How to Plan Smarter and Save More on Summer Travel

This year has been flying by.

Believe it or not, it's already time to start planning summer travel if you want to find some

of the best deals. I need to get going on that.
I'm flying in Northern Virginia to see my family

dogs and go to my friend's birthday. I hear they even made matching shirts for the birthday.

Amazing. You are part of 44% of Americans who say they plan to take a summer vacation requiring a

flight or hotel stay this year. We are going to dig into that data and share some tips for your summer travels.
The matching shirts are optional though. Welcome to Smart Travel, a deep dive into the tips, tools, and tactics to maximize your travel dollars.
I'm Megan Coyle. And I'm Sally French.
And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip. Which could be this summer.
We found lots of fun data, so you'll know when and where the crowds will be. Where there are crowds, there are high prices.
So hopefully by the end of this, you'll know how to avoid both. But first, the news.
And our usual disclaimer. We'll talk about a few credit card companies that are NerdWallet partners in this episode, but that doesn't influence how we discuss them.
Megan, there is this bank adding lift credits to one of their cards. As it turns out, we are no longer allowed to say their name on this podcast, but to help you listeners out, their name rhymes with face.
Or space. Or trace.
Or lace. We can keep doing this.
Oh, no. Anyway, this unnamed bank is Lyft credits to one of their most popular travel credit cards.
Again, I cannot say the name of this specific card out loud on this podcast. I know, I'm sorry, but if you've been listening to this, you know what card I'm talking about.
It's the one with the super high annual fee. It has good statement credits, but the bad news is they are slashing the card's earning rates on Lyft.
I wrote an article which actually does have the cards named in it. We will link to that in the show description, and we can print the names of the cards in the article, just not say them on the podcast.
So again, check out that link in the show description. I feel like there's been a lot of rideshare news lately, like Delta also moving from Lyft to Uber.
So definitely check that out so you can plan your rideshares accordingly. And the new era of Southwest is already here as well.
The airline just unveiled its new dynamic pricing. And I guess as a name suggests, it's all over the place.
Our colleague Craig Joseph just crunched the numbers. And for Wanna Getaway Plus fares, which are sort of the new non-basic fares, non-basic economy, the valuation is around 1.4 cents per point.
So not super different from what we had before as a Southwest valuation. We used to say it was 1.5 cents per point.
But remember, this is a higher fare class now. We used to see that valuation for the lowest fare class, which let you bring those free checked bags.
And also you could change it like up to 10 minutes before the flight. And again, just seeing a lot of variation in flight prices, especially if you look at some of the other fares, we've seen as low as 1.1 cents per point.
So definitely not great if you are a huge Southwest flyer and using your points a lot. Yeah, you know, it's been a rough go for Southwest flyers recently.
A lot of changes and most of them not for the best. I will say this is a good example of why you should collect transferable points because when stuff like this happens, when your Southwest points get devalued, at least with transferable points, you can just choose to transfer them to another better partner.
And if all of that makes you think about leaving Southwest, Delta wants your business. The airline's offering a higher medallion status match when you enroll in the medallion status match challenge only through September 30th of this year.
So A-list will now match to Delta's gold medallion status and A-list preferred will match to Delta's platinum medallion status. And I would just say this is a great time to be a Southwest elite flyer looking to change loyalty because American Airlines is also doing the same thing.
There's a limited time status match. If you have Southwest status, you should look into some of these offers.
So maybe not the worst to be a Southwest loyalist because you can status match to these other airlines anyway. That can be super powerful.
And speaking of status matching MGM Rewards, which is the loyalty program for MGM resorts and casinos, they announced some new status matches to Marriott. So Marriott and MGM joined forces in 2023.
They already had some status matching for the MGM Rewards with the two highest tiers of status to Marriott's two highest tiers. But now, MGM Rewards Pearl members can earn Marriott Bonvoy tier matching benefits.
They're getting Silver Elite status, and MGM Rewards Gold members can now get Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. Now, Marriott's Silver Elite status isn't worth much, but Marriott Gold could get you a possible room upgrade if one is available.
So if you happen to be traveling outside of Vegas or somewhere else with MGM properties, Marriott probably has a property there and it could be cool to use these benefits. I love the Marriott portfolio in Vegas.
You know I'm a sucker for the Bellagio. Now, I know you visited a new lounge last week, Megan.
Tell us about that. I went to the new Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at LAX.
I already went to the flagship Virgin Clubhouse in London back in February, so I'm glad to have another option a lot closer to home. You have to fly Virgin Upper Class to get access for the most part, but it was very glamorous.
I really like the phone booths that they have because they made them look like recording studios. Virgin also owns Virgin Records, so it was a very sweet nod to that.
Maybe we could record our next podcast episode right there. Honestly, we could.
