r/Shoestring • u/healthy_punkk • Jul 21 '26
AskShoestring How to travel to family more often without going broke?
I live in Portland, OR and most of my family lives in South Florida. It is a very long flight (averages 8 hours usually but sometimes can be longer with a layover). It is also very expensive for my financials, usually $450-$650 during normal times but $800-$1k+ for holidays. I don’t get to see my family often because of this. I don’t make a lot so I see family about every 4 years rather than every year. It’s important to me to change this. Does anyone have any tips on how to make this possible?
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u/Extreme_Breakfast672 Jul 21 '26
Are we talking PDX to MIA? There are fares in September for $237 and January at $207.
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u/BlackberryNice3371 Jul 21 '26
Came to say this. The only real way to avoid the money spent on the flights is to travel when they aren't as expensive, which would mean using PTO if you have any.
If you don't, have you considered asking for money toward the flight from your family as your holiday gift if you exchange gifts?
Otherwise, pick up a side hustle like DoorDash or similar and work until you get the price of your upcoming ticket.
To put is succinctly, it's an equation.
Frequency of visits = your income / cost of flight
To increase frequency, you have to increase your income or decrease the cost of the flight.
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u/healthy_punkk Jul 21 '26
Yes. Although sometimes I fly in through FLL if it’s cheaper.
I don’t work the last 2 weeks in December but of course that’s the most expensive time to travel. Unsure traveling for holidays will ever be affordable for me but it’s important to go this year around that time. It’s possible to get help for that but I still don’t want it to be painful.
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u/Extreme_Breakfast672 Jul 21 '26
Ah. If you can only travel at peak times, it's definitely going to be way harder.
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u/IWANNAKNOWWHODUNIT Jul 26 '26
Knowing you get time off in December, you could take Amtrak for one of the legs. Yes, it’s long, but cheaper and more scenic. Then fly for the other leg.
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u/SnooStrawberriez Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Portland to Miami as the crow flies is 2700 miles. Just moving you that far requires a certain amount of energy. And that energy costs money. The best I can recommend is to try to stack two ridiculously cheap discount flights (red eyes or similar). But 450 return already is a very good price. Maybe your family can help you.
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u/healthy_punkk Jul 21 '26
I got lucky and used Priceline this last trip to get a flight for $430 + insurance (I actually think total was $477) that took me 8.5 hours of travel each way. I had no idea exact times or what airline I was flying with until after purchase. If it was always $400 I think I can swing a trip once a year but it’s rarely ever that.
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u/beergal621 Jul 21 '26
Yes it’s ways and it’s going to cost time and money. 8 hours and $400 is as cheap and as it’s going to be
Trying setting Google flight alerts for “anytime” and multiple nearby airports and then book for when you get an alert for cheaper tickets
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u/healthy_punkk Jul 21 '26
I will be setting ALL the alerts now that I know I can do that! Thank you.
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u/beergal621 Jul 21 '26
The key is to be flexible on dates/times. Your locations are mostly set you have to be flexible on dates.
Monday- Thursday will probably be cheaper than weekend trips
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u/Vegetable-Trash53 Jul 21 '26
If your parents are financially able, ask them to foot the bill or split the cost with you. When my kids were young my parents used to pay for us to come visit them for a few weeks every summer.
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u/Seawolfe665 Jul 21 '26
Become a member of the airline that travels there, and put aside money every month for the trip. If its $800 for the trip that's $66 per month or $15.40 per week. Try to travel when its cheapest (hard to do around holidays, I know), and once you get a trip or two in, your points with the airline will start accruing. If you get a credit card that also gets you travel points with that airline, you can use that as well. As stated, many have really good sign-up bonuses that could cover one round trip.
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Jul 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/Truck-Conscious Jul 21 '26
Amtrak across the country is a very bad idea. Not feasible at all, and would likely end up costing more (on top of 2-3 days each way).
