Sending Your Kid to College Out of State? Try these Travel Budget Hacks
How to save on flights, holiday travel, airport rides, and all those trips home.
“Wait... it costs how much to fly home for Thanksgiving?”
If your kid is heading to college out of state, you may have carefully planned for tuition, housing, meal plans, books, and dorm supplies. But another expense can add thousands of dollars over four years: getting your kid home.
Flights, baggage fees, airport transportation, holiday pricing, and unexpected trips can all add up. The bright side though, is that travel is one area where planning and flexibility can help.
My friend Mark Ostermann of Miles to Memories has spent years writing about traveling well while staying within a family budget. One line of his has always stuck with me: “The cost to do it is small, but the payoff is big!”
I think that's a useful mindset for our college kids, too. Travel doesn't always have to mean the most perfect, the ideal convenient flight, the closest airport, or an Uber every time. Sometimes being willing to compare, share, and plan can leave more money for the next trip.
1. Build a College Travel Budget (Before You Need One)
Estimate how many trips home your student may make each year:
Thanksgiving
Winter break
Spring break
Summer
Family events
An occasional unexpected trip
If a round-trip flight averages $300 and your student flies home four times, that's already $1,200 a year before baggage fees and airport transportation.
Create a separate college travel budget rather than treating every trip as an unexpected expense.
I also like the idea of keeping a little “get home if I need to” money separate from everyday spending.
2. When to Book Thanksgiving & Winter Break Flights
Thanksgiving and winter break aren't surprise events. They're on the academic calendar.
As soon as your student knows their class and exam schedule, start looking.
Recent Google Flights data found domestic Thanksgiving fares historically reached their lowest average about 35 days before departure, while Christmas fares reached their lowest average around 51 days before departure. These are historical averages, not predictions.
The lesson isn't to circle one perfect booking date.
It's to start watching early.
3. Forget the “Always Buy on Tuesday” Rule
There isn't much evidence that buying your ticket on one particular day creates meaningful savings.
Instead, watch the route early and compare different travel days.
If your student's schedule allows it, look at Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday departures in addition to busy weekend flights.
For college students, flexibility can be valuable.
4. Search More Than One Airport
This is one of my favorite travel-saving habits.
If there are multiple airports within reasonable driving distance of home or campus, search all of them.
Try:
Home Airport A → College Airport A
Home Airport A → College Airport B
Home Airport B → College Airport A
Home Airport B → College Airport B
Then calculate the total trip cost.
Saving $150 on airfare isn't much of a savings if the farther airport adds $100 in gas, parking, tolls, or transportation.
Teach your student to compare airfare plus ground transportation.
5. Use Technology to Track Fares
Set price alerts for the routes your student is most likely to fly.
Once the academic calendar is available, consider tracking Thanksgiving, winter break, and spring break.
You don't need to check fares every morning. Let technology do some of the watching for you.
6. Compare the Real Cost of the Ticket
A $189 flight isn't necessarily cheaper than a $219 flight.
Add:
Checked bags
Carry-on fees, if applicable
Seat-selection charges
Airport transportation
Parking
Gas and tolls
Change restrictions
This is a good college money lesson in itself:
Don't just compare prices. Compare total costs.
7. Could an Airline Credit Card Make Sense?
If your family repeatedly flies the same airline, you might compare an airline credit card that includes benefits such as checked bags.
But do the math.
Look at the annual fee, baggage benefit, how frequently you'll use the airline, and the card's current terms.
And don't spend just to earn miles.
If normal, budgeted purchases earn rewards, fine. But spending $100 you weren't planning to spend to earn a few dollars of rewards doesn't move the family forward.
Let miles come from spending you already planned.
8. Authorized User vs. Student Credit Card: Which Makes Sense?
Before your student applies for another credit card, look at what the family already has.
A parent or loved one may be able to add the student as an authorized user on an existing card.
Depending on the card, eligible everyday purchases may earn rewards.
Have the money conversation first.
What's the card for? What's the spending limit? Who pays the bill? What qualifies as an emergency?
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes that purchases made by an authorized user are authorized charges, and the primary account holder can be responsible for them.
9. No Car? Get Creative
Your student doesn't necessarily need a car to get around campus.
Check for:
Campus airport shuttles
Vanpools
Carpools
Public buses
Trains
Student ride boards
Car-sharing programs
Shared airport transportation
Four students going to the same airport can split a ride. Someone driving toward your hometown may welcome help with gas.
