When it comes to buying summer flights, we always tell our readers to start looking and booking as early as they can. Summer travel is so competitive that low rates are sometimes hard to find, but this year we're seeing something different.
We've been looking ahead to summer 2023 flights for months. More importantly, we've been finding and sending our Thrifty Traveler Premium members dozens of cheap fares – and Thrifty Traveler Premium+ members have been getting award alerts to lock in a trip this summer using their points and miles, too.
Last year's surge in flight prices continued through the winter months – plus, peak-summer travel always sees the highest demand, driving prices higher. But thanks to some unusual (but welcome!) flight pricing trends heading into this summer , you can still book a trip for this summer without dipping into your savings.
Whether it's a summer trip to the Canadian Rockies, a cheap fare to Europe, or a lie-flat seat to Dublin using points, here are some of the best deals we've been seeing for summer 2023 to help you hone in on a great destination for a trip this summer.
The Best Cheap Flights for Summer 2023
Trust us: You don't have to spend a small fortune just to fly somewhere next summer.
But there's one throughline we're seeing in the cheap flights that are still available: They're either domestic flights within the U.S. or they're pretty close to home – unless you're booking with points and miles.
If you want a great cheap flight you can book with cash, the best action will be around the North American continent, and we'll start our roundup at the “Crown of the Continent”: Glacier National Park and the state of Montana.
This flight deal included eight different Montana airports including the airports closest to both the east gate (GTF) and the west gate (FCA) of Glacier National Park. It also featured sub-$250 roundtrip flights to Bozeman (BZN), which is a perfect jumping-off point to Yellowstone National Park, too.
Read our guide to visiting the U.S. national parks in 2023 and beyond !
If Montana is your speed, British Columbia, Canada is probably on your list, too. And while we've seen some amazing flight deals to Calgary (YYC) this year, we're also finding more peak summer availability to what is known as the Okanagan Region, home to the cities of Kamloops (YKA) and Kelowna (YLW).
These cheap fares are gone now – get the next deal in your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium !
These fares were historically $600 or $700 roundtrips. And in peak summer, you'd be lucky to find something under $800. But this year, Western Canada summer fares are still cheap!
The same goes for the Land of Enchantment: New Mexico.
This Albuquerque, New Mexico (ABQ) flight deal connected a bunch of U.S. cities to one of our most beautiful states, including availability in August. If you think that August in the desert sounds suspect, you need to see towns like Santa Fe or Taos, New Mexico, which have all of the desert southwest charm, but are set in some of our country's finest mountains.
The middle of the U.S. is also benefitting from this cheap summer flights trend, especially cities like Chicago (ORD) and Minneapolis (MSP).
Both this Boston (BOS) to ORD fare above and this MSP to Destin (VPS) fare below feature peak summer availability for anyone planning a long weekend escape this year.
Oh yeah, and both of these roundtrips are below $98 roundtrip !
On the east coast, Delta wasn't going to leave out its New York City (LGA) flyers. How about Hilton Head Island (HHH) as a perfect summer getaway?
While it wasn't one of the sub-$100 fares we've been seeing more and more of lately , it's still a fantastic value to the sought-after east coast hotspot.
But let's set our sights across the Atlantic Ocean because while North American destinations are prime for cheap summer flights, hotspots like Bermuda has definitely have entered the chat.
With some especially great fares from Canada, this Bermuda (BDA) flight deal could get you on a pink sand beach in June, July, or August for less than $400. In peak summer, these flights should be priced about $600 or $700. Not for you, though!
Finally, we'll celebrate one destination that's a stronghold for cheap flights: Iceland.
These low fares to Iceland this August are still on sale as of mid-May. That's amazing, and more proof that Iceland is the place to look for cheap flights not just this summer but really any time of the year.
Some of those fares should be closer to $900 or $1,000 in August when the weather is best in Iceland and you still get those long, long summer days of sunshine.
Moral of the story: You won't have to dip into your life savings to book a summer flight for cheap this year. It's not too late!
Using Points & Miles for Summer 2023 Travel
When it comes to finding great award tickets, it pays to plan far ahead. If you want any shot at a good deal using points and miles for a summer 2023 trip, you should already be on the prowl for award availability for flights that are actually bookable with points and miles. Or, you could let us do the legwork for you.
Our team of points and miles masterminds has dug up plenty of ways for our Thrifty Traveler Premium+ subscribers to use their hard-earned points and miles this summer.
This first example will put you in the throes of the Rocky Mountains for just a few thousand miles roundtrip.
Only Thrifty Traveler Premium+ members get alerts to use their points and miles on flights like this one!
In economy, and especially for flights within North America, Delta SkyMiles can have enormous value thanks to Delta SkyMiles flash sales . This flash sale to Denver was half off typical SkyMiles rates or more. There must have been a lot of empty seats on these routes to Denver because it makes no sense why rates were this low for peak summer travel.
We've sent our Thrifty Traveler Premium+ subscribers hundreds of award alerts to use their points and miles over the last few months and many of them can help you get to Europe. But in the last two weeks, we've sent two real beauties.
Thrifty Traveler Premium+ is the only service that sends both award deals to use points & miles as well as cheap domestic and international cash fares!
This United Polaris Business Class deal included peak summer availability from Boston (BOS) to London (LHR). We couldn't believe our eyes.
Ditto for this next deal, which featured continent-wide availability to fly to Europe in business class on Air France or KLM.
Summer availability could be found on a good handful of these routes on this deal. Our members might have gobbled it up by now after we sent it to their inboxes, but it was a pretty sweet one while it lasted.
Get the next award deal in your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium+ !
There's no better way to get to Dublin this summer than flying lie-flat in Aer Lingus business class . We alerted Thrifty Traveler Premium+ members to wide-open availability on several routes from the U.S. from just 60,000 points each way.
If you paid cash for this trip, you're about $4,000 lighter…ouch. That's what makes 60,000 points for this business class seat such a good deal. And for peak summer, no less!
Bottom Line
It's not too late to book cheap summer 2023 flights to wherever you want to go this year, and these flight deals are proof. Even well into May, we keep finding great summer flight deals, including ones to use your points and miles. You can book one – if you know where to look.
Make sure you're subscribed to Thrifty Traveler Premium+ to get all the best summer 2023 flight deals as we find them.
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