Everyone wants to travel in the summer, and while flight prices rise precipitously during those peak summer months, there are some destinations where you can find great deals to book a summer trip in 2025.
The three months of the year when everyone is off school and the weather is the nicest is when the airlines know people want to fly. Flight prices often reflect that, getting up to three or four times the price of shoulder season or off-season travel. That demand can make booking cheap flights for a trip in peak summer tough, especially for sought-after destinations like Europe.
This year, though, we're seeing an undeniable trend: Low airfare is sticking around for the peak summer months.
August is typically a sweet spot for cheap summer flights, no matter where you want to go. For Europe in particular, flying business class might actually be the best deal if you're planning a trip during the peak summer months, whether you're using cash or points. And domestic flight prices can stay low when demand is highest abroad.
This year, all of those trends are alive and well. Here's what we're seeing out there for travel this summer.
Domestic Flights
Domestic flights – those flying in and around the U.S. – tend to stay a little cheaper than flights abroad during the summer months. That's because in a few weeks' time, it's going to feel like everyone you know is in Italy, France, or England on their big summer vacation. And while Americans head abroad for their summer breaks, domestic flights stay cheap!
There's perhaps no better an example of this than nonstop flights to Chicago, like these fares to Chicago-Midway (MDW) on Southwest.
Southwest runs flash sales like these to fill empty seats and this list of Midwest cities is the perfect example of this.
But you can go bigger than just a quick flight to Chicago. If you want to plan a big National Parks adventure, can we recommend a cheap flight into St. George, Utah (SGU) – the gateway to Zion National Park?
This roundup of low fares to SGU is the perfect way to kick off a National Parks Road Trip like my colleague Kyle pulled off a few years ago.
It doesn't matter how small your home airport, fares from all over the Western U.S. fell to these lows over the past few days.
Chicago and St. George are just the tip of the iceberg. We've alerted our Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers to summertime fare sales to places like New York City, Boston, Orlando, San Francisco, L.A., and many more. It's been a bonafide trend this summer.
Don't Give Up on Your Europe Trip!
Just because you didn't book your Europe trip when fares were cheap, doesn't mean you should give up entirely. You might not be able to find anything cheap as of right now, but you can certainly get a great deal if you flex your balance of points and miles.
There are two ways to do this:
- Aim for August
- Find a destination (like Iceland) where bookings are soft
For the first tip, you're likely to find a cheap flight using points and miles or cash if you book something in the later half of August. It's an airfare trend that is undeniable and growing. In fact, most of the Europe deals we've found over the last few months have included August availability – sometimes even extending into early August.
But the other way to find an affordable way to Europe is to target a destination where airlines like Delta are trying to fill empty seats. This summer, Iceland fits that bill perfectly.
This sale on flights to Iceland using SkyMiles during June, July, and August is the rare part, but even if you don't have SkyMiles, you could book these with Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles, too. That means you can transfer your points from banks like Amex, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo, and more and make these flights yours!
Lie-Flat Business Class to Europe
If summer is the peak season to fly to Europe, then why is summer also one of the best times to find business class seats to Europe? It's one of the weirder trends in airfare that usually holds true. It certainly is this summer.
What happens is this: While more people are traveling in the summer months, there are fewer people traveling for business – leaving those expensive seats open during the summer months. Without plump expense accounts helping them book, most travelers opt for economy in the summer – even though thees business class seats are available for those looking with points and miles.
Here's what I mean:
We sent this alert for Virgin Atlantic Business Class seats flying to London (LHR) from Tampa (TPA) for this August…all for just 35,000 points each way! If you book later into the fall, you can find that 28,000-point rate, too.
Without business travelers heading to and from West Florida and London, those seats can be yours instead!
The same goes for this beautiful seat flown by Germany-based Condor Airlines.
Think you could make that setup work for your next flight to Europe?
You can!
Condor operates flights from all of these departure cities with service to Frankfurt (FRA). It's a crazy good deal on business class travel if you can use Alaska miles to book them.
The best part? These seats were all available in June, July, and August!
Fly South…for the Summer
It might seem counterintuitive to fly to Mexico or Central America during the summer months. Usually, travelers want to escape to those places when it's colder and darker up north. But like anywhere in travel, going somewhere in the offseason sometimes makes for a much more relaxing, crowd-free trip.
And sitting at 7,300 feet above sea level, it never gets too hot in a city like Mexico City (MEX), making summer a perfect time to visit the biggest city in North America.
These nonstop fares flying all the major airlines and Aeromexico was a boon for U.S. travelers looking to experience the serene Condesa neighborhood, or the bustling plazas of CDMX.
Thrifty Tip: Stay at the Andaz Mexico City Condesa using your Hyatt points. I loved the hotel when I stayed in September.
Your trip can be more beach-y than the big city, though. We have several examples of this – not the least of which is Belize (BZE).
That's right – for those fares, you could book an island-time trip to the Cayes of Belize this summer.
Bottom Line
While summer travel can be expensive, it doesn't have to be if you know where to look. Some destinations (or cabins!) are cheaper than others – especially in 2025.
Thrifty Traveler Premium members have been getting summer 2025 flight deals for months now, and we are searching every day to find more so you can book that summer getaway this year.
