Summer Travel Deals: Where Prices Are Dropping and How to Book Luxury for Less

Score travel deals, discover hotel savings, and learn how to maximize your budget without missing out this summer.

How can you travel this summer without overspending? Where should you book to get the most value from your hotel stay? Hosts Sally French and Meghan Coyle discuss the state of summer travel and how shifting prices are impacting vacation budgets. But first, they break down the latest travel headlines, including: massive crowds already clogging airports and attractions, updates to the Chase Sapphire Reserve and new rules for holding multiple Sapphire cards, a teased refresh of the Amex Platinum, Disney’s Halloween event ticket rush, the opening of Delta’s new lounge in Seattle, and major changes to Carnival Cruise Line’s loyalty program.

Then, Mary Hines Droesch, Head of Consumer and Small Business Products at Bank of America, joins Meghan and Sally to talk about real-time spending data and what it tells us about how and where Americans are vacationing this summer. They discuss how high-income travelers are approaching international travel, where cruise bookings are surging, and why road trips and destination dupes are having a moment. Then, Christie Hudson, Head of Global PR at Hotels.com, joins to talk about how to find five-star hotel stays for less, which U.S. cities have seen the steepest hotel price drops, and how loyalty perks (even from free programs) can unlock big savings on your next getaway.

This show references a limited-time offer on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. At the time of posting, it wasn’t announced when the offer would expire.  See NerdWallet’s review of Chase Sapphire Reserve current benefits, terms and fees: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-reserve

Card benefits, terms and fees can change. For the most up-to-date information about cards mentioned in this episode, read our reviews:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve Review: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-reserve

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Review: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-preferred 

• American Express Platinum Review: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/american-express-platinum

• Capital One Venture X Review: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/capital-one-venture-x  

Resources discussed in this episode:

• The Best Travel Credit Card Welcome Bonus Offers Right Now https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/top-rewards-credit-card-offers 

• What Credit Cards Can Get Me Into the Delta Sky Club? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/what-credit-cards-can-get-me-into-the-delta-sky-club 

• Best Credit Cards of July 2025: https://www.nerdwallet.com/the-best-credit-cards 

• Best Credit Card Bonuses for New Cardholders of July 2025: https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/credit-cards/bonus-offers 

In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: cheap summer travel, affordable summer vacations, hotel deals 2025, best credit cards for travel, travel credit cards, Chase Sapphire Reserve bonus, travel spending trends 2025, how to find cheap hotels, best time to book hotels, destination dupes travel, cheap five-star hotels abroad, road trip vs flying, domestic vs international travel costs, cruise travel 2025, how to get free hotel perks, Hotels.com loyalty program, travel loyalty programs, cheapest cities for hotels, cheapest cities for cocktails, August travel deals, shoulder season travel tips, how to save on luxury travel, summer airfare prices, declining airfare trends, best cities for cheap hotels, travel booking strategies, where to find value hotels, national parks travel tips, Disney Halloween party tickets, Oogie Boogie Bash tips, theme park travel savings, Carnival Rewards cruise program, cruise loyalty program changes, and guest access travel lounges.

Correction: A previous version of this episode misstated the ability to receive a sign-up bonus by downgrading a credit card. This has been corrected.

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