Tips for Finding Cheap Flights for Families & Saving Big

Flying can be expensive — and flying with kids even more so. But with the right strategies, you can cut costs and make family travel more affordable. 

After all, who doesn’t want to stretch their budget so they can have even more family fun? 

Here’s how to find cheap flights for your next family vacation.

How To Find the Cheapest Family Flights

When you sit down to plan your next big family getaway, you’ll likely start with pricing out flights. 

Airfare can be one of the most expensive parts of any family vacation, and big families get hit the hardest. 

Luckily, there are some easy ways families can save on flights. 

Know the best time to book

Timing is everything when it comes to scoring cheap flights — especially for families where ticket costs multiply quickly. 

The best time to book depends on your destination, but in general, you can follow these timelines to find the best deals. 

• Domestic flights: It’s ideal to book one to three months in advance if you want to save, but deals can pop up as early as six months out.
• International flights: Start looking four to 10 months ahead. Booking closer to the six-month mark often gets you the sweet spot between price and availability.

If you’re traveling during school breaks or holidays when demand is high, book even earlier — think at least six months out for domestic, and nine to 12 months for international travel. 

Why does booking early matter so much? Well, airlines release seats in fare classes, and the cheapest seats understandably go first. Booking early gives you first pick of not only the lowest prices, but also the best seat options (which is very important if you want to sit together). 

Waiting too long means paying more or dealing with sold-out flights, inconvenient schedules, and additional stress. Which is no way to kick off your relaxing vacation. 

Early booking also gives you time to:

• Watch prices and rebook if they drop (some airlines allow credits or free changes).
• Choose better flight times for kids (like morning flights when they’re fresher).
• Plan ground transportation and accommodations with more options and better rates.

Be flexible with your travel dates or airports

If you can be flexible with dates or which airports you depart from or arrive at, you can save a significant amount of money.

Flying midweek is often cheaper than weekends. Early morning and late-night flights also tend to be less expensive. 

Location-wise, if you have a certain destination in mind, you may only have one airport option. But if there are nearby airports and you don’t mind a little time in the car, try searching for airports within a 50- to 100-mile radius. 

For example, flying out of a smaller regional airport or less-visited city versus a main tourist hub can save you hundreds. 

And when you’re buying tickets for the whole family, those savings can seriously add up. 

Use flight comparison sites and price alerts

Don’t be afraid to start your research early. With travel search tools like Google Flights, you can compare fares and even track price drops. 

Also, if you aren’t set on specific travel days, you can use the “flexible dates” or “nearby airports” features on tools like Google Flights and Skyscanner to quickly compare your flight options. 

READ MORE: Use This Google Flights Trick To Find Cheap Flights

Family-Friendly Airline Perks & Discounts

Choosing the right airline can make all the difference when traveling as a family. 

It’s no secret that travel is stressful without little ones in tow, so things can get tricky when you bring the whole family along for an adventure. Book with an airline that understands how to support families and make travel days easier for everyone. 

Before booking with any airline, double-check what their policies are around:

• Free seats for lap infants
• What baby supplies (like strollers) can you check for free
• Early boarding options

RELATED: How To Find the Best Family Travel Discounts & Deals

These days, airlines charge a pretty penny if you want to book a seat next to your travel companion, but families have protections here. 

In 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued guidance urging airlines to make family seating free and automatic. Now, airlines must make every effort to seat kids with their parents or guardians without charging additional seat selection fees.

To make planning your next trip easier, the DOT also launched a Family Seating Dashboard, showing which airlines guarantee free family seating (for all fare types) for children 13 or under and an accompanying adult. 

Currently, the dashboard shows that Alaska, American, Frontier, Hawaiian, and JetBlue are committed to family-free seating. While not listed on the dashboard, Southwest also has family-friendly policies.

Here’s how some of these airlines support families, so you know which to book your next family trip with.

Frontier

Budget airline Frontier offers flexible, affordable options tailored to families, with perks like Kids Fly Free through their DISCOUNT DEN® membership and guaranteed seating for kids under 13 next to an adult. 

Plus, kids can enjoy fun extras like collectible trading cards onboard.

JetBlue

JetBlue makes flying with kids easy and stress-free thanks to their friendly crew, comfy in-flight experience, and automatic family seating for kids under 13 that ensures families sit together. 

They also offer free seat selection on most fares, making planning smoother for parents.

Southwest

With Southwest, you can board early if you have a little one, which gives you time to get settled before the plane is packed and chaotic. 

