You probably grew up with a simple rule: if you want to save money, drive. In summer 2026 that rule doesn't hold the way it used to. The Points Guy noted AAA put regular at $4.10 a gallon on July 24, up from $3.16 a year earlier, and domestic airfare is trending nearly 15% higher than last year too. Both options are more expensive and more volatile, which is why the cheapest option isn't obvious until you do your own math.

For driving, start with fuel the way you'd actually pay it. Take the round-trip miles for your route, divide by your car's real-world mpg, then multiply by the pump price you see at home or along the way. That's your floor, not your total. If you want the full cost, check the current IRS standard mileage rate for the year — it is designed to capture depreciation and maintenance on top of gas — and add any tolls you will actually hit. The method matters more than any estimate I could give you, because your mpg and your route are not my mpg and my route.

For flying, start with the final price, not the teaser fare. That means the fare plus seat selection if you buy it, bags if you check them, and how you get to and from both airports. The flight is faster in the air, but you pay for that speed in other places: parking or a rideshare, time in security, and the fact that a cheap ticket at an inconvenient time can turn into a hotel night you didn't plan on. If you drive to the airport, price that drive with the same fuel math you used for the road trip.

Points and credit cards can bend either number, but they don't erase it. A free checked bag or a companion fare helps only if you were going to pay for that bag or that second ticket anyway. A pile of points helps only if there is award space on the days you actually want to go, at a points price that is actually lower than cash. In 2026 both cash and points pricing are up, so treat points as a discount on a price you have already calculated, not as a reason to skip calculating.

Here's the honest trade-off. Driving tends to win when you have more people in the car, more bags, a shorter distance, or a destination where you will need a car anyway. Flying tends to win when your time is tight, the drive is long enough to require an extra night on the road, or you can travel light and get to a cheap airport easily. If you run both totals with your numbers — not mine — you will know which one you are actually choosing, and why.