This is where Mark Ostermann's point resonates with me. He has written about growing up in a family that found inexpensive ways to travel and explore.
His experience was that you didn't necessarily need a large travel budget to make travel meaningful. (Miles to Memories)
Ask around before automatically opening the rideshare app.
10. Pack Light When You Can
For shorter trips, consider whether your student really needs a checked bag.
Leave some basics at home if they'll be traveling back regularly.
A carry-on can mean fewer fees, less time at baggage claim, and more flexibility when plans change.
That flexibility can occasionally become valuable.
11. Know What to Do When a Flight Is Oversold
Popular holiday flights sometimes become oversold.
Airlines must first seek volunteers before involuntarily denying boarding. An airline may offer money, travel credits, or other compensation to passengers willing to give up their seats and take later flights.
If your student's schedule is flexible, watch the airline app and listen at the gate.
Before volunteering, ask:
What exactly am I receiving?
Cash or travel credit?
Does the credit expire?
Are there restrictions?
What flight am I being moved to?
Do I have a confirmed seat, or am I on standby?
If I'm delayed overnight, what happens with meals, lodging, and transportation?
The U.S. Department of Transportation recommends understanding the conditions before voluntarily giving up a confirmed seat.
A meaningful travel credit could potentially help cover another trip home, depending on future fares and the terms of the credit.
But don't plan your travel around getting bumped.
Think of it as an occasional opportunity when your schedule already gives you flexibility.
12. Give Your Student Ownership of the Travel Budget
This may be the most important part.
Don't do everything for them.
Have your student compare airports.
Let them track fares.
Ask them to calculate baggage fees.
Have them research the airport shuttle.
Let them figure out whether splitting a ride with three friends is less expensive than taking a rideshare alone.
Give them a travel budget to work within.
Because we're not only trying to get our kids home for Thanksgiving.
We're teaching them how to plan, compare choices, use technology, understand credit, work within a budget, and adjust when circumstances change.
Those skills may be worth considerably more than the airline miles.
And hopefully, somewhere along the way, they'll also learn to text us their flight number.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should I budget for a college student's travel home each year?
It depends on how often they fly, but a good starting point is to multiply an average round-trip fare by the number of expected trips (Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, summer, plus a buffer for unexpected trips). At $300 a flight and four trips a year, that's already $1,200 before baggage fees or airport rides.
When should I book Thanksgiving and winter break flights?
Start watching fares as soon as your student's class and exam schedule is set. Historically, Thanksgiving fares have trended lowest around 35 days before departure, and Christmas fares around 51 days out — but these are historical averages, not guarantees, so it pays to start early and track prices rather than wait for a "perfect" date.
Is it true that Tuesday is the cheapest day to book flights?
Not really, there's little solid evidence that one specific booking day saves meaningfully more than others. It's more effective to watch a route over time and compare multiple departure days, including weekdays, if your student's schedule allows flexibility.
Should I add my college student as an authorized user on my credit card instead of them getting their own?
It can be an option worth considering, especially if the family already has a card with useful travel or baggage benefits. Just know that as the primary account holder, you're generally responsible for charges the authorized user makes — so it's worth having a clear conversation about spending limits and what counts as an emergency before adding them.
What if my student doesn't have a car at school — how do they get to the airport?
There are usually more options than a rideshare app: campus shuttles, vanpools, carpools, public buses or trains, student ride boards, and car-sharing programs. Splitting a ride with other students headed to the same airport can also cut costs significantly.
What should my student know if their flight is oversold?
Airlines have to ask for volunteers before bumping anyone involuntarily, and may offer compensation like cash or travel credit. Before volunteering to give up a seat, it's worth asking exactly what's being offered, whether it's cash or credit, if it expires, what flight they'd be rebooked on, and whether they'd have a confirmed seat or standby status.
For general educational purposes only. Airfares, airline policies, credit-card rewards, fees, and travel benefits vary and can change. Review current airline and card terms before making financial or travel decisions. Credit cards involve borrowing, and interest and fees may outweigh the value of rewards when balances are carried.
The attribution is based on Ostermann's own 2022 essay for Miles to Memories, where he describes how his parents taught him to travel and explore on a limited family budget. (Miles to Memories)
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