Plus, they’ll give lap infants a free seat for their car seat if there are any open spots on the flight. While it’s common for airlines to allow lap infants to fly for free, getting an actual seat for free is a rare perk. 

You can also take advantage of Southwest’s Companion Pass. The Companion Pass lets one person fly with you for free (minus the cost of taxes and fees) every time you book a flight with cash or points. 

To get your hands on a Companion Pass, you’ll need to fly 100 one-way trips or earn 135,000 points in a year. (You can also earn points through a Southwest-branded credit card.) Once you qualify, it’s good for the rest of that year and all of the next. 

You can switch your companion up to three times a year.

Save on Flights With Travel Rewards

If you have a travel rewards credit card, you may be able to get free or discounted flights for you and your family.

Get the right travel credit card

Having the right travel credit card in your wallet can make all the difference. When choosing a travel credit card, compare a few different options to see which is best for your lifestyle and goals. 

For example, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you earn the most on travel, dining, and streaming services, with 1x points on everything else. So if your family dines out a lot, this could be a good choice to maximize your rewards.

But if you don’t dine out frequently, you may prefer a flat-rate rewards card that offers higher rewards on everything, like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, which gives you 2x points on all your purchases.

Use credit card points for free flights

Travel credit card points can add up to serious savings on flights — sometimes even covering the entire cost for the whole family! 

The credit card issuers all have their own unique points systems and travel portals (like Chase Travel^SM, Amex Travel, or Capital One Travel). You can use these to search for flights just like you would on any travel site. 

When you check out, you can choose to pay with points, cash, or a combination of both.

Or, you can transfer your points to partners — often for even more value. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards® transfer to Air France, KLM, British Airways, Emirates, JetBlue, United, and more.  

Combine points with cash

If you don’t have enough points to fully cover your next flight, that’s okay. You can pay for the rest of your flight in cash. 

How much your points are worth can vary by credit card issuer. Each point typically has a set value (like one point = one cent), but some cards offer bonus value when redeemed through their travel portal. 

For example, 50,000 points might cover $625 in flights instead of $500. Always get familiar with how to make the most of your specific credit card rewards before redeeming any points or miles. 

READ MORE: When To Use Points vs. Cash for Booking Travel

How To Avoid Extra Fees

When traveling, it’s very easy to go over budget, and often it’s not your fault. 

Resorts, airlines, and other travel providers love to sneak in extra fees and hidden costs that can throw off your vacation budget. 

Let’s look at how you can avoid unnecessary spending. 

Pack smart to avoid baggage fees

The glamorous days of air travel are long behind us, as are many of the perks we used to get with a ticket. 

Unfortunately, one free checked bag is no longer a guarantee. Some airlines charge anywhere from $30 to $75 per checked bag, and those fees add up fast for families. 

Fortunately, you can avoid annoying baggage fees with a few smart packing strategies:

• Pack carry-on only: Most airlines allow one free personal item (like a backpack) and a carry-on with standard economy fares. (However, even a free carry-on isn’t a guarantee anymore, so always confirm the airline’s baggage policy before booking a ticket.)
• Use packing cubes: Frequent flyers swear that packing cubes help them stay organized and fit more into each bag.
• Share luggage: Instead of every family member bringing their own suitcase, try packing two to three people into one larger checked bag to reduce fees. Oftentimes, you can fit all the kids’ clothes into one bag since their garments are so small. 
• Weigh bags at home: Don’t skip this simple step if you want to avoid overweight baggage fees, which can be upwards of $100.

RELATED: The Ultimate Packing Checklist for Family Travel

Choose the best fare class for your family’s needs

First class is nice, but most families need a more affordable fare class if they want to stick to their travel budget. 

That said, sometimes an upgrade is worth it, and you can use credit card points to cover that extra cost. Always compare basic economy versus standard economy versus premium fares to see where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. 

Avoid add-on fees for seating, early boarding, and carry-ons

Airlines are experts at getting you to pay for extras, like choosing your seat, boarding early, or bringing a carry-on. But when you’re traveling as a family, not every add-on is worth it — and you might already have it. 

Double-check what perks you get as a family with your airline of choice or credit card (like early boarding or free seat choice) before you pay for the same extras while booking. 

FAQs About Cheap Flights for Families

TL;DR: Can Families Fly for Cheap?

There’s no reason why you can’t make happy family memories while also protecting your bank account. 

Finding cheap flights for families requires flexibility and means making the most of any rewards you have while being smart about your booking. Book early, use travel points, and take advantage of family-friendly airline perks to maximize your savings. 

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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.