Travel Tip Tuesday: If You Have Upcoming Travel Plans, Buy Your Flights This Week

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

(Photo from here)

Getting your junk touched is about to get more expensive when the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) raises its rates next week.  The current TSA rates, set in 2002, are $2.50 for direct one-way tickets and $5 if your one-way ticket has a connection.  Round trip tickets are capped at $10.  The new rates will not be so simple.  Direct one-ways will be $5.60 but if you have a connection longer than 4 hours flying within the contiguous U.S. (12 hours if flying to Alaska, Hawaii, or internationally), you’ll incur another $5.60.  Direct round trip flights start at $11.20 and will incur an additional $5.60 for each lengthy connection similar to the one-way pricing.  Oh, there’s also no cap on the new fees.

If the rate hike doesn’t seem like a lot, it does quickly add up if you are a traveling as a family and you have multiple long layovers.  For instance, a family of 4 traveling RT within the US with a 4 hour layover previously paid $40 in TSA fees ($10 per ticket).  With the new rates, that same family will pay $89.60 ($22.40 per ticket).

The new rates go into effect for tickets purchased on or after 12AM ET, July 21.  If you have upcoming travel plans, buy your tickets this week and you won’t have to pay the new TSA rates regardless of when you’re flying.

Help me keep this series going!  If you have any travel tips, please email me at [email protected] and your tip may end up in a future post!