Book now: Flights to Tahiti on major sale

Though winter is in full swing (I write this as it’s snowing outside), here’s an opportunity to book a last-minute getaway to a warm-weather destination — and the beaches of Tahiti sound oh-so-good right about now.

Round-trip flights to Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, start at just $551 from Los Angeles. Flights are also available from the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle for less than $720, some of the lowest prices we’ve seen on this route.

These flights are for trips this month and in February, so what are you waiting for?

Deal basics

SCOTT’S CHEAP FLIGHTS

Airlines: Air France, Delta and United.
Routes: From Los Angeles; Oakland, California; San Francisco; and Seattle to Papeete, Tahiti.
How to book: Browse Google Flights and book directly with the airline.
Travel dates: January-February.
Book by: Two-three days.

Scott’s Cheap Flights originally sent out this deal. The site sends deals up to 90% off via its Premium membership, which users can try for free for 14 days and then costs $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 flights

This deal only includes flights from the West Coast. Since the deal is so good, it may be worth booking a domestic flight to one of the West Coast airports first in order to reach Tahiti. At the time of publication, the following round-trip flights to Faaa International Airport (PPT) are available:

From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), starting at $551.
From San Francisco International Airport (SFO), starting at $558.
From Oakland International Airport (OAK), starting at $603.
From Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), starting at $716.

Flights from LAX, OAK and SEA are available on Delta and Air France, while those from SEA and SFO are also available on United.

GOOGLE FLIGHTS

Related: Complete guide to sailing from Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia

Note that flights from OAK and SEA will likely include a layover at LAX.

These fares are for the carrier’s equivalent of basic economy, which includes one free carry-on but charges between $55 and $60 (each way) for your first checked bag. Most basic economy tickets cannot be changed and are nonrefundable, but they can be canceled for a fee. So, be sure to check the terms of your specific fare type when booking.

Maximize your purchase

If you book this deal, don’t forget to use a credit 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, Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare) 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

With flights to this route normally exceeding $1,300 round-trip, this is a fantastic deal.