Thrifty Traveler Review: Exploring the World on a Budget

Oftentimes, when I tell people I travel over 100 days a year, their first question (and probably yours too) is, “HOW?!” The short answer: I combine a variety of budget travel hacks that make my trips far cheaper than you’d imagine. But the longer answer, and a key part of my strategy, includes using my Thrifty Traveler Premium subscription to find insanely cheap flights around the world.

Thrifty Traveler Premium has been one of the cornerstones of my travel strategy for years. Their team scours the web for flight deals, and I’ve personally reaped the rewards. Like the $180 roundtrip mistake fare I scored to Dublin, or the $330 flight to Barcelona that seemed too good to be true. And then there was the $400 business class fare to Peru, which I still can’t believe I snagged. On top of all that, they occasionally send out deals on points and miles redemptions, helping me stretch my travel rewards even further.

If you’re wondering whether this service could fit into your own travel plans, you’re in the right place. In this Thrifty Traveler review, I’m diving into everything that makes it one of my go-to tools for finding affordable flights. So whether you’re looking to travel internationally or score cheap domestic fares, you’ll find a deal. I’ve been a huge fan of their product for years, and I’m confident that after reading this, you’ll have a good sense of whether it’s the right fit for you, too.

Just a quick note: This page might include affiliate links. If you click and purchase anything from the links I receive a tiny commission to support this website. The good news? I only recommend products I actually use and believe in. So you're getting the best products at a super good price.

First, what is Thrifty Traveler?

Thrifty Traveler is a flight alert service that sends you deeply discounted domestic and international flight deals from around the world. Their Premium membership gives you access to cheap cash fares, mistake fares, and points-and-miles flight deals, helping you travel for less in a variety of ways.

Once you select which airports you want alerts from, Thrifty Traveler will start sending you personalized travel deals. These deals cover everything from economy to premium economy, business class, and even first-class seats. The best part? It’s all fully customizable, so you’ll only get alerts that match your preferred style of travel.

What I personally love about their business model is that you don’t have to pay extra to get access to points and miles deals or premium cabin fares. Everything is included in one singular package, making the Premium membership an incredible value.

In fact, you’ll likely cover the cost of your subscription after booking just one discounted flight. And with Thrifty Traveler’s lifetime pricing guarantee, you’ll never pay more than the price you locked in when you first signed up—a huge win as flight prices continue to rise.

How does Thrifty Traveler Premium work?

Once you sign up for Thrifty Traveler’s Premium membership you’ll be guided through a step-by-step process to help you customize your alerts. This includes things like airports you’re willing to fly from, cabins you’re interested in flying, and if you’re interested in points and miles fares.

Once you set your customizable criteria you’ll start getting the best flight deals straight to your inbox and text alerts for the time sensitive deals (like mistake fares).

You’ll also have access to the Thrifty Traveler Premium webpage, which lets you customize criteria to see deals based on destination, month, and even price. This feature is great if you can only travel certain months of the year to find deals that fit your availability.

Once you find a deal you’re interested in you’ll see the Deal Summary. The summary includes helpful information about the type of fare class included in the deal and which airlines you’d be flying, too. Further down you’ll see the departure cities and instructions on how to book. Most helpful is a link to the Google Flights, which are pre-curated with the information provided.

Choosing more than your home airport

Keep in mind that Thrifty Traveler works best when you have the ability to think beyond your home airport. Thrifty Traveler uses a frequency of deals scale that based on your airport you can either find a lot or a few deals. Because of that many users opt to add what we call positioning airports, or airports you can cheaply and easily get to to take your longer flight and still save money.

For example, my home airport if Kansas City (MCI) but you can see I’ve included airports with High Deal Frequency. Most often I choose to fly from Chicago or New York. Personally, I usually use Point.Me to find points deals or cheap cash options to get to my longer, international flight with my Thrifty Traveler deal. I then stay at a Hyatt on points for my overnight, making my positioning flight super cheap.

Thrifty Traveler Premium’s features (what’s included)

Domestic and international flight deals

Thrifty Traveler will send you via email flight deals that rank as some of the best offers in airfare. Deals are usually 40%+ off the traditional flight price for the route.

Choice of departure airport

Thrifty Traveler works for over 200+ departure airports in the US and Canada. Meaning, your home airport and positioning airports will be included to find deals from.

