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With palm trees, sand and clear blue waters, Costa Rica is a perfect tropical retreat at any time of the year, so book your flights to a slice of paradise for less than $400.

These bargain fares are for flights to the Costa Rican cities of San Jose and Liberia. They apply to trips taking place from November through December, along with some additional availability from January through September 2023.

Multiple airlines are offering these reduced fares, so make sure to get your tickets within the next couple of days.

Deal basics

Airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Avianca, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines.
Routes: Austin, Boston, Las Vegas, Nashville, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Washington and other cities have discounted routes to San Jose and Liberia.
How to book: Find your ideal dates through Google Flights, then book your tickets directly with the airline of your choice.
Travel dates: Generally from November through December, with some additional availability from January through September; dates vary by route, and holidays are excluded.
Book by: The next one to two days.

Scott’s Cheap Flights flagged this deal. Sign up for the site’s Premium membership to receive discounts of up to 90%; the membership also comes with a 14-day free trial and costs $49 a year. The site’s Elite membership also highlights premium, business-class and first-class deals.

Sample flights

This bundle of discounted flights does not feature a ton of routes, but it does include options from a lot of smaller cities like Buffalo, New York, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Here are some highlights:

• JetBlue: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Guanacaste Airport (LIR), starting at $329.
• Delta: Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to LIR, starting at $343 (includes a layover in Atlanta).
• Delta: Dulles International Airport (IAD) to LIR, starting at $344 (includes a layover in Atlanta).
• Alaska: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), starting at $356.
• Delta: Nashville International Airport (BNA) to SJO, starting at $386 (includes a layover in Atlanta).
• American: Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) to SJO, starting at $389 (includes a layover in Dallas-Fort Worth).

When booking your flights, we recommend searching through Google Flights to determine your best dates. Then, book your tickets on the airline’s website since airlines are more reliable if your flight experiences a cancellation, delay or booking change.

For a Sept. 17 flight to San Jose from Los Angeles, Google Flights shows the Alaska flight priced at $356 as the most inexpensive option. Delta also offers a flight to San Jose on that same day, but it’s slightly more expensive at $396.

If you’re returning to Los Angeles a week later, on Sept. 24, Alaska has a flight that departs San Jose at 1:30 a.m., which may be slightly inconvenient, but it keeps the fare at $356.

All the fares featured in this group of marked-down flights only apply to the basic economy option. In this case, basic economy for Alaska is the airline’s Saver option, and it does not include seat selection. Passengers flying under the Saver fare also cannot make changes to their flights, and they are the last to board. So, you may also experience a lack of overhead bin space for your carry-on if your flight is full.

Despite these restrictions, this price point for a trip to San Jose is considered to be low, according to Google Flights; normally, the least expensive flights to the Costa Rican capital range from $930 to $2,050.

While some airlines’ basic economy fares still let you choose a seat on the plane for an additional fee, Alaska does not let its Saver customers choose a seat in the main cabin portion of the aircraft.

Maximizing your purchase

Make sure to use cards that earn bonus points on airfare purchases, like 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 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

All things considered, a flight to Costa Rica is definitely worth booking now, especially if you’re looking to travel somewhere that has beaches and sun.

Even though basic economy can be restrictive, many of these fares are discounted by almost 50%, so if you’re looking to save on travel, it’s definitely a worthy option. Just be sure to book these tickets as soon as you can since fare prices are subject to change quite frequently — you don’t want to miss out on a discount.