Summer is right around the corner, and with it comes travel season. Indeed, 73% of Americans have travel plans this summer, according to recent data from ValuePenguin, with an average of $2,700 set aside to plan their getaways.
But if you haven't booked your vacation yet, don't wait any longer. And if you're looking for a good deal, it may help to think outside the box.
"I think the biggest savings to be had is actually a wholesale rethinking of the strategy of how to plan your vacation," says Scott Keyes, founder of airfare deal newsletter Scott's Cheap Flights.
"Everybody says they want to get cheap flights, but the way that most people actually search for flights is entirely backwards, and if anything, it actually kneecaps their ability to find them," he tells CNBC Make It.
In Keyes' experience, the average person follows the same three-step process when booking airfare. First, they pick a vacation destination. Second, they choose their dates. And third, they start to look at the cost of flights.
"By setting price as the last priority, it's not terribly surprising that we have some pretty expensive flights," he says. Instead, prospective travelers should take that same three-step process and "flip it on its head."