Economy, business and first class deals

You can customize the deals that work for you but you have the option to receive all classes of service. I’ve taken advantage of international business class deals (like $400 business class to Peru) and international economy deals, too.

Points and miles award deals

In addition to cash deals Thrifty Traveler includes points and miles deals in their Premium membership. This gives you economy and business class deals with your travel points and helpful guides on how transfer them to book the award, too.

Texts for “unicorn” and mistake fares

Deals that are just that good are sent to you directly via text message so you don’t miss the offer. This includes mistake fares, where airlines accidentally code the fare wrong. These offers generally have to be booked quickly, and getting an alert via text is the best way to make sure you don’t miss them.

Card consulting

Your Premium membership also includes free card consulting, which helps you find the best travel rewards cards for your lifestyle.

Is Thrifty Traveler Premium right for me?

Thrifty Traveler’s subscription is right for a lot of people, but not everyone. The biggest hurdle is having some sort of flexibility for deals to line up with your schedule. The more flexible you are with travel dates, or perhaps taking a positioning flight, the better your options are when it comes to the frequency and quality of the deals offered.

Those with school-aged kids or tight work schedules might find the amount of deals offered are less than ideal. Not to say you won’t find deals but many might not apply due to the flexibility required to take advantage of them.

In addition, it’s important that you are open-minded in where you want to travel to. If you are only interested in getting a cheap flight deal to Cancun you can probably get that without Thrifty Traveler. Instead you could simply find that on your own with a Google Flights alert. Thrifty Traveler is made for those interested in finding the best deals, regardless of the destination.

But if you are willing to pay the annual fee you’ll find that taking just one deal offered will more than makes up for the cost of your membership.

Keep in mind: Thrifty Traveler is for the US and Canada departure airports.

But what if I don’t have travel credit cards?

If you’re not into travel credit cards or don’t collect points and miles, no worries! Thrifty Traveler is still incredibly useful. Personally, I primarily take advantage of the cash deals they offer. It’s so easy to tailor the deals to your needs.

You can simply turn off notifications for points and miles deals, ensuring your subscription is tailored to cash flight deals. This makes it perfect for travelers who just want to find affordable flights without diving into the world of rewards programs.

However, if you’re curious about getting started with points and miles, Thrifty Traveler can still be a valuable resource. Their points and miles guides are straightforward and easy to follow, even for beginners.

Plus, the points deals they send are often linked to practical, step-by-step explanations of how to redeem your rewards. Whether you’re already well-versed in using points or just getting started, Thrifty Traveler makes it easy to maximize your travel savings. With their help, you can better understand how to leverage your points for deeply discounted flights and even premium travel experiences.

Is Thrifty Traveler Premium worth it?

Absolutely. I’ve been using Thrifty Traveler Premium for many years now, and it’s still my number one recommendation for anyone looking to travel more while paying less. Thanks to their deals, I’ve been able to explore the world in ways I never thought possible. Without their timely email alerts, I wouldn’t have visited nearly as many incredible places as I have.

The value I’ve gotten from this service is unmatched, and I genuinely believe it can be a game changer for anyone looking to travel on a budget.

If you’re serious about traveling more and saving money on flights, Thrifty Traveler Premium is worth every penny. The annual fee pays for itself after booking just one flight deal. For instance, I scored a $180 mistake fare to Dublin, Ireland—on a flight that normally costs around $500. That’s hundreds of dollars saved on just one trip.

Imagine how much you could save over the course of a year! Whether you’re hunting for international deals or affordable domestic flights, this service consistently delivers incredible value. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to make travel more affordable and accessible.

Are there any alternatives to Thrifty Traveler?

Thrifty Traveler isn’t the only flight alerts service on the market. In fact, there are many! Going and Dollar Flight Club are the top alternatives but options like FareDrop and Jack’s Flight Club are also options.

I’ve used all the products and have found Thrifty Traveler’s quality and frequency of deals combined with the opportunity to receive points deals and helpful tutorials to make it the best value. Plus, Thrifty Traveler locks in your price for as long as you have your membership.

Helpful tips for traveling on a budget

• Get started traveling the world for nearly free with this helpful guide to budget travel hacking
• Travel rewards cards are a great way to earn points and miles on your daily spend – here are my favorites
• How to find cheap flights anywhere in the world with this guide