Are you booking flights for a destination wedding, and want some tips to get the best flights and prices? You’re in the right place.

Most destination wedding travel agents (like me) don’t book airfare for destination weddings. At least in my case, this is because I simply can’t get you the best flight schedules or the best prices. 

Plus, flight prices are constantly changing (more on that soon!), and destination wedding guests often have their own preferred airline, mile system, points, or other preferences I don’t know about. 

For these reasons and more, I require destination wedding guests to book their own airfare, after they’ve booked a room for a destination wedding.

I am a cheap flight junkie in my personal life- most of the trips I’ve taken to the 25+ countries I’ve visited so far have all occurred because I found a great deal on a flight. So I’m here to pass my wisdom on to you!

P.S. Still need to book a room? Find your group here.

Here are my top tips for booking flights:

If you don’t read anything else, please read these two items:

⭐ Please make sure that you’re booking flights for the same dates as your resort reservation.

⭐ Please, please, please make sure that you’re booking flights into the correct airport for the destination wedding. I’ve put it on the wedding website, and in your room invoice. 

Most Common Airports for Destination Weddings

Airports have a 3-letter code. Just like Atlanta is ATL and the LA Airport is LAX, the destinations my groups travel to each have their own unique code. Be sure you know which to use!

• Cancun = CUN
• Punta Cana = PUJ
• Cozumel = CZM
• Puerto Vallarta = PVR
• Los Cabos = SJD
• Liberia = LIR

(Un-fun fact: I once had a wedding guest book their flights to Cozumel instead of Cancun… It was very expensive to correct this mistake. I don’t want this for you!)

Track Flight Prices Using Google Flights

If you’ve never used Google Flights to find or track airfare before, oh boy are you missing out!

Google Flights is my favorite place to find, track, tweak, and research flights before booking them!

First, you’ll enter your home airport and destination airport, as well as your departure and return dates, and click “Search”.

You’ll end up with something like this screen, where you’ve got loads of options with all kinds of different airlines, times, layovers, etc. 

If you’re a discerning traveler and don’t want layovers, or have certain airline preferences, you’re going to want to use the filters!

Once you’ve done this, your options should have been narrowed down for you quite considerably! 

You Found Flights, Now Track Them!

If you’re okay with all of the options here, but aren’t ready to actually pull the trigger and book your flight today, I suggest turning on the “Track Prices” toggle, that you can see in the middle of the screen. 

Toggling on that option, while signed into your Google account (gmail, gsuite, etc.), will tell Google that you want them to send you flight updates if and when these flight prices change. 

I LOVE this option, because Google remembers and does the research for you. You don’t have to add reminders to your calendar, or items to your to-do list. Google Flights will simply update you when something is updated. 

Then you’ll get updates until you’re ready to book!  That’s the day you’ll decide which airline, what flight time and flight number you want, and then you’ll head off to book those flights whichever way works best for you. 

How to Book Flights: Best Methods

Use Credit Card Points To Book Flights

You know you’ve got them!!

Whether you’re an AMEX Platinum junkie, a Chase Points connoisseur, a Capital One fiend, or some other kind of credit card points nerd (like my husband, Phil), chances are that you’ve got some credit card points lying around.

Flights are one of my favorite ways to use credit card points!!

Just be sure that you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Some credit card points go farther than others with different types of travel. For instance, I always transfer my various Chase credit cards’ points to my Sapphire Reserve account, because those points will go farther!

Book Flights Using Airline Miles

If you’ve flown before, you’ve almost certainly gotten zillions of emails from your chosen airline(s), and hopefully you signed up for their free rewards program. In those loyalty programs, you can typically earn miles, and then use them to pay for future flights!

If a destination wedding trip is feeling a bit expensive, try leaning on your miles or points for the airfare portion of the trip! Yes, booking flights will have a cost, but it’s not quite the same as pulling out your credit card. 

Plus, some airlines’ miles expire over time (something I hate!), but if you’re in that situation, it’s better to go ahead and use your miles before they expire!

Book Flights Early.. Or at least start looking early

In most cases when I’m sharing how to find cheap flights, my first piece of advice is to be as flexible as possible with your travel dates. In many regular vacation situations, that works fine! But unfortunately, when you’re traveling for a destination wedding, you’re pretty locked in on the dates. 

Enter my next piece of advice – book your flights early! They tend to get more and more expensive the closer you get to your departure date. 

BUT, keep in mind that flight prices fluctuate all the time. So don’t be in a massive rush to book your flights. Instead, I recommend at least starting to look at flights early. If you can do that and follow the Google Flights Tracking advice I gave above, you will get to see how prices change over time, and jump on the one you want when you feel comfortable! 

Note: If you’re booking flights for a destination wedding that’s not happening until next year, you may have to wait a while before you can book flights. Most airfare isn’t published until about 10 months before the travel dates. 

If you’re trying to book 10+ months in advance, you won’t be able to. This is totally normal, and there’s no need to panic! Just set a reminder in your calendar for a few months from now when those flights will be available, and re-start this process then. 

Important Information About Destination Wedding Guests Booking Flights

Are you traveling with someone else who’s also attending the wedding? Awesome!

Please make VERY sure that you are both flying on the same dates, and that you are both staying for the same dates. 

You’d be surprised how many people skip over those silly little details like.. What date you’re arriving in another country 😉 

If you’re literally flying on the same reservation, that’s great! But if you’re traveling from different locations, it’s totally fine that you’re flying in separately. You can still be on the same room reservation. 

If you’re planning on booking flights together on the same flight, you should definitely start looking for flights early. You don’t want them to sell out all but 1 seat… but you really need 2. That’s happened before, and it’s tragic!

Submit Your Flight Info to Your Travel Agent!

For my groups, the submission is super duper easy!

All you have to do is literally forward me the confirmation email for your flights. 

As soon as you book your flight, double-check the details in your confirmation email, and then forward it along to me – allison@ttravelex.com. 

The main thing to remember is that there’s a due date for your flights, which can be found on your invoice, on the couple’s wedding website, and in several other places where I send you information. 🙂 As long as you send in your flights before this date, I will be able to arrange your ground transportation between the airport and resort (aka your transfer).

Ready to book flights for your trip?

I hope this guide has been helpful, and you’ve learned at least one thing about the best practices for booking flights! These are all tricks I use myself, and I know they’ll help you, too!

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please let me know!

Are you planning a destination wedding of your own? I’d love to help! Just click the link below to set up a free consultation call!