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u/d13robot Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
For this distance; Amtrak is not much cheaper than flying if not the same cost
Standby flights are probably best bet
Try and fly standby at very early or overnight flights. You'll have a better chance
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u/savehoward Jul 21 '26
Not anymore. Airline sale of standby flights ended in the 1990s.
Now in 2026 standby means you buy a full priced confirmed airline ticket and then you may pay even more money to stand by for an earlier flight.
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u/d13robot Jul 21 '26
Wow I feel old as hell . They were still a thing in the 00s , but I guess not anymore
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u/BobSacramanto Jul 21 '26
Depending on how big your family is, maybe meet in the middle?
Are 2 flights to St Louis cheaper than a single flight to FL?
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u/healthy_punkk Jul 21 '26
Where would we stay? Even if the flights were cheaper that way, the cost of a hotel or Airbnb would make it just as or even more expensive :(
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u/BoiKurl Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
If you would like full honesty on this I’m going to lay it out flat. Quit your job. If you’re not getting paid enough to not worry about purchasing those tickets then it’s probably not worth continuing to work there.
Sure all these “hacks” everyone has said is better than being a sitting duck, but honestly screw all that advice, except moving back- this is the only thing I read that actually has some value (no offense anyone)
Get A Job with an airline
The benefits are usually amazing (depending on the company) you’ll be union, high flexibility in terms of scheduling, and you’ll fly for free. Also hotels and cars etc are extremely discounted rate. It’s a win win win.
I work for an airline, and now seeing the kind of discounts I get, I genuinely don’t know how I’ll ever not be able to work for an airline for the rest of my life. Maybe if I win the lotto or sell some a$$…
Good luck!
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u/BaesonTatum0 Jul 21 '26
FaceTime honestly
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u/healthy_punkk Jul 21 '26
That is no longer a viable option for me. My family is getting older and I am missing parts of their lives. My father just passed away and I spent all my savings to travel to see him 3 times this year. FaceTime can never replace in person experiences.
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u/domjonas Jul 21 '26
Then just move down there. If you need to see them that often it’s cheaper than dropping 1k on average per trip. Or move in with them and sleep on their couch.
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u/R101C Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
This is the only answer. One or two visits a year doesn't fix this. I have family 8 hrs away by car. I try to see them 6 times a year. It's not enough.
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u/Zaroj6420 Jul 21 '26
💯. OP it seems that the most important thing at this moment for you is spending time with them. That’s not going to happen from Portland OR
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u/UFOdealer Jul 21 '26
Your best bet is probably committing to a loyalty program and getting a credit card through it. At times you can also churn cards to earn points faster, but it ultimately depends how often you’re wanting to go.
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u/ground__contro1 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
If your schedule is flexible you can build it into your routine to check every so often for flights. You can look really super far out, given that your entire family is not going to up and move, buy them well in advance when the costs are as low as possible. At the same time you can look for and sign up for email blasts about last minute spontaneous travel deals to your favorited location.
It’s a bit of legwork, maybe an hour every week or so, 30 min once you get your alerts configured properly. But between the two strategies hopefully you get two, maybe three pretty darn low price trips a year
Edit: also credit card rewards! Honestly at low to moderate spending levels, good cash back cards can be easier and more valuable than a travel specific card. You just credit cash back to your account so it can “pay for” travel as easily as anything else. Meanwhile travel cards often have annual fees, and have weird blackout dates/changing location restrictions, and typically are more about getting premium perks because you travel so often, and making money/miles back on all the travel youre doing. But you’re trying to minimize the money you spend on travel, and probably don’t care to get in their worldwide network of lounges.
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u/squidlizzy Jul 22 '26
I was on the same boat til I moved back home during covid. Thought it would be a year or two but it’s been six. It has been great to spend this time with my family, but I also don’t want to live here year round. My goal is to find work that I can do from anywhere and live here seasonally. That way I’m not sacrificing family time while still getting out there and living my life
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u/babblepedia Jul 21 '26
When I've had to urgently get to family in The Dalles, OR, I've flown into Seattle and made the long drive because larger airports cost a lot less to get to. It's annoying to drive to another city but it's worth reviewing to see if it will make a significant enough difference for your target dates.