The soundproofing was so good. Check out my review of it on the NerdWallet website, and you'll find the link in the episode description.
I loved your photo of the miso donuts. I need one.
Those were really good. So Sally, summer travel is back in full force and it's expensive.
This year's summer travelers expect to spend an average of $3,861 on their summer trip expenses. And that's according to a study commissioned by NerdWallet and conducted online by the Harris Poll.
But here's the catch. Some of last year's travelers are still in debt from their 2024 trips.
Yes, indeed. So 30% of those who use credit cards to cover summer travel last year still have not paid off their balances.
For Gen Z travelers specifically, that number jumps to 45%. Now, NerdWallet does not recommend carrying a balance in most cases.
If you can afford to, you should pay your bills in full and on time each month to avoid any late fees or interest. Now, there are certainly situations where you need to take on debt to pay for everyday life expenses like gas and groceries.
But on this show, we tend to talk about credit cards in the context of earning fancy rewards, getting VIP perks to fund travel. Now, these cards that offer all of these benefits that we talk about on the show tend to have higher interest rates, which very quickly outpace the value of any rewards.
So if you are someone who pays for summer travel on a credit card, we generally only recommend using the fancy travel credit cards we talk about on this show for people who regularly pay off their balances in full every month. That's a really important reminder that if you're swiping your way to a summer getaway, make sure you have a plan to pay it off before interest negates any rewards you could possibly earn.
But speaking of rewards, 85% of summer travelers are using credit cards to cover some of their expenses this year. So let's talk about how to make the rewards you earn, the benefits that come from those cards, work for you.
Okay, another survey finding, people are getting savvier with their points and miles this year. You'll love to see it.
According to Amex's 2025 Global Travel Trends Report, 50% of travelers plan to use credit card rewards for their trip. Yeah.
We love that. Uh-huh.
Another big trend we're seeing, stacking benefits from multiple loyalty programs to get upgrades. Yes, you know, this was an interesting report and people are getting smart.
58% of travelers say they are likely going to do this. So stacking benefits basically just means you use multiple benefits from either credit cards or other loyalty programs in one fell swoop.
We do this often. All right, give me an example of your best stack, Sally.
I do have a good one, so I hope you're ready for this. I'm ready.
So I went to Vegas with my fiance for CES. It's a big tech conference.
So many people are there. Prices are crazy.
We flew Southwest using my companion pass. I know we talk about this pass all the time on the show.
It lets me bring someone for free aside from taxes and fees. So I got that pass from hitting an intro offer on a Southwest credit card.
Before the flight, we had dinner at the Centurion Lounge. That means free food, free drinks.
We're going to Vegas. Good vibes.
We got in using my Platinum card from American Express. You love your free food and the lounges.
1 in 37. I know.
This show is beginning to sound the same. Anyways, once we landed, I used my Uber credit again from the Platinum card to cover most of our ride to the hotel.
We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria right there on the Las Vegas Strip using a free night certificate from my Hilton Aspire card. And you've talked about that card before.
This card has a $550 annual fee, so it's not cheap. I fully agree.
This fee is high. It is not for everyone.
But this specific night we stayed, room rates that night alone were well over $550. That is the trifecta of a fancy hotel on a weekend in Vegas and during CES weekend, as you said, no less.
Okay, so then I got my breakfast at the hotel covered because the card also gives me automatic diamond status, which gives a food and beverage credit good at any time of the day. So basically for the travel expenses, you only paid for that one person round trip to Vegas.
And then your fiance was able to come with you. You got the hotel night at a discount, got the lounge access.
That was a pretty good stack. Yes, exactly.
Totally double dipping. And sometimes you can do it with just one card.
The example I'm thinking of, there are these offers that show up in your credit card issuer's app, like Amex offers. I've definitely used those offers to get a discount on a stay at a certain hotel brand within the Hilton portfolio.
And with the Amex Platinum, I have Hilton gold status. So I also got a daily food and beverage credit and a slight room upgrade.
Very nice. Now, I do like those offers you mentioned.
One thing that's irritating about them, though, is with things like Amex offers, you have to manually add the offers to your card to get the discounts. So before you go shopping and spend your card, go through and see what offers actually apply to you and then make sure that you add them to your account.
They can be super helpful, but you have to remember to do that. There are also honestly endless combinations of stacks.
Probably the most obvious ones are airline or hotel credit cards or elite status. I do want to call out though that you might have some other types of travel benefits too on those cards.
Like some come with rental car elite status, which is a great way to skip the line at the rental car counter and also maybe get a slightly better vehicle. So we can

link to the list of those cards in the episode description. All right, we've got lots more to say

about points transfers. Stay with us.
We're back in a moment. It's April, but it is time to talk

about summer travel. So maybe you have a plan already with how you're going to stack your

rewards. But let's talk about how far in advance do you think you should book? Megan, how early do

