I am still working on plans for a Montreal and Quebec visit in May and I have a question. I can fly free on Southwest miles from LAX or Long Beach to a North/Midwest city to maybe snag a short/frequent/cheaper flight into either Canadian city. My points won't work on any of the airlines that fly into Canada. Does anyone know which cities in the US are good for a cheap flight to either one? I figure the upper Midwest (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St/ Paul) to Montreal would be good for this plan. Even Chicago might have good deals to Montreal. Thanks for any tips!
Posted by
Irving
3326 posts
Milwaukee with a change in Chicago to Montreal appears to be the cheapest fare.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
9079 posts
I think Southwest does fly to Albany.
Posted by
OP
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1531 posts
Thank you. Milwaukee to Chicago to Montreal sounds like one too many changes from LAX. I have Southwest miles, so I will look for airline fares from Chicago and Albany.
Fingers crossed! Covid put the kibosh on my planned 2020 trip. Finally able to head north!
Posted by
Los Angeles
1264 posts
If you aren't in a hurry, Amtrak has service from Albany to Montreal.
Posted by
OP
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1531 posts
Interesting! Might consider the train!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34336 posts
there are connecting Canadian trains from Montréal to Québec. It isn't far
Posted by
44 posts
Geographically, the closest destinations to Montreal that Southwest flies to are Albany, Portland or Boston. You’ll probably have an easier time finding a direct flight from LAX to Boston and then getting a connection from a different airline to Montreal or Quebec City.
Posted by
OP
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1531 posts
Oh, Cindy B, thank you. I will do some redirecting of my search.
Posted by
Virginia
318 posts
I would be careful about making any assumptions that flying to Canada from the East or Midwest will be cheaper than from LA. Geographically closer doesn’t necessarily mean cheaper. Airfare pricing often doesn’t work that way as many other factors are involved. I was curious so I did a quick Expedia search picking a random time frame (May 6-13) to fly to Montreal round trip from either LAX or Boston. Result: LAX about $500, Boston about $600. That is just one snapshot, but it suggests you might save time and money by flying directly to Canada from where you are and saving the SW miles for another trip.
Posted by
OP
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1531 posts
Slate, thanks for that info. Looks like I will try Google flights again.
Posted by
12 posts
I don't fly Southwest so I'm not sure where they go, but getting from Toronto or Montreal to the US- especially the Midwest can be (randomly) quite pricey- I would be careful of betting on a cheap flight!
Albany to Montreal is probably a decent bet, train or bus can be pretty good options sometimes. Porter flies at least 5 times a day from Boston to Montreal direct, but I wouldn't be surprised if the cheaper flights from Detroit to Montreal stop in Toronto (which would fine, just annoying!)
I know not quite what you are after but Buffalo and Detroit are quite close to Toronto and the bus is pretty cheap from either city- just for reference I usually expect to pay between 400-600$ CAD for roundtrips Toronto-Chicago.