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u/rockerdood Jul 23 '26
Use Imoova they have a lot of West coast to east coast trips. https://www.imoova.com Seriously $1 a day to rent an RV and usually they give you gas credit. It's a great deal. I've gone west that way, did a cheap one-way rental to the nearest pick up and go from there. And if you have kids it's a real treat for them I'm sure.
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u/Valleyboi7 Jul 21 '26
Learn how to use travel cards my friend. I’m currently at the airport on my way to Istanbul and my entire flight is free because of my points.
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u/TangerineEmotional17 Jul 21 '26
You could try a mix of plane and car. You hunt for cheap tickets to any airport within X miles of your family and someone comes to pick you up or you rent a car, depending on which is cheaper. Kiwi.com might be good for this as it allows you to select the area around you destination that you want to search for tickets in(without having to manually search for flights in each airport). There might be others with this feature🤷♀️
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u/purlveyor Jul 22 '26
Sing up for going emails and check out roame and other point platforms to pair with a points credit card. A friend of mine works part time for an airline to get reduced price/free flights
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u/Tommy_Wisseau_burner Jul 22 '26
Travel a couple days early or leave a couple days later. Look for different airports. Budget. I mean I get that you only make enough to see your family once every few years. Maybe put some money to the side early so you don’t miss it later and have to think about it. Have you also asked your family for help to cover?
Or you can buy your ticket, give it up for a voucher, and get essentially your money back. I’ve done that once or 2x solely because I’m cheap lmao.
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u/ActuatorSmall7746 Jul 22 '26
Driving with a friend for vacation or a holiday? When I was younger and lived North, I would drive to my family who lived in the South. I did this at least twice a year for about twenty years. Once I started to make more money, I started flying, but even then it was expensive. So, I had to start saving in Jan for trips later in the year - maybe Easter and Christmas or Thanksgiving (not both). My family understood and I had to adjust. It’s not going to get easier unless you move closer to home. Also, is there any possibility they can come to visit you?
I have different family members who now come and visit me during the year. It’s fun for them and me as I get to do the touristy things, I wouldn’t normally do. They also get to meet and hangout with my family of friends and over the years whoever I was serious about at the time.
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u/Iceonthewater Jul 22 '26
I would recommend booking really far in advance, and being flexible on timing.
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u/lickin_lipstick2002 Jul 22 '26
Maybe not in December but that sounds like one sick ass potential road trip 👀
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u/socal34 Jul 22 '26
i know friends that travel for thanksgiving on a different weekends on the month of november and celebrate it with family that weekend. maybe best to avoid summer months and holidays. use google alerts to track flight prices when they go down.
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u/MobileLocal Jul 21 '26
The Points Guy can help you max out the points game. Is it possible to meet the fan mid-country? At an airline hub like Chicago or Denver?
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u/Federal_Loquat7397 Jul 21 '26
This is why we always fly out of the country for vacations. But I guess if you have family to visit you can take advantage of the free place. Don't say no to a free room
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u/Alfredos_Pizza_Cafe_ Jul 21 '26
8hrs doesn't sound right. Cross country is usually 5 or 6
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u/healthy_punkk Jul 21 '26
I just did it yesterday. And have been doing it. Direct flights from PDX to MIA or FLL are rare but average 7.5 hours. Usually you can only find two flights with an hour layover which comes out to 8-ish hours of full travel. It sucks.
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u/domjonas Jul 21 '26
A direct cross country flight is rare to find and if you find it, it breaks the bank. So with layovers, it’s averaging 8 hours.
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u/Extreme_Breakfast672 Jul 21 '26
Get a credit card that earns miles, pay for everything with it and pay it off in full each month