Mexico deal alert: Fly to Puerto Vallarta for as low as $220 round-trip

While many travelers are always on the lookout for great deals to Cancun, Mexico, the country has plenty of other great destinations full of luxurious resorts and beach access. One such place is Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s west coast. And right now, you can find some great deals from a handful of U.S. cities that could bolster your fall calendar or allow you to escape to a warmer climate for a few days during the cold winter months.

Airfare from several U.S. cities to Puerto Vallarta is going for under $300 round-trip right now, and in some cases well below that mark: we found a $220 out of New York City, for instance.

There are tons of great places to stay at the Mexican destination, including the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta, the Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa and the Westin Resort and Spa, Puerto Vallarta.

If a stop in Mexico City along the way is of interest, you could fly Mexican flagship carrier Aeromexico, a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, and make a lengthier stop in the capital city, though a long layover is certainly not a requirement to find a good deal.

Thanks to Scott’s Cheap Flights for flagging the bargain airfare to Puerto Vallarta. For memberships starting at $49 annually, you’ll get alerts on economy deals. For a membership starting at $199, you’ll get premium economy and business-class deals.

November and early December are great times to travel with thinner crowds in airports and at destinations, and with the weather getting a lot cooler in much of the U.S., jetting off to a warm location makes it even better.

Deal Basics

Airlines: American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Aeromexico.

Routes: New York, Austin, Houston, Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta.

Travel Dates: November-December 2022, with some January-February 2023 availability depending on your home city.

How to book: Directly with the airline.

Sample Flights

We took note of flight deals to Puerto Vallarta for under $300 round-trip. We found a combination of nonstop flights and those with a connection, with a focus on short layovers. However, if you’d like to spend 10 hours touring Austin or a day in Mexico City, you could definitely find an itinerary to work for you.

Here are a few of the routes and prices we found:

• New York to Puerto Vallarta for $220 on JetBlue
• Austin to Puerto Vallarta for $230 on American
• Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta for $260 on United
• Houston to Puerto Vallarta for $277 on Aeromexico

Let’s start with a look at the New York itinerary. This trip comes in early November, with a departure and return on Tuesday. As we know, booking trips that involve flights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays can be a great way to save on airfare, and you certainly do here.

Departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), the mid-morning departure for the 5-hour, 45-minute nonstop flight gets you into Mexico around 2:15 p.m. local time.

While New York probably wins for the most availability in this deal price range, Austin may be second. Here’s an itinerary for the very beginning of November aboard American Airlines. For $230 round trip, you get the nonstop flights of just two hours in each direction, getting you into Puerto Vallarta mid-morning on the outbound trip.

There’s quite a bit of availability out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) aboard Aeromexico, but we found some availability on major domestic carriers, too, including this round trip out of LAX with nonstop flights aboard United Airlines. This itinerary is for just after the new year.

Meanwhile, Aeromexico will definitely be your best bet departing from the Houston area. Also, for both LAX and Houston, the best deals actually trended more toward winter, with the lowest prices in January and February.

You’ll have stops in Mexico City of around two hours and one hour respectively on the outbound and return trips.

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, which earns 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). The Citi Premier® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve earn 3 points per dollar on airfare, and the American Express® Gold Card also earns 3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel. Meanwhile, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card earns 2 points per dollar on travel.

Bottom line

Puerto Vallarta will stay warm, it’s easy to get to and the prices on flights to the Mexican destination are currently low. If you’ve been hunting around for the right fall or winter getaway, this is definitely something to consider.