sally French, you can call us there. 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. Okay. We do this every time, but I think it's interesting. What are some of the most popular destinations that you have seen people decide to go to in the last few months?

Sally French: Yes, that is a really interesting question. A lot of people are--

Alison Stewart: The changes.

Sally French: Yes, it always changes. One of the interesting ones is people thought Vegas was so expensive, and so people stopped going to Vegas. Now we're seeing Vegas is cheap again. So many of these things are cyclical. I mentioned Disney as well. The other trend that NerdWallet is really seeing in full force, especially this year, is cruises. I am not normally a cruise person, but I think it's this proliferation of people wanting to do group trips, multi-generational trips. It makes the planning really easy. It also makes the budgeting really easy because typically, you just pay up front, and then everything is included once you're there.

There's none of that awkward check dance of like, "You got the dinner. I got the dinner. Who's paying for this?" Everything's included, which makes it really nice to plan. We are seeing so many new cruise ships on the horizon. One of the biggest ones coming up, Royal Caribbean, their Star of the Seas, is actually making its inaugural sailing this month. For people who say, "I don't like cruises because I don't want to feel trapped on a ship," this ship is bigger than some cities. It's got the things like the water parks, and they even said they have real trees on board, which that one's got my attention.

Alison Stewart: That's also got to be really good. As you said, generationally. You can take the whole family, you can take grandma, you can take the kids, and they'll find something to do.

Sally French: Yes. I actually just planned my family reunion. It was not on a cruise, and I wish it was on a cruise just because there's so much chaos of wrangling. The baby's got to take a nap, but we're out and about, who's going to drive who where. With a cruise, it's like, "Just go back to your stateroom and have your nap, and we'll all find you because we are all in the same place."

Alison Stewart: I also heard from a friend, mama gets a vacation on a cruise.

Sally French: Yes. They say many of the cruises have babysitting, but then the funny part is I hear so many kids are like, "But I want to hang out with my parents. I don't even want to do the babysitting anyway."

Alison Stewart: We got a text here that says, "To save money on international flights, I try to many airlines have opened new direct routes between New York City and a destination I'm interested in. Airlines seem to run specials on these new routes." Have you found that to be true?

Sally French: That is exactly right. Whenever airlines add new routes, they typically want to build some demand, some excitement, so they will often offer deals just to let people know. People might not know about that new route to a different city in Europe, and we are still seeing an expansion. Of course, during the COVID times, there was a huge pullback in routes, and we increasingly see airlines add more and more routes. All of that is good news for customers, whether it's budget airlines, whether it's the major carriers. More competition just means lower prices for the customers.

Alison Stewart: This text says, "I declined to travel this summer in favor of a long awaited trip to Antarctica in November. I was extremely fortunate to have access to a friends and family discount which allowed me to make this travel dream a reality."

Sally French: We've got to get that friend.

Alison Stewart: I know.

Sally French: How do we get the friends and family discount?

Alison Stewart: What predictions are you having for travel for this fall?

Sally French: Yes. I'm guessing if you're doing Antarctica, you're probably doing that, the cruise route. That is a really, really good way to go. Other places that we're seeing is that we're seeing Hawaii hasn't seen that comeback of tourism. The other trend that we are seeing is the rise in luxury travel. Believe it or not, as we have people who are saying, "We're not traveling this summer because we want to save money," there is still really, really high demand for these luxury hotels. Brands like Hilton and Hyatt have said their revenue per available room is up at their luxury brands. Their occupancy is up at their luxury brands. Meanwhile, at their budget brands, actually, occupancy and revenue per room is down.

Alison Stewart: That's really interesting. People are splurging once a year?

Sally French: Yes. There are a few reasons for that. You wonder if there are the people who are price-sensitive and they're opting out of travel, and then the people who are not price-sensitive are just really going all in. I also just wonder about this ongoing Instagram effect of people saying, "When I want to travel, I want the best place." The cheap budget hotel just doesn't hit as much as maybe the Waldorf Astoria does, and so people really do want to splurge going on with that experiences, not things. People want to spend the money on the absolute best experience. For many people, that is a luxury hotel.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Jessica, who's calling from Rutherford. Hey, Jessica, thanks for calling All Of It.

