Photo: GaudiLab (Shutterstock)
When you’re budgeting in your pre-travel spreadsheet, you probably book flights first. Airline tickets are usually the most expensive aspect of travel, and it’s instinctive to purchase them first and then plan your car rental and hotel from there. However, this order of operations could be costing you. The savviest way to book travel is to start with whatever’s price fluctuates the most, and then plan around that.
Here’s the best order to book your flight, hotel, and car rental in order to score the most savings on your next trip.
Lock in your car rental first
Assuming you know the airport where you’ll be arriving, it might actually be smarter to book your car rental before your flight. Car rental prices change a lot depending on the day of the week, time of year (prices soar around the holidays), type of cars available, and company demand. If you have a few months notice and some flexibility around the exact days you’ll be traveling, it pays to lock in the lowest rate ASAP.
Be flexible with your travel dates and search for the lowest-cost combination of days for your car rental. You’ll buy your plane tickets to match this itinerary. Even if it looks like you might pay more in airfare, you could still be cutting the best deal by saving on car rental costs. Shop around different rental agencies and combinations of days before booking anything to make sure this is the most cost-effective move for you.
Several sources like Nerd Wallet report that you can save money by going against the grain and booking last-minute, but this is a risky move. Your best course of action is to reserve a car now, selecting the option that allows you to lock in your rate, but pay in person. Then, regularly check on your rental price. If it gets cheaper closer to your travel date, cancel and rebook. Win-win.
G/O Media may get a commission
Finally, consider the car rental discounts available through membership clubs like AAA, Costco, or USAA. The savings can be significant enough to justify paying a membership fee.
For your flight, timing is everything
Here are the rules of thumb for timing your ticket purchase to to secure the best deal on airfare:
When you should book depends on the season. The cheapest summer fares are available an average of 42 days before the trip. For spring and fall, flights are least expensive when booked 76 and 77 days in advance. Meanwhile, to get the best winter holiday fares, you’ll need to book 110 days prior to your trip. (Christmas is 102 days away as of this writing, so don’t dawdle.)Avoid high-traffic days of the week. If at all possible, don’t depart on a Friday—the most expensive day of the week to fly. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are regularly the cheapest days of the week to move about the country. Explore costs for all nearby airports, not just the one closest to you.Consider adding a free or cheap stopover to your travel plans. Airline tickets with a layover average 20% cheaper than nonstop flights. Just make sure you err on side of caution when figuring out whether your transfer will be too tight.It’s also wise to set price alerts with sites like Google Flights, KAYAK Price Alerts, and Scott’s Cheap Flights as soon as you can.
Hotel section
For the most part, budget-friendly hotels are a better value compares to Airbnb these days. As with your car and flight, when you book your hotel can save you money—but your destination matters most.
For major cities: Consider risking a last-minute booking for large cities with lots of travelers. In places like New York City and Chicago, hotel prices only fluctuate a little in the three to six months before you check in, and the best prices are often available in the days leading up to your stay.
For smaller cities: Book sooner rather than later. For destinations used to fewer travelers, the prices are lowest around three months in advance of check-in, and are likely to increase after that.
The bottom line: Explore all your options
Even though it’s counterintuitive to many travelers, it often makes sense to book your car rental first, then your flight, then hotel in order to lock in the cheapest prices before they go up (or after they’ve dropped). However, all this depends on how flexible you can be with your travel dates—if you simply have to travel on certain days, your savings options will naturally be limited—as well as how much notice you have ahead of your booking. Tools like a travel spreadsheet can help you explore all your options and map out multiple itineraries until you figure out the best deal for you.
