Many “experts” seem to be talking about Travel Tuesday, the “Black Friday of travel,” which is happening in a few days. The sad reality is that for travel purchases, there are really no specific time periods in the year that are that amazing (unlike for other purchases; I seriously hope you’re using online shopping portals like a savvy traveler to get bonus rewards on everything else).
As I mentioned when I was interviewed by a major newspaper about Travel Tuesday (English translation; you need to click on “Non, merci” at the bottom of the black pop-up), it’s not that great… except maybe if you already had trips to book.
Here’s why Travel Tuesday is not as great as some want to lead you to believe.
The most important distinction to understand for flight deals
As the foremost Canadian experts on flight deals, Flytrippers has been repeating this for nearly 8 years now. However, I’ll explain it again because it’s important, and many people still don’t understand the difference.
There are 2 completely separate types of deals for flights:
- Actual good deals
- Formal sales and promotions from airlines
Actual good deals are those that are often 50% off (or more) and are actually good enough to plan a trip around the deal, even if you weren’t going to book that destination. That’s what a real good deal is. Those are the flight deals we spot every day on our website, and airlines almost never promote these (they don’t need to… the price is good enough to sell itself).
Formal airline sales and promotions, whether it’s for Travel Tuesday or any other of their frequent marketing initiatives, are really only good if you had to buy that flight anyway. If you were going to book anyway, of course it’s better to save 20% than to save 0%. But it’s nowhere near as good as saving 50%. Airlines are glad to promote that.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but just manage your expectations because the deals are rarely as good as the real deals. For example, ultra low-cost carriers are frequently among the exceptions, with their “normal” prices being so low from the start, so their sales can actually be extremely good.
Those, like all cheap plane tickets, will be listed on our deals page automatically like they all are every day.
But Travel Tuesday is mostly a marketing gimmick, like (almost) all formal airline sales. That’s without even getting into whether 20% off is really 20%? Prices change constantly always…
On top of that, Travel Tuesday is still mostly American, like Black Friday was at the beginning. It took a while for Black Friday to become as big in Canada, and it’ll probably be the same for Travel Tuesday.
So if you think that magically, just waking up on Travel Tuesday and not doing anything the rest of the year will be good enough to become a pro of cheap travel, you are unfortunately mistaken.
You need to put in a bit of time to become a pro of cheap travel; it’s not more complicated than that. To learn the tips, to compare all the options, to get into travel rewards (there are crazy deals giving you $825 free for any trip or $1025 free for almost any trip), etc.
Travel deals on everything except flights
As for everything else in travel apart from flights, the reality is that discounts in the 50%-off range, like those so common with flights, are just not very frequent at all.
So for hotels and other travel expenses, the deals on Travel Tuesday will probably be either non-existent, or either as good as it gets in terms of savings.
There are 10,000 destinations and 365 dates available… everything always varies depending on what you’re searching for, obviously. That’s how travel prices always work. So just take the time to compare.
Again, no incredible savings with Travel Tuesday… but if there are small ones, that’s better than no savings at all!
Full list of Travel Tuesday deals for Canadians
Flytrippers will have a roundup post with all the Travel Tuesday deals grouped together, so make sure you sign up to our free newsletter to receive that next Tuesday morning (or check back on our website).
The fact I’m in Asia now on my round-the-world trip to earn 1 million points will help me get that to you first thing in your morning thanks to the time zone difference!
On Tuesday, it’s definitely worth at least comparing the prices of what you need to book!
As you should always do regularly for everything. Traveling for less is not rocket science… compare all the options! And compare them often!
That’s it. That’s literally it.
It helps to know what and how to compare, though. We’ve listed all our pro tips for you in posts about flights and hotels already! We’ll have plenty more content to help you become a pro.
No, it’s not as simple as just booking things on a specific date, as some “experts” seem to be saying (that’s ridiculous). But it’s not that hard either, assuming you’re willing to simply put in a bit of time.
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Summary
Travel Tuesday deals on flights are just nowhere near as good as the actual deals that airlines don’t promote. They will likely be very good for those who had flights to book anyway, but not good enough to plan trips around them (unlike many of the deals we spot every day on our website). For all other travel purchases other than flights, actual good deals are pretty rare, so Travel Tuesday deals are worth checking.
What would you like to know about Travel Tuesday deals? Tell us in the comments below.
See the flight deals we spot: Cheap flights
Discover free travel with rewards: Travel rewards
Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration
Learn pro tricks: Travel tips
Featured image: Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (photo credit: Olga Stalska)
