Tuesday, Twin Cities.
Three fares this week, all checked Monday afternoon: a cheap nonstop, a Christmas-week nonstop, and Rome for less than it should cost.
🎰 MSP → Las Vegas (LAS) — $127 round-trip
Sun Dec 6 – Sat Dec 12 · Frontier, nonstop · 3 hrs 45 min
A nonstop to Vegas for $127. Google puts the usual floor for this route at $145, so this is below the bottom of the normal range. Sun Country's nonstop on the same dates is $258.
Early December is a good window for Vegas: after Thanksgiving, before the holiday rush, and around 60 degrees while it's freezing here.
The catch: Frontier's basic fare — no carry-on, no seat choice. Budget extra if you need either.
Book by: This week.
🌵 MSP → Phoenix (PHX) — $187 round-trip, Christmas week
Mon Dec 21 – Wed Dec 30 · Sun Country, nonstop · 3 hrs 33 min
Christmas in the desert, nonstop, for $187.
This isn't below the route's floor — but it's Christmas week, and $187 is right about what Google says people usually pay for an ordinary December week on this route ($188). American's nonstop on the same dates is $288.
Sun Country has a second nonstop at 4:20pm for $197 if 5:35am is a dealbreaker.
The catch: Sun Country charges for checked bags and seat selection.
Book by: Soon. Christmas-week seats get scarcer from here.
🇮🇹 Bonus: MSP → Rome (FCO) — $593 round-trip
Fri Dec 4 – Fri Dec 11 · Icelandair, 1 stop in Reykjavik · 12 hrs 35 min
A bigger trip, but too good to hold until Thursday.
Google's data says Rome from MSP usually runs $760 to $2,250. This is $593 — well below the bottom of that range. The next-best option on these dates is $807.
The routing is a clean one: a single stop in Reykjavik, under two hours on the ground. Rome in early December means Christmas markets in Piazza Navona, no summer crowds, and mid-50s weather.
Book by: This week.
Passed on this week: Phoenix at $145 (an 8-hour one-stop) and Copenhagen at $697 (still well above last month's price).
Thursday: bigger trips.
If you book one of these, reply and tell us where you're going.
— MSP Departure
P.S. Forward this to someone in the Twin Cities who needs a December escape. Three referrals gets you the MSP Travel Cheat Sheet.