Let's Take a Day Trip

MINNEAPOLIS — Black Friday has already passed, but the wave of sales has been rolling since the start of the month, captivating shoppers and travelers alike.

A lot of you are now eagerly anticipating Cyber Monday and the following Travel Tuesday, hoping to snag substantial discounts on vacation packages and travel-related services. However, it’s important to approach these promotions with a sense of skepticism, as most of the deals advertised this year seem to be more about marketing gimmicks than genuine savings. Many travelers are finding that, despite the hype, the discounts often don’t measure up to expectations when it comes to actual affordability or value on their desired trips.

In this post, I’ll explain why using flight price trackers can help you. Trackers like Google Flights and the Capital One Travel portal help you score the best deals.

Set It and Forget It — Allow Technology Do the Work for You

In my previous article, I discussed how my son, Gregory, expressed a strong desire to take more trips with me. It was a heartwarming conversation that inspired me to think about exciting destinations we could explore together. Since then, I’ve been actively researching “fun” places to visit, focusing on finding experiences that both he and I would enjoy. To assist in my planning, I turned to travel trackers like Google Flights and the Capital One Travel portal. I was particularly curious about flight prices during the recent Black Friday sales, hoping to find some great deals.

However, to my surprise, I discovered that the flight prices remained unchanged during that busy shopping period; they were the same as they had been prior to the holiday. This morning, I came across an intriguing offer: flights to Burbank, California, are available for as low as $76 on select Saturdays over the next few months with American Airlines. This is an excellent opportunity for us to visit such a vibrant destination.

For anyone considering similar travel plans, I suggest the following approach: first, identify your desired destination. Once you have that settled, use Google Flights to set up a price alert for your chosen route. This tool is extremely beneficial because it will send you an email notification if the prices drop or increase significantly. Moreover, you can review the price history for your route over the past few months, which can help you identify the best time to book your flight and secure the best deal possible.

One useful feature on Google Flights is the ability to let the price of a roundtrip flight guide your destination choices. To use this, simply enter your desired destination city and select the roundtrip option without specifying exact travel dates. After clicking search, you’ll see a variety of destinations displayed. You can further refine your results by clicking the calendar icon, allowing you to search by month or focus on a specific weekend.

If you have a preferred airline, click on the “airlines” button to select your airline partner. Remember that American Airlines is part of the Oneworld alliance, United Airlines belongs to Star Alliance, and Delta Air Lines is a member of SkyTeam.

I did the abovementioned for February looking for flights under $400 total roundtrip on American for Gregory and I. He can now chose from over 15 destinations for our trip in February.

With spring break just a few months away, I encourage everyone to start using Google Flights or similar platforms to find the best travel deals for 2025. Don’t let the distractions of “fake” deals on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Travel Tuesday prevent you from taking advantage of the savings that are already available.

To read more about how to use Google Flights, click the article below.