You can travel between NYC and D.C. for just 99 cents with new FlixBus promotion
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Do you have some early 2020 travel lined up and a dollar to spare? Are you a college student needing to travel between school and home, or a budget traveler looking for a cheap ticket for a New York City day trip?
If so, bus company FlixBus has some great deals for you. From now through December 22, all FlixBus tickets in the U.S. are just 99 cents for travel between January 6 to March 15. What does that mean? You can score tickets between major cities across the U.S. for just $2 round-trip, plus a service fee.
FlixBus said it's offering the dirt-cheap tickets to "encourage green travel in 2020."
“The new year — and the start of a new decade at that, invokes the desire to start anew and lead a bolder, more adventurous kind of life,” said managing director Pierre Gourdain in a statement. “We’re hoping with this sale we’ll get people to leave their comfort zone, get out of their cars, and start exploring the world around them.”
FlixBus, similar to low-cost bus option MegaBus, offers an affordable alternative to travel in the U.S. and Europe with availability in over 100 cities and university campuses. Budget travelers, families, recent grads and college students alike can score great deals all around the U.S. Megabus recently ran a similar promotion earlier on Cyber Monday, when it gave away 200,000 free one-way tickets for travel between Jan and February 2020.
Review: FlixBus, From Munich to Stuttgart Airport in Germany
A quick search on FlixBus's website, which is pretty easy to navigate, showed widespread 99 cent availability for nonstop routes between New York City and Washington, New Orleans to Houston, and Los Angeles to San Francisco. Make sure to play with dates and times to get the best schedule that works for you.
The FlixBus fleet averages 1-2 years old, the company says, with complimentary onboard WiFi, power outlets at every seat, and the option to make travel carbon-neutral during booking. You can book tickets online, via the FlixBus app, or in person at any FlixShop location. Keep in mind that all bookings incur a $2 service fee.
In 2013, FlixBus launched in Germany and since then, the coach bus company has been disrupting conventional European travel (i.e., trains from European city to European city). Now, Europe’s largest bus network has a goal of changing long-distance travel in the U.S.
TPG's Katie Genter took FlixBus in 2017 between Munich and Stuttgart Airport and was impressed by the fast trip and comfortable seats. However, make sure you book your ticket using a card with trip delay and protection coverage, as FlixBus can be subject to significant delays. Many of the top travel rewards credit cards offer some form of trip delay or trip cancellation/interruption coverage, so take a look at some of the best cards below.
Best credit cards for trip cancellation and interruption protection
- Chase Sapphire Reserve: Excellent all-around travel protections and earning, and up to $10,000 per covered person with a maximum of $20,000 per trip
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Excellent all-around travel protections and up to $10,000 per covered person with a maximum of $20,000 per trip — all with a $95 annual fee.
- IHG Rewards Traveler Credit Card: Up to $5,000 per covered person with a maximum of $10,000 per trip for no annual fee
- Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card: A non-Chase card with a $95 annual fee that provides up to $5,000 per person in coverage that will cover a wide range of non-refundable expenses