So I was talking to my friend Sarah last week, and she casually mentioned she’d just paid $230 for a roundtrip flight from New York to DC. For a one-hour flight. I literally choked on my coffee.

Here’s the thing—I fly this route constantly. Like, probably once a month at minimum. I’ve got friends in DC, I sometimes pick up freelance work there, and honestly, it’s just one of those trips I end up making all the time. And I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve paid more than $100 roundtrip.

The NYC-DC corridor is actually one of the easiest routes in the country to find cheap flights on, but for some reason, people keep overpaying. I think it’s because they assume trains are the budget option (they’re not, usually), or they just book whatever pops up first on Google without digging deeper. But trust me, if you know the tricks, you can fly this route for less than what most people spend on brunch.

Let me break down exactly how I do it, because once you see the pattern, you’ll never overpay for this flight again.

Why This Route Is Different (And Way Easier Than You Think)

The New York to DC route is weirdly special. You’ve got three major airports in the NYC area—JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark—and two real options in DC (Reagan and Dulles). That’s a lot of combinations, which means a lot of competition.

But here’s what makes this route extra interesting: it’s filled with business travelers who book last-minute and expense everything to their company. Airlines know this, so they keep some seats at ridiculous prices for those corporate folks. But they also need to fill the rest of the plane, which means there are always deals floating around if you’re not booking the day before travel.

I figured this out the hard way back in 2018 when I was flying down for a job interview. I panicked and booked three days in advance, paid $180, and then watched in horror as the guy next to me mentioned he’d paid $49 for the same flight. That was my wake-up call to actually learn how this route works.

The other weird thing about NYC-DC is that it’s short enough that some people take the train instead, which means airlines are constantly adjusting prices to compete with Amtrak. Sometimes they win that competition by dropping fares to absurdly low levels. We benefit from that price war.

LaGuardia to Reagan: The Secret Weapon Route

Okay, I’m just going to say it—LaGuardia to Reagan National is the best airport pairing for this trip, and I will die on this hill.

Everyone seems to default to JFK or Newark because they’re bigger and feel more “official” or whatever. But LaGuardia is way more convenient if you’re anywhere in Manhattan or western Queens, and Reagan is literally minutes from downtown DC. You can land at Reagan and be at a bar in Dupont Circle within 30 minutes if you time it right.

More importantly, though, the LaGuardia-Reagan route is where I find the best deals. Delta, American, and United all fly it multiple times a day, and they’re constantly undercutting each other. I’ve seen this route as low as $39 one-way during sales, and it’s pretty regularly under $70 if you’re booking even just two weeks out.

Last month, I needed to get to DC for a long weekend, and I found a Delta flight from LaGuardia to Reagan for $54 roundtrip. Fifty-four dollars. That’s less than the Acela train costs one-way, and I was there in an hour instead of three. Sometimes I feel like I’m getting away with something when I find prices like that.

The main catch with LaGuardia is that it’s, well, LaGuardia. It’s gotten better since the renovations, but it’s still kind of a chaotic airport. But for a one-hour flight where you’re just trying to get from Point A to Point B as cheaply as possible? Totally worth it.

The Tuesday-Thursday Afternoon Magic Window

I’m going to let you in on something I’ve noticed after tracking this route obsessively for way too long. Prices drop on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with shocking regularity.

I don’t know if it’s because that’s when airlines release their sales, or if it’s some weird algorithm thing, or what. But I’ve started checking prices every Tuesday and Thursday around 3 PM, and I consistently find better deals than when I check on weekends or Monday mornings.

There was this one time in September when I needed to fly to DC for a friend’s birthday party. I checked prices on a Sunday—cheapest option was $147. I checked again on Tuesday at 3:30 PM, and the exact same flight was $68. Same airline, same flight number, same seat selection. Just… cheaper.