I'm so glad you're listening to the show so we can remind you to actually go ahead and book this. And another good reminder right here is set those price alerts and keep an eye out for a price that you'd be willing to pay and then buy it.
If you purchase main cabin fares, you'll be able to rebook if the price drops any further. What about for international flights, Sally? For international flights, NerdWallet recommends booking two to eight months in advance.
So if we're talking about a July trip internationally, May is really the latest that you should be booking to get any sort of good deal. Honestly, though, you could have started booking as early as last November.
That would have not been a bad idea to start getting those good deals. I'm stressed.
I'm behind. Okay, get going.
The good thing is, though, that I usually don't worry about which day of the week I'm buying the flight. I'm more worried about the day that I'm actually flying.
So generally, Sunday is the most expensive day to fly. And most crowded.
And most crowded. Thursday and Saturday are the cheapest days to fly.
And that's all according to Expedia's 2025 air travel hacks report. Domestic flights on Saturday average about 17% less than Sunday flights.
So flying home on Saturday is nice because you have that day to vacation from your vacation, aka do your laundry, do the meal prepping, get your life in order before you go back to work. I'm a big fan actually of coming home on Saturdays now.
Me too. So the exception to this rule is holiday weekends.
I'm talking about things this summer like Memorial Day and 4th of July. Memorial Day is always one of the busiest times to fly.
Most people will take off on the Friday before Memorial Day, and then they'll extend their trip beyond Sunday and then go out on Monday. Because of this, we typically say Sunday is the most expensive day to fly, but that's not really the case Memorial Day weekend because people sort of treat that Monday like this Sunday, and they actually fly out the Monday.
So do keep that in mind when you're planning Memorial Day weekend travel. Even people fly out on the Thursday before.
So understand that weekend kind of is a deviation from the standard weekday crowds. Similar advice for if you're doing a road trip, those same days are usually pretty crowded as well.
Yes, if you're trying to beat traffic, same rules apply. Now, NerdWallet looks at the best and worst days to fly of some of these major holidays.
Visit nerdwallet.com. We'll put our link in the show description so you can see the best and worst days to fly on specific holiday weekends.
And let's talk about 4th of July this year. This one is really tricky because 4th of July moves around on the day of the week it is.
This year, 4th of July falls on a Friday, and many people will have that Friday off. So you can expect Thursday evening to be very busy at the airports and on the roads.
And Sunday, July 6th, when people are returning from this long weekend, that would also be another busy time. Yes.
So many travelers, myself included, are going to make 4th of July a long weekend this year. I'm flying out on Thursday.
I'm returning on Monday. I'm going with some friends to San Antonio because they have a great 4th of July celebration that I want to see.
Oh, fun. Yeah, I know.
I'm so excited. But let's talk about other trends we're seeing and where people are going this summer.
So if we're talking international travel, I think Europe is going to continue to be a huge draw this year. It is pretty much every year.
But I saw some interesting data from Sirium, an aviation analytics company. They looked at how many seats airlines are adding on routes to European countries.
And it's a good clue to where airlines think the demand will be. Do you want to guess what the most popular country in Europe is for the summer? Oh, I quizzed you on the national parks.
you're quizzing me now. Retribution.
Okay, I do think most people just end up for their first European trip going to Italy, so I'm going to say Italy. Wow, you're so good.
It is Italy. Yes, I can keep my job.
It's been exploding in popularity over the past few years, and this year is special because it's the Catholic Jubilee. Millions of Catholics are expected to make this pilgrimage, so I would expect Rome to be extremely crowded this summer.
