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Save money by booking flights for less than $400 to Costa Rica through November

Caroline Tanner
Articles
Caroline Tanner covers news and travel for TPG. She is a journalism graduate of Mizzou and Northwestern.
May 10, 2022
•
5 min read
Sunset above the Central Valley of San Jose in Costa Rica
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Although you may be focusing on summer travel planning at the moment, Costa Rica is a perfect getaway in the fall and winter, which makes this deal with flights reaching into November one to book now.

Flights from across the U.S. to San José are available starting at $250 round trip and go up from there, though you won't find a flight in this deal above $400.

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(Photo by Marco Bonacini/EyeEm/Getty Images)

Deal basics

Airlines: Avianca, JetBlue, American Airlines.
Routes: Atlanta/Baltimore/Boston/Cleveland/Denver/Evansville, Indiana/Houston/Miami/New York City/Philadelphia/San Francisco/Wichita, Kansas and others to SJO.
How to book: Directly through the airline.
Travel dates: Sept.-Nov. 2022, exact availability varies by route.
Book by: 1-2 days.

Props to Scott’s Cheap Flights for sending us this deal. Sign up for a Premium membership and get deals up to 90% off, which users can try for free for 14 days or $49 per year. You can also upgrade to the Elite tier for $199 per year and receive all the Premium deals plus premium economy, business-class and first-class alerts.

Sample routes

This deal is unique in that it includes departing flights from nearly 70 U.S. cities, including many smaller Midwestern airports and cities in the South and Northeast (with layovers), along with major airports.

Round-trip flights include those departing from:

  • Miami International Airport (MIA), starting at $186.
  • New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), starting at $253.
  • Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) in New York, starting at $264.
  • Westchester County Airport (HPN) in New York, starting at $267.
  • Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), starting at $274.
  • Washington, D.C.'s Dulles International Airport (IAD), starting at $286.
  • San Francisco International Airport (SFO), starting at $298.
  • Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) and Eppley Airfield (OMA) in Omaha, Nebraska, starting at $327.
  • John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Santa Ana, California, and Tuscon International Airport (TUS) in Arizona, starting at $338.
  • Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) in Kentucky and Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA) in Indiana, starting at $370.
  • Tulsa International Airport (TUL) in Oklahoma, starting at $372.

Because this deal is so wide-reaching, it makes sense to begin your search by entering your origin city in Google Flights and playing with dates from there. If you're coming from a place not usually highlighted as having transatlantic flights, such as Peoria, Illinois, for example, this could be a good deal for you.

Related: Rest and relaxation, rainforest edition: Los Altos Resort in Costa Rica, part of Hyatt

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(Screenshot from Google Flights)

Take this flight the first week of February from General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) for $369 round-trip. It's even better than the lower-priced flights from similar cities because it is flying American Airlines' basic economy class, which, unlike most basic economy fare types, includes full-sized checked luggage.

(Screenshot from Google Flights)

If you come across a flight on one of the other included carriers, note that the cheapest fares on Avianca and JetBlue do not include a full-sized carry on, thus restricting passengers who book Avianca's Basic Travel/S fare or JetBlue's Basic Blue to one personal item that fits underneath the seat in front of you.

(Screenshot from Avianca)

To check a bag, consider upgrading to Avianca's More Comfort/M fare for $50 each way. If you want to check a bag on JetBlue and have a Basic Blue or Blue ticket, you can pay $35 to check your first bag.

(Screenshot from Avianca)

Maximize your purchase

Don’t forget to use a card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), Citi Prestige® Card (5 points per dollar on airfare), Citi Premier® Card, (see rates and fees) Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar on travel). Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.

The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

This deal presents an opportunity to save by booking in advance for a trip later this year. If you want something to look forward to while saving money at the same time, this deal is for you.

Read more: Welcome to the jungle: How I redeemed 100,000 Chase points to book a Costa Rica trip of a lifetime

Featured image by Getty Images/iStockphoto
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.