Now I’ve basically trained myself to not book flights on weekends unless it’s genuinely urgent. If I need to fly NYC-DC, I wait until Tuesday or Thursday afternoon, check prices then, and usually save at least $50-80 compared to weekend pricing. It’s become this weird little ritual.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that early morning flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays tend to be cheaper than evening flights. I think it’s because business travelers want to fly evening flights so they can work a full day, which means those flights are more expensive. If you can stomach a 7 AM departure, you’ll almost always pay less.

Newark and JFK: When They Actually Make Sense

I’ve been pretty enthusiastic about LaGuardia, but Newark and JFK have their moments too. You just have to know when to use them.

Newark to Dulles on United can be stupidly cheap if you’re booking in advance and you happen to live in Jersey or somewhere that makes Newark convenient. I’ve seen roundtrips for under $80 pretty regularly. The downside is that Dulles is kind of far from central DC, and getting into the city from there adds time and money. But if you’re visiting someone in the suburbs or renting a car anyway, it might be worth it.

JFK is weird because it’s rarely the cheapest option, but sometimes it has the best flight times. Like if you need to leave New York at a specific hour and LaGuardia doesn’t have anything convenient, JFK might have exactly what you need for only $20-30 more. At that point, the convenience might be worth the extra cost.

I flew JFK to Reagan once last spring because I had a work thing that ended in Long Island, and getting to JFK was way easier than backtracking to LaGuardia. The flight was $89, which wasn’t my cheapest ever, but it saved me probably two hours of commuting across the city. Sometimes the math works out in unexpected ways.

The Amtrak Comparison Nobody Does Properly

Everyone’s always like “just take the train, it’s easier!” and I used to believe that until I actually started comparing the real costs and times.

The Acela from Penn Station to Union Station is like $180-250 depending on when you book. The regular Northeast Regional is cheaper at around $100-150, but it takes almost four hours. Meanwhile, I can fly LaGuardia to Reagan for $60-80, and door-to-door including airport time, I’m usually there in about 2.5 hours.

The train makes sense if you live really close to Penn Station and you need to work during the journey or you’re terrified of flying or whatever. But as a pure budget option? Flying wins most of the time.

I did the train once in 2020 when I thought it would be “scenic and relaxing.” It was fine, I guess, but I paid $130, and when I checked afterwards, there had been a $49 flight that same day. I felt like I’d been scammed by my own romantic notion of train travel.

That said, if you’re checking prices and the train happens to be cheaper, take the train. I’m not dogmatic about it. But definitely check flight prices first before assuming the train is your budget option.

Fare Alerts Are Your Best Friend on This Route

I cannot stress this enough—set up fare alerts for NYC to DC flights. This route has so many random sales and price drops that you’ll miss most of them if you’re just checking manually.

I use Google Flights alerts for LaGuardia to Reagan, and I’ve got a Scott’s Cheap Flights (sorry, “Going”) subscription that catches the really good deals. Between those two, I probably get alerted to a sale on this route at least twice a month.

Just last week, I got an alert about a Delta sale—LaGuardia to Reagan for $39 each way. I didn’t even need to fly anywhere, but I forwarded it to my group chat, and three people booked trips they’d been putting off because flights “were too expensive.” The deals are out there; you just need to know when they’re happening.

The key is to have some flexibility when you see a good deal. If you get an alert about a $45 flight but it’s only available for specific dates that don’t work for you, it’s useless. But if you see that alert and think “oh, I’ve been meaning to visit my friend in DC anyway,” you can jump on it and save a ton.

I’ve probably flown to DC at least six times just because I saw a ridiculously cheap fare and decided to make a spontaneous weekend trip out of it. Sometimes the deal creates the trip, you know?

Southwest’s Weird Schedule Thing You Need to Know About

Southwest doesn’t fly LaGuardia to Reagan, which is annoying, but they do fly Newark to Baltimore (BWI). And here’s where it gets interesting—BWI is technically closer to DC than you’d think, especially if you’re going to the northern parts of the city.

I’ve booked Southwest Newark to BWI a few times when I found crazy cheap fares, and if you’re meeting someone who has a car or you don’t mind taking the MARC train into the city, it can work out really well. I paid $49 roundtrip once, and the MARC train from BWI to Union Station was like $7. Total cost: $56 to get from New York to DC.

