How I spent 50 bucks on flights to 3 major US cities
Summer was creeping up and I knew I wanted to travel extensively on summer break. I also knew that I had to pay for grad school so my funds would be limited. I decided to travel to cities within the US instead of international travel. International travel, especially flights tend to be way more expensive in the summer than any other time of year. However, deals are always popping up within the US. I also have a goal to visit each state at least once in my life. So I started to plan.
One of my close friends was getting married and always wanted to have her bachelorette weekend in New Orleans (check out my review here: How to have the BEST Bachelorette Party in NEW ORLEANS). I decided to plan the rest of my trips around her bachelorette weekend. In fact, I decided to hop from city to city for two weeks with no breaks in between. In other words, I decided for the first time to travel to each city without stopping home and resting. This idea made me extremely nervous but I decided to push my traveling envelope. Here are the steps I took to manage flights to all 3 cities and back home for $50 bucks.
Step One: Decide my destinations.
New Orleans would be my first stop, following Chicago and then Houston. I had been to New Orleans previously but I love exploring cities again and this time it would be with my girls so I knew it was going to be a fun time. I have always wanted to visit Chicago, however, I do not enjoy the freezing temperatures so summer was the best time to go. I also wanted to check out Virgil Abloh's exhibition, Figures of Speech at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Houston is a thriving city for black Americans and I had been hearing rave reviews about Houston so I put that on my bucket list. I have been scouting places to live as well and I wanted to scout Houston as a potential prospect.
Step Two: Decide how many days in each city
I knew New Orleans would be for a weekend. I decided that I would spend four days in Chicago and four days in Houston. Four days is usually enough days for me to explore the cities, hang out with friends that live in those cities and do tourist activities. Four days is also enough time to spend money without going broke for the next city.
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Step Three: Check Airline Prices
I usually check airline prices through the app: Hopper. I use this app constantly because it tells me when the airfare is reasonable but also alerts me when the prices of airfare rises. The prices:Baltimore to New Orleans: $140 one wayNew Orleans to Chicago: $54 one wayChicago to Houston: $100 one wayHouston to Baltimore: $115 one way.
I also attempted to check prices through an app called Skiplagged. This app also gives travel deals and flight deals. Normally the flights have a long layover that allows me to explore another city for some hours or even a day. I saw a flight from Chicago to Houston for $150 that stopped in Colorado and gave me 23 hours to explore Denver. I was going to book that until I checked my credit card rewards.
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Step Four: Check my credit card rewards and credits
This is how I saved money and was able to book my flights for 50 bucks. I had a credit with Southwest Airlinesrom a previous trip and decided to use the credit to fly to New Orleans. My ticket with Southwest to New Orleans from Baltimore Washington International was about $140. My credit covered that expense. Practically, my flight was free to New Orleans. New Orleans to Chicago, I paid about $54 one way on Spirit Airlines. I researched my credit card rewards through Capital One and learned that I had enough points to book a free flight through my rewards.
Through my 21,000 reward points, I was able to book my flight to Houston from Chicago and back home to Baltimore. Using Spirit Airlines, the total came to $215 however, I did not have to pay that amount. In summary, the total amount of airfare is $409 but with my credits and rewards, I only paid $54 for flights to three major cities in the US.
Step Five: Check your map to see if I can drive instead.
The biggest mistake I made was not checking my map. Visiting New Orleans, I met some girls from Houston. They explained to me that they drove 5 hours from Houston to New Orleans. At that moment, I realized I made a mistake. I should've drove to Houston from New Orleans and then caught a flight from Houston to Chicago. I would've saved money and been able to rent a car for a reasonable price (a car is needed in cities like Houston). I spent extreme amounts of money on Ubers in Houston because I did not rent a car. Checking the map and researching the distance of each city would've prevented mistakes like this. I know for the next time to check my map and make sure I can drive to the other city or catch a bus.
Overall, I feel accomplished that I was able to spend 50 bucks on airfare for 3 major cities in the US. I hope to continue this trend for next summer. Next summer, I will challenge myself to five cities under 200 bucks and use Skiplagged app to book.