Many thanks to Jesse Neugarten, founder of Dollar Flight Club, for this guest post.
One of the big barriers to entry for travel is the expense. And obviously, adding a small person to your travel party increases that expense! Hopefully these money-saving tips for booking flights with babies and toddlers will help.
Money-Saving Tips for Booking Flights with Babies & Toddlers
It’s a lot of fun to travel around the world with your kids. (It’s at least a little bit stressful, too, to be fair.)
But beyond that, taking international trips with your children is great for their development. They get to see more of the world and experience other cultures, which gives them valuable perspective.
Unfortunately, vacations aren’t cheap. A family of four pays more than $4,500 on an average trip.
When you’re traveling internationally with your family, airfare can be extremely expensive if you don’t book the right flights.
Jesse’s Quick Cheap Flight Story:
Jesse originally started Dollar Flight Club to let his friends and family know when he found a super cheap flight, like the time he flew from New York City to Stockholm for $290 roundtrip. Since then, Dollar Flight Club has has sent hundreds of thousands of people to awesome destinations.
Jesse used to live in San Diego and was planning a trip to London. The fare was $1,100 USD from San Diego International Airport, but he found one for $380 roundtrip from Los Angeles. So he drive the 2 hours up to Los Angeles to catch the flight and only paid $380 (+ gas) for the whole trip, rather than $1100 USD. This can be replicated all over the world with your family!
Follow these money-saving tips for booking flights so you and your family have more money to spend when it counts:
1. Stop over in other cities
Flying direct is nice. But it can be expensive.
Adding stopovers in other cities can save you hundreds of dollars. Not only that, if you plan it right, you get the opportunity to see an additional city with your kids while actually paying less to travel to a single location.
However, we know that layovers can be challenging with a kid or two. However, we think it’s well worth it to save thousands of dollars on airfare. If you want to survive a stopover, definitely give these a try:
- Before you land, take a peek in the backseat pocket in front of you for the airport map. Check to see if there is a children’s play area. Many airports have outstanding play areas like Chicago O’Hare, San Francisco International, and Seattle-Tacoma International which will make your layover 100x better.
- Be creative with games to pass time and have fun.
- Find an empty gate so your kids can be louder and run around without annoying other travelers
- Stay hydrated! It’s easy for kids and adults not to drink enough when traveling. You tend to get dehydrated much faster in the air.
2. Use Google Flights and Momondo
The more you’re willing to search for cheap airfare, the more likely you’ll be to get a good price.
- Use Google Flights and Momondo to search for great deals on airfare. Check those rates against what you can find on Skiplagged.
3. Clear your browser cookies after each search
Cookies are little digital devices that websites use to track your activity. When you keep checking flight prices, travel sites know you’re about to make a purchase.
- Clear your browser cookies to get cheaper airfare.
4. Book your flights in advance
Generally speaking, airfare gets more expensive the closer you get to your departure date.
One study found that buying tickets 54 days ahead of takeoff yielded the best prices.
That’s not to say you won’t be able to find better deals earlier or later than that. But it’s something to keep in mind.
5. Use a VPN to see if you can get better deals
Your physical location might play a role in the prices you’re being offered.
If you subscribe to a VPN service, sign into random servers and search for flights to see if you can get better deals.
6. Airlines that offer discounts for flights with babies and toddlers
When you’re traveling with babies and toddlers, there are a few other tricks you can utilize to lower your costs even more.
For example, some airlines offer various discounts and allowances when you’re flying with infants.
If you’re flying domestically in the United States, you’re generally allowed to have kids 2-years-old and younger sit on your lap for free.
International Travel Tips
If you’re flying internationally, you may be able to secure discounted tickets for kids 11-years-old and younger.
- Some airlines, like Southwest, sometimes offer reduced airfare for kids on domestic flights. You just have to ask.
- For a smooth trip when you’re flying internationally, look for availability on Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Virgin Atlantic or Emirates, all of which are known to be child-friendly airlines. Just make sure the price is right.
The above money-saving tips for booking flights with babies & toddlers will help you find cheaper airfare. (Sign up for Dollar Flight Club and we’ll do all of that heavy lifting for you! But more on that later.)
The More You Save The More You Can Spend on Fun
There’s no point in spending more money on airfare for your family vacation than you have to. By using the above tips and tricks—and booking on kid-friendly airlines—you should be able to reduce your travel expenses and have an enjoyable flight.
Unfortunately, finding the best airfare deals can be an incredibly time-consuming endeavor.
That’s exactly why I founded Dollar Flight Club—to help parents like you find great airfare deals without having to waste countless hours searching for tickets.
Sign up for our service today and get the peace of mind that comes with knowing you can take your family anywhere at the lowest price possible.
Happy travels!
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These are great tips. I’d never heard about the VPN option, and I always forget that checking for the same flight 1000x times will actually raise the price. Thanks for the cookies tip.
In addition, we’ve also started trying to use our credit card miles to book trips. If we don’t have enough miles to get airfare for the entire family, we can still book one or two tickets with miles and purchase the others!
That is a great tip–thanks!
I love those tips.
Thank you so much for sharing ittt.
I am planning to fly to new york, I think I can save some money with these.
Xoxo