Travel Tuesday tips (and credit cards) that help you save any time of year

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Travel Tuesday can be a great time to book your summer vacation and save a chunk of money. But how do you know you're actually getting an advertised 30% or 50% off a flight, hotel or car rental? Prices change frequently and vary based on when you travel or where you're going, making it difficult to calculate a discount when the baseline cost is constantly shifting. And that's not accounting for the possibility of AI pricing tools.

To be clear, there are great deals on Travel Tuesday, but they can have limited availability and get scooped up fast. You don't want to dump your savings into a limited-time offer, only to find out about blackout dates or other restrictions after the fact. Instead, use these tips and credit card perks to help you secure the best deal, regardless of when you're booking.

Travel Tuesday is the Black Friday or Cyber Monday for travel deals. It takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and it's your chance to fight the online mobs for deals before they're swiped from the virtual shelves.

If you're planning to pay close attention to the event, be sure to start following your favorite travel sites and travel providers early. Just like with the Black Friday deals you can grab before Thanksgiving, travel discounts and bonuses may be available before Travel Tuesday officially begins.

Outside of being fast or lucky enough to snag a comically good deal on Tuesday, many of the strategies for taking advantage of Travel Tuesday are universal. You can follow this advice regardless of the time of year or day of the week.

1. Compare all your options

To get a great deal, or at least a better-than-average price, look at every airline that flies where you want to go. Google Flights is a great tool for reviewing most options in one place. You can filter your search in all the ways you expect: by airline, airline alliance, cabin, number of stops and more.

Plus, once you enter your departure and destination airports, you can click the date fields to view a price calendar. This makes it easy to see how prices fluctuate based on your departure and return dates.

Google Flights shows you whether carry-on or checked bags are included and any relevant fees. However, those costs aren't included in the price displayed in the search results. If you're booking an ultra-low-cost airline or a no-frills ticket, be sure to factor in add-ons.

2. Be flexible

Booking the cheapest flight is more art than science. When you travel and where you go are two of the biggest factors in determining a ticket price. If you can be flexible with your travel dates, destination or even the arrival or departure airport, you can save significant cash.

Traveling during a shoulder season or off-season can be much cheaper, but that's not always a reasonable option. In that case, flying during a less popular day of the week can help. It varies by destination, but leaving or arriving on a Tuesday or Wednesday can be cheaper than traveling on a weekend day.

If you're not set on a specific location, you can cherry-pick the cheapest flights. You may want to relax on a tropical beach that's in a U.S. timezone; in that scenario, you have dozens of options to compare. If you're itching to hit the slopes this winter, the Salt Lake City area is great, but you may have just as much fun in Colorado, Vermont or Lake Tahoe, California.

Think of it this way: The less specific you are with where you go, the cheaper you'll be able to get there.

3. Look at one-way and round-trip flights

Round-trip flights are often cheaper than booking two one-way flights, except when they're not. Take a look at how the cost changes when you split your travel into multiple reservations. This gives you the flexibility to book different airlines in each direction. If you're booking multiple one-way flights, pay attention to change or cancellation fees. While they don't always apply, with two reservations, you could be on the hook for double the fees if your plans change.

If you're traveling to multiple destinations on the same trip, price out what is known as open-jaw flights. This is a strategy in which your arrival and return airports are different: You depart from city A to city B and return from city C to city A. This is especially helpful if you're flying internationally with miles, since taxes and fees can vary dramatically between airports or countries.

A good rewards credit card can help you save on travel in more ways than just earning a few points or a bit of cash back on trips. Of course, what your credit card can do for you varies depending on which card you have.

Award flights and discounts

One of the most valuable ways to use travel rewards is to book award flights. When you book a flight with miles or points, you typically only pay the taxes and fees, which are $5.60 each way for domestic flights (with most U.S.-based loyalty programs). If you're booking international flights, the taxes will be higher, but so will your savings.

If you want a travel card that offers a little bit of everything, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a great option for earning rewards that you can transfer to partner airlines and hotels. But if navigating complicated travel loyalty programs isn't for you, you can still easily use your miles for your next vacation by redeeming them at 1 cent each to offset travel charges.

You can also save using card-linked offers with most of the major credit card issuers. After activation, these targeted deals let you receive a discount or extra rewards with a qualifying purchase. These can apply to airlines, hotels, rental cars and other travel expenses and are available for eligible cards issued by Bank of America, Chase, American Express, Wells Fargo and more.

Fees

The sticker price of your flight isn't always the final cost, so be sure to factor in fees when comparing prices. Co-branded airline credit cards can help offset or eliminate many of these extra costs.

All major U.S.-based airlines charge for checked bags, but they also offer credit cards that can eliminate those fees. For example, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card grants the primary cardholder and up to eight people traveling on the same Delta reservation a first checked bag at no charge (saving up to $70 per person on a round-trip Delta flight)for worldwide Delta flights and get a second bag free when flying domestically.  The United℠ Explorer Card (see rates and fees) provides a free first checked bag on eligible United flights (when you pay for the flight with the card) for the primary cardholder and one companion.

If you check bags on just a couple of trips a year, these cards can easily pay for themselves. The main caveat is that the benefit only applies to flights with that airline, so if you find a better deal elsewhere, you may be stuck paying for your checked luggage.

Insurance

It is rare to make a big purchase without being asked whether you want to add an extended warranty or pay for additional protection. However, the right credit card can save you the hassle of deciding whether paying for travel insurance is worth it, since it may offer it at no additional cost.

The best travel credit cards come with a variety of coverages, including insurance for trip delays, lost luggage, delayed luggage, travel accidents, trip cancellations and interruptions and more. These aren't universal benefits, and the level of coverage varies. It's important to read your card's benefits guide and understand what you have.

For top-tier insurance, you'll need a premium credit card, and one of the best is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees). It offers all of the insurance perks mentioned above, plus primary rental car coverage, roadside assistance, emergency evacuation and transportation, emergency medical and dental benefits and shopping protections.

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For rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here.