The catch is that BWI to downtown DC takes about 45 minutes on the train, so you’re adding time. But if you’re saving $100+ on the flight, sometimes that’s worth it.

Southwest also doesn’t show up on most flight comparison sites, so you have to check their website directly. I’ve missed deals because I forgot to check Southwest separately. Don’t make my mistake—always check them manually.

Points and Miles Actually Matter Here

This is one of those routes where credit card points are genuinely useful, even for budget travelers like us who aren’t trying to fly business class to Dubai or whatever.

I have the Delta SkyMiles card, and I’ve flown LaGuardia to Reagan completely free probably eight times in the past three years just using points from my regular spending. Delta points aren’t always the most valuable, but for short domestic flights like this, they’re perfect.

American and United both have similar programs, and honestly, the NYC-DC route is so competitive that you can usually book with points for super low amounts. I’ve seen one-way awards for as little as 5,000 miles during off-peak times. That’s nothing. You can earn that with one signup bonus pretty much.

The strategy I use is to save my points for last-minute trips or times when cash prices are high. Like if I need to fly tomorrow and fares are $200, I’ll use 7,500 points instead and feel like a genius. But if I’m booking three weeks out and I can get a $60 fare, I’ll just pay cash and save my points for later.

When to Actually Pay More (Yes, Really)

Look, I’m all about cheap flights, but sometimes the cheapest option is actually kind of stupid.

If you find a $39 flight that leaves at 5:45 AM, you need to ask yourself if waking up at 3:30 AM is really worth saving $30 compared to the 8 AM flight for $69. Personally, I value my sleep, so unless I’m really broke that month, I’ll pay the extra $30.

I also learned the hard way that spirit and Frontier can look cheap until you add in all the fees. That $35 base fare becomes $80 once you add a personal item, a regular carry-on, and seat selection. At that point, you might as well pay $85 for a Delta flight with better service and free carry-ons.

Last year, I booked a Frontier flight to save $25, and it was genuinely one of the worst flight experiences I’ve ever had. Cramped seats, terrible boarding process, and they tried to charge me for water. I’m not exaggerating. After that, I decided my sanity is worth at least $25 more than Frontier’s base fare.

My Actual Booking Process Start to Finish

These days, I’ve got a pretty dialed-in routine. When I know I need to fly NYC to DC, I immediately set up Google Flights alerts for LaGuardia to Reagan with flexible dates (usually plus or minus three days from when I want to go).

Then I check prices myself every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for about two weeks. I’ll look at LaGuardia to Reagan first, then Newark to Reagan, then maybe JFK if I’m feeling thorough. I also check Southwest separately for Newark to BWI just in case.

If I find anything under $80 roundtrip, I seriously consider booking. Under $60? I book immediately. I’ve been tracking this route long enough to know that $60 roundtrip is genuinely good, and it’s not going to drop much lower.

If I don’t find a good deal after two weeks of checking, I’ll reassess. Maybe I’ll shift my dates, or maybe I’ll decide to just take the train that one time. But honestly, that rarely happens. This route has so many flights and so much competition that there’s almost always a deal if you’re patient.

The biggest mistake I see people make is checking prices once, seeing something expensive, and then either overpaying or not taking the trip at all. Prices on this route change constantly—sometimes multiple times per day. You have to check multiple times to find the good stuff.

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Flying from NYC to DC is honestly one of the easiest routes to do cheaply if you just know where to look and when to book. I’ve made this trip dozens of times over the years, and I’ve never understood why people pay $200+ when there are literally always cheaper options available.

The LaGuardia to Reagan route is your best friend. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are your shopping times. Set up fare alerts so you don’t miss sales. And for the love of everything, check Southwest separately because they don’t show up on most comparison sites.

You’ll get there for way less than you think. And honestly? The smug satisfaction of boarding a flight knowing you paid a third of what most other passengers paid never gets old. Happy flying, and let me know when you score a ridiculously cheap fare—I’m always curious what deals are out there.

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