If you look at the big three U.S. carriers, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Airlines, all of them added routes to Italian cities like Rome, Milan, Naples, Palermo, other Italian destinations this summer.
So that's where they are expecting demand to be super high. Huh.
And I'm glad you brought this up. I actually worked with Dollar Flight Club to put together a piece on where to fly cheaply to Europe this summer.
Oh, that's important. Yes.
And you know, we often recommend if you want to go to Italy, sometimes you don't fly directly into Italy. You can fly to another destination where you get that cheaper trans Atlantic flight and then find either a cheaper flight or even take the train to your final destination.
So I worked with Dollar Flight Club to find some data and we found six routes from major U.S. airports where average flights to Europe are under $900 round trip this summer.
All right, let's hear them rapid fire. Okay, let's go.
So there's Atlanta to Reykjavik, Iceland, Atlanta to London, Dallas-Fort Worth to Amsterdam, Denver to Amsterdam, Denver to Paris, and Miami to Munich. Nice.
Another great destination is Japan. I feel like everyone I know on the planet is going to Japan.
Yeah. Two cities, Osaka and Tokyo, were in the top five trending international destinations in Google flight searches for summer 2025.
Curacao and St. Lucia, both Caribbean islands, were also in the top five on that trending Google Flights destinations list.
And San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Maui were on that list for top domestic destinations. So there are a lot of great islands out there if that's what you're looking for this summer.
Let's pivot to the opposite end of the spectrum. Let's talk about theme parks.
There is so much happening in the theme park universe this summer. I'm so excited.
And you just got back from one. So let's hear about it.
I was just at Disney World. We're going to talk about that later.
But the really big thing on my mind is its competitor just across the road that is Universal Epic Universe. It is a new theme park opening in Orlando.
It's part of the Universal Studios family of theme parks, and in fact, it's the first new Orlando theme park opening in more than 25 years. Yes, you put together a huge guide to what we should expect to see at Universal Epic Universe, which opens May 22nd.
I'll put that in the episode description of today's show, but what are your highlights? Okay, so already there are two existing Universal theme parks, and each of those have their own Harry Potter lands. When Epic Universe opens, it'll have its own Harry Potter land that makes for three Harry Potter lands you could experience in the Universal parks.
The first one was tied to Hogsmeade. There's one tied to Diagon Alley.
And this third one is going to be actually kind of French-inspired. That's because it is themed to the newer Fantastic Beasts franchise.
Harry Potter, the gift that keeps giving. Everyone always talks about over at Disney, Star Wars Rise of the Resistance.
But there is a ride that the people tell me is going to beat that in terms of cool factor. It's Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.
So that'll be over at Epic Universe. We're going to have to check it out to actually put it to the test if it's truly better.
And if it gives you as much motion sickness as the other Harry Potter rides. And then of course, everyone knows Butterbeer.
They're going to be serving that in this park as well. Besides Harry Potter, there's going to be a Super Nintendo World.
There's already one in Hollywood. This one is going to be even bigger than the Universal Studios Hollywood version.
It'll have a Donkey Kong Country that will feature its own roller coaster called Minecart Madness. Megan, you've been to the Super Nintendo World in Hollywood.
I have not. Yeah, it was super fun.
It's very immersive, and they really try to make you feel like you're exploring that land there are these little mini games you can do with these bands but the bands are $40 so on top of like early entry to get into just Nintendo land I think it's really expensive for what's there there's also only one ride at the Universal Hollywood version of this park. And there's some cool things about it.