Jessica: Hi, thanks for taking my call. I have a very, very busy small business, and I haven't been able to take a single day off in about three years, and so I'm making a concerted effort to build in some more work-life balance. I just realized that I have a weekend that I can make free, September 18th through the 23rd. I really want to take advantage of that, and I really want to get away from civilization. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for last-minute secluded beach recommendations that are safe for solo women. I'm thinking domestic just because I don't feel safe getting back into the country international now.

Sally French: Yes. That's a great question. You are on a really good time frame for mid to late September. You're still in that one to three months out sweet spot to find a really good cheap place.

Alison Stewart: Shoulder season is great in New England.

Sally French: Yes, I'm so glad you said shoulder season. A lot of people don't really know what shoulder season is, but it's that period between peak season and off season. It's one of the best times to travel. Often, during the off season, the weather is just not good, but shoulder season, you get the benefit of still good weather. You also get a lot of these businesses that might be open for the summer and close up for the winter, but they're still open during that shoulder season. Definitely something like a New England September sounds beautiful to me.

My other tip for you is go to a tool like Google Flights. They have something called Explore. Since you have very specific dates, you can input your home airport or any of these airports here in New York, and then you simply click Explore, and it will tell you cheap flights to any destination, and you can take your pick from there.

Alison Stewart: Good tip. Definitely send us a picture wherever you go, Jessica. I want to know where she ends up.

Sally French: Me, too.

Alison Stewart: This text says, "Is it a good time to travel to Iceland in September?"

Sally French: Ooh. I have not been to Iceland in September, so I cannot speak from personal experience, but that is still that shoulder season. We see so many people want to go to Europe in the summer. That's when you're paying your highest prices, so I have to imagine Iceland in September is an excellent get, really maximizing that same shoulder season energy.

Alison Stewart: While we're talking about shoulder season, we got a text that says, "I'm going to Turkey in September. Shoulder seasons are great for cheaper hotels and less congested tourist hotspots." We are talking how to save money on fall travel. Our guest is NerdWallet's lead travel writer, Sally French. We'll have more after a quick break. This is All Of It.

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You're listening to All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. With me in studio is NerdWallet's lead travel writer and Smart Travel podcast co-host, Sally French. She's joining me to provide some tips on where to find savings while traveling this fall, or at least make the trip worth the costs. We'd like to hear your suggestions. How are you planning out your trips for the rest of the year? Where do you plan on going? Tell us what tips you've picked up along the way to avoid paying costly fees, or some great deal you've gotten from just doing your research, or if you have a question for Sally, our phone lines are open. 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. You can call in, join us on the air, or you can text that number as well.

All right, let's talk about financing your trip. A survey commissioned by NerdWallet indicated that 9 in 10 summer travelers, that's 85%, plan to use a credit card to cover some travel expenses. Some of these travelers are still paying for last year's trips. What are your thoughts on using credit cards?

Sally French: That's exactly right. Using a credit card is not necessarily a bad thing to pay for your trip. In fact, it can be a good thing. You look at credit card rewards, and many of these people who are flying first class, and you wonder, "How does this person afford first class? I know what their job is," but that person might be maximizing something like a signup bonus on a credit card. Then you look at other benefits that come with these top-tier credit cards. Some people balk at the annual fees, and annual fees on a credit card definitely are not for everyone, but many of the best travel credit cards have things like TSA PreCheck included. They have lounge access. They have travel insurance.

I was just talking to my dad before this, and his United flight got canceled in this whole United meltdown. I said, "I sure hope you paid for this on a credit card with travel insurance." It can definitely help people. The challenge is when people are not able to pay off their credit card in full every month. In fact, what NerdWallet found is a good chunk of people still haven't paid off their vacations from last year. If you are charging a vacation to a credit card, really understand that interest, because one, the interest can often end up far outweighing the cost of any rewards or the value of any rewards you're getting. Also, you are paying interest, which makes that vacation so much more expensive.

If you are planning to put a vacation on a credit card and you cannot pay it off in full every month, make sure you have a plan. Whether that's using a 0% APR offer, a low-interest card, or really finding a way that you can do that more affordable vacation, whether that's something like a road trip, couch surfing with a friend.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk about booking strategies. When is the best time to purchase your flight for a destination? There are so many myths out there.

Sally French: There are so many myths out there. We were just talking about this myth that some people swear by Tuesday at 2:00 AM. I promise, that's a myth. The good news is none of us needs to wake up at 2:00 AM to book a flight. It's not so much about the time of the week that we book our flights, but it's how early in advance of the trip we book the flight. Don't stress about if I book this on Tuesday versus Wednesday, stress about, "Am I booking this one month out or one week out?" Typically, you cannot find last-minute airfare deals.