I don't want to give too much away.

Like you get to wear these cute little Mario hats.

But yeah, that was kind of my review of the ride.

Okay, I will say I don't want to be like a complete ad for the Epic Universe version.

But this one is going to have more rides.

It's going to have some of the same stuff.

It's going to have the Mushroom Restaurant, which I want to go to.

But of course, we're adding more rides here.

Speaking of more rides outside of Super Nintendo World, there's also something called Dark Universe. This is not tied to a singular franchise, but rather the Universal Monsters.
So we're talking about Dracula, Frankenstein's monster. And then also, I cannot believe I have not seen this movie, but How to Train Your Dragon.
Sally, you have not seen How to Train Your Dragon? I know. It's on my to-do list, I promise.
Someday I will. This is part of your cultural education.
I know, I know. This is such a great film.
Okay, I'm going to see it. There's also a live action remake of that coming.
So you have a lot of things to watch. Yeah.
Okay, let's see that this weekend when I'm not traveling. All right, let's move on to Disney World.
That's the one you just got back from. What's really interesting about Disney World is I think they know all eyes are on Epic Universe.
So they are offering tons of deals. This summer, beginning May 27th through September 20th, Disney World is selling 50% off kids tickets for three days or longer.
Disney does define kids as ages three through nine. So 10 and up does not apply.
Which is crazy, by the way. I think it's like because people like me, I'm 32 and I'm like, I'm a kid.
I'm a kid. So they're like, no, cut off as nine.
Other deals, if you're not a kid, there is a three-day three-park ticket, which starts at $89 per day. So that's $267 total.
That's great if you're adults. The catch is it is not good at the main Magic Kingdom park.
It only works at Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom. I love Animal Kingdom, so I could spend a few days there.
Honestly, same. And another deal that people love is the dining plan.
This basically gets you kind of like coupons that you can use at the restaurants. Really alleviates the pain of paying because you don't have to whip out your credit card.
It's on the app. It's like a digital coupon so you can dine.
And if you purchase a non-discounted four-night, four-day package that includes a room at certain Disney-owned hotels with tickets, then you actually get the free dining plan. So this is a great way to save a ton of money, especially if you can maximize it and you love to eat at all the restaurants.
Okay, so lots of great discounts for the summer. But what I found the most interesting was that article you wrote about prices to visit Disney World in the summer.
Can you tell us a little more about that? I was actually shocked. We were going through all the data of Disney World ticket prices.
I manually pulled this all by hand and I looked at average ticket prices by month. Surprisingly, summer is one of the cheapest times to go to Disney World.
Believe it or not, the most expensive times are December, October. People want to celebrate the holidays there.
But if you go in September, average one-day ticket prices are $125. August, $133.
Compare that to the average, which is $153. So go in the summer and believe it or not, you save money.
Okay. That's unexpected because everyone's out of school, but it sounds like it's a little cheaper.
But it's hotter, so that's a trade-off. Yeah, that's true.
Okay. Let's move over to the West Coast to Disneyland near me.
What's going on there? It is Disneyland's 70th anniversary. Technically, their anniversary is July 17th, but you know Disney.
They love to extend the birthday as long as possible. So their celebration kicks off on May 16th, and then it actually runs through summer 2026.
But really, if you want to experience it, this summer is the time to go. I love the World of Color water show.
They're going to swap out some scenes with some new songs. I am most excited for The Boys' Two Men.
They're going to do their own rendition of Rainbow Connection, so I want to go just to hear that. I don't even know what Rainbow Connection is, but that's amazing.
It's the Muppets song. Okay, that was a deep cut.
I'm not a big Muppets person. Okay, okay.
So you watch Muppets and I'll watch How to Train Your Dragon.

Perfect. We have our homework.
I'm so excited for summer at theme parks. I can already smell

the funnel cake. So that's enough about theme parks.
It is time for hot takeoffs. Megan,

you told me over Slack that you have one you're excited to share. So hit me.

A few episodes ago, we talked about whether elite status is worth it.

I rarely think it's worth it. Yeah, but one of the perks really came in talked about whether elite status is worth it.
I rarely think

it's worth it. Yeah, but one of the perks really came in handy for me right when I needed it.
Okay, sell me on it. I have American Airlines gold status, as our regular listeners know, and that's the lowest level of elite status.
And a few weeks ago, I was going to visit my friend for the weekend, but I did not feel well. Like, yeah, I did not want to fly.
And I just didn't want to take my pseudo red eye that departed at 1 a.m.

So I was like, can I switch it? I just want to sleep in my bed one more time. Yeah, I'm inclined to say no, you can't switch it because it's going to be so expensive.
I called American Airlines and I pleaded my case and they were like, the best we can do is put you on a flight two days later and charge you $500 for the fair difference. That's what I would have guessed.
There's no way. So I asked if I could do standby later for free.
And it turns out that's a highly underrated perk of elite status. If you are just a regular member of American Airlines loyalty program, you can only stand by on earlier flights.
And my flight was at 1 a.m. So what was I going to do? Leave at midnight? Yeah.
But with elite status, you can stand by on a later flight as long as it leaves on the same day, goes between the same airports, and has the same number of stops. That's an interesting attempt.
But if you fly standby, there is no guarantee you'll actually get on the flight. But if you have elite status, you'll also be slightly higher on the standby list.

I was number two on the list

for both the flights that I flew standby on,

and that's with the lowest level of elite status.

Of course, there are other factors too,

like if you paid for your ticket in cash versus miles.

But here's my hot take.

I think if you're smart about the risks,

flying standby later has got to be

one of the best perks of airline elite status. Definitely risky, but I guess that's why we call this a hot take.
Take off, I should say. So we're going to have to do another show, I think, on more standby tips because that's definitely interesting.
And especially people who like to gamble, this might be the way to go and it could save you money. And you could fly at a better time.
I guess so. People listening out there, if you've got more questions, send them our way at travel at nerdwallet.com, or you can hit us with a voice memo because I love to hear your voice.
We also want your honest feedback on this show. We would be grateful if you could write us a review and rate our show on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio.
Five stars and a nice comment are definitely welcome, but we take feedback of all times. We do have thick skin.
This episode was produced by Hilary Georgie and Tess Viglin. Claire Soce helped with fact-checking.
And a big thank you to Nicholas Karisimi for editing our audio. And here's our brief disclaimer.
We are not financial or investment advisors. This info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.
Thanks for listening. We hope you're inspired

to keep your passport full and your wallet even fuller. See you next episode.