A lot of people say, "I want to get away and go to Florida this weekend, but prices are high. I'm going to just keep waiting and waiting and see if they drop." It's very unlikely they will drop. One to three months out is that sweet spot for domestic travel. Two to eight months out is that sweet spot for international travel.

Alison Stewart: Is there any truth to the idea that booking midweek versus weekends will help save you?

Sally French: Yes. It's not necessarily the day you book. Again, don't worry if you click checkout on your computer on Tuesday versus Saturday. What does matter is the day you fly. Now, this can vary by destination, but typically, what NerdWallet finds is that Tuesday, Wednesday are the cheapest days to fly. Saturday is also a cheap day to fly. The most expensive days to fly are Friday and Sunday. You're really getting those weekenders. Monday's also expensive because you get a lot of people going out on business trips for the week. If you have flexible travel schedules, you might be returning from a wedding that probably happened on a Saturday, and you might think, "Well, I'm going to fly home on Sunday."

That's going to be an expensive time to fly, so maybe you extend that wedding vacation into a Monday or Tuesday. Fly home that day, and you'll typically find savings. This can be hundreds of dollars, especially across your whole family.

Alison Stewart: All right. Let's get some more texts. "For those of us looking to take a short road trip into nature upstate, our favorite destination is Bellfire in the Catskills, an off-grid glamping destination in Roxbury, New York. We're headed there now." Have a great trip. "I'm traveling with my two adult children to Spain to walk part of the Camino. The cheapest flights out of New York to Madrid seem to be about $1,000 round-trip. We are traveling in mid-October. I thought the prices would be lower." Are you surprised by that?

Sally French: Yes, I'm not entirely surprised. Just wondering what airport you might be looking into. What we typically find is some airports in Europe are so cheap and some airports are so expensive. What NerdWallet recommends is just get the closest airport you can. That might be maybe flying somewhere into Italy. Maybe you can get a cheap flight to Rome. Once you are in Europe, you can find either a budget flight from there or take advantage of Europe's amazing train system and see if you can hop on a train. Sometimes, the airport you want to go to is going to be a thousand dollars more than the airport that is somewhat nearby. Then you can just jump on a quick layover flight to get to your final destination.

Alison Stewart: What causes the last-minute price spikes in flights and in hotels?

Sally French: That's a good question. Especially with airlines, they see that if someone's going to book a flight last minute, it's because they have to get on that flight. There are not a ton of options. With hotels, we have many more options. I don't necessarily need to stay on this exact block, so I might be willing to shop around and find a cheaper hotel. Typically, with flights, if there's a flight I want to take last-minute, I need to be on that exact route, so airlines can take advantage of that and charge more. On the flip side, they also charge more if you book too early.

We see those eager beavers who are excited about summer 2026, and they book their flight now. Don't do that because airlines also want to charge as much as they can just to see what they can get. Then when they realize what demand really looks like, they typically tend to lower their prices.

Alison Stewart: Okay. Don't plan a year in ahead. How far ahead?

Sally French: Again, if you're looking at that international trip, eight months at the max to book. One thing that you can do is start at least looking now where you want to go. In the case of that Spain trip, look at the other airports that you could possibly go to. See if you want to extend your trip. Go to other countries in Europe. Then you also have an idea of what you need to do to save money, if you need to apply for a credit card to take advantage of maybe a signup bonus to get points and miles to actually pay for that trip. Definitely thinking about trips a year out is a great idea. Have a rough plan of what's going to happen, but you don't necessarily need to actually click the checkout until sooner.

Another thing that you can do is earlier, we talked about Google Flights and that Explore tool. Google Flights has so many excellent tools. Another one is an alert tool where you can say, "I'm looking for flights from New York to Italy." Google Flights will actually send you an email if it finds deals that are considered below average or maybe above average in that case.

Alison Stewart: Wow, that's so interesting. Let's talk to Debbie from Clifton, New Jersey. Hi, Debbie. Thanks for taking the time to call All Of It.

Debbie: Hi, how are you?

Alison Stewart: We're doing great.

Debbie: My husband and I are going to Rome for the month of October. We're retired, so we've done this before. We went to Arles in the south of France for a month a couple of years ago. One thing that's great about it is that our Parisian friends are going to join us for a week. My daughter's going to join us for a week, but I have one question, which is as a great leisurely way to not have to rush to everything, but I've discovered that it is a jubilee year in Rome, which means that it will be as crowded as it is in the summer because there'll be all these pilgrims coming to the Vatican.

Any tips? I'm not so concerned about waking up early to go to the Colosseum, which I've seen before, but ways to enjoy a foreign city in a way that will accommodate being in a crowded place.

Sally French: Yes, you are exactly right. This is a jubilee year. This is busy in Italy. The idea to wake up early to go to the Colosseum, do it. You're jet lagged anyway, so time doesn't really matter when you're in Europe. My other tip is to just make sure you get those attractions tickets early. Things like going to the Vatican or going into the Colosseum can sell out. What we find is that there are many third-party tour companies that will often buy up these tickets. They sell them out from regular people like you and I, and then what happens is they will resell them so you can still get in, but sometimes for two or three times the cost. If you really need to go someplace like the Vatican or the Colosseum, make sure you book those tickets early.

Alison Stewart: This question says, "Do prices on airline tickets really go up the more I look on the same browser?"

Sally French: No. That is also another myth. I'm so glad you asked that, so we could bust it. NerdWallet looks at thousands of airfares a week, and we don't see our prices go up. I literally spend a good chunk of my job just looking at airfares. If it would go up for me, it would go up for you. That is definitely a myth.

Alison Stewart: All right. Back in May, CNN reported that certain airlines were charging what some describes the tax on single travelers on certain routes, with a fare doubling, at least one instance. Why?

Sally French: Yes, we did hear that. A lot of the airlines walked back and said, "Actually, we're not doing that." You are totally right. The cost of being a solo traveler is expensive. Even if it's not just that airfare quandary, whether or not that really happened, you have to consider, "Am I sharing a taxi or rideshare with someone else? Can I share a room with someone else?" Being a solo traveler truly is expensive, so that is something to budget for.

Alison Stewart: Many airlines, once you get your flight, you have to pay for your seat or pay extra for your seat. Southwest put its first-ever assigned seats on sale this week after a 50-year policy of not having that. First of all, why do they do that? Because?

Sally French: Alison, this is quite the myth-busting show. One myth that I do want to bust is even if you book an airfare, you still have a seat. You just won't know what it is until check-in.

Alison Stewart: Interesting.

Sally French: A lot of people say, "I didn't pay to book my seat, so am I going to have to stand? Do I not have a seat?" That's not true. It means if you don't pay for your seat, you're probably going to have the worst seat, like that middle seat in the back row. Paying to select your seat enables you to pick that window or aisle, which we all really want.

Alison Stewart: This says, "I want to travel to Norway, the western coast island, but can't decide what time of year to go. I love to see snow and northern lights, but not sure I want so much darkness. I'm thinking if November or March to have some daylight and some snow. Maybe it'd be nice to be there in the spring. Can't decide." What do you think?

Sally French: All the times, you could go anytime and really maximize it. I think that's what's wonderful about even going to Europe in the summer, you take advantage of your summer break, but going to Europe in the fall, you take advantage of the shoulder season, fewer crowds. If you really want to save money, I recommend you set up those flight alerts. Look for airfare deals into Norway, and I say go when you get the best deal.

Alison Stewart: All right. This is a little bit of advice you should give to people. Traveling can be really difficult. It can be difficult in the airline. It can be difficult when your flight is canceled. What is the best way to handle your flight when it is canceled?

Sally French: I know so many travelers are experiencing that right now, especially if they are flying with United. If you are traveling on a canceled flight, make sure you have a backup plan. Do you know what other airports are around? Maybe your flight into JFK got canceled, but can you fly out of LaGuardia? Look and see what your options are. I always say, pack some patience and have some padding time. A lot of people say, "I have a wedding this afternoon, and I'm going to fly in that morning." If it's really important to you to make that event, make sure you add some pad time. Come in the day ahead.

Alison Stewart: Are you saying that I should go knowing what my alternate flight should be?

Sally French: I always tend to have a backup plan. I do know, if I'm flying into San Francisco, maybe I will have to fly to Oakland, and then there's an alternative to get there.

Alison Stewart: Sally French. She's NerdWallet's lead travel writer and Smart Travel podcast host. She has joined us to share her thoughts on how to save money on fall travel. You were great. Thanks, Sally.

Sally French: Thank you. Happy travels.