$99 Find Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Illinois

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from San Francisco to Illinois departing on 10/11. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Illinois

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Francisco to Illinois.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Francisco to Illinois.
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Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Illinois

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Chicago
Chicago1 stop$202
Moline
Moline1 stop$289
Peoria
Peoria1 stop$289
Bloomington
Bloomington1 stop$379
Champaign
Champaign1 stop$378
Springfield
Springfield1 stop$463
Decatur
Decatur1 stop$374
St. Louis
St. Louis1 stop$238
Chicago
Chicago1 stop$202
Moline
Moline1 stop$289
Peoria
Peoria1 stop$289
Bloomington
Bloomington1 stop$379
Champaign
Champaign1 stop$378
Springfield
Springfield1 stop$463
Decatur
Decatur1 stop$374
St. Louis
St. Louis1 stop$238

Book Cheap San Francisco to Illinois Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Illinois that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from San Francisco to Illinois

Fri, Sep 12 - Sun, Sep 14
Frontier Logo
6:29 am - 3:53 pmSFO-MDW
7h 24m1 stop
Frontier Logo
6:30 am - 11:48 pmMDW-SFO
19h 18m2 stops
$202Frontier
Find Deal
Sat, Sep 13 - Wed, Sep 17
 Logo
6:00 am - 6:14 pmSFO-ORD
10h 14m1 stop
 Logo
11:15 am - 10:43 amORD-SFO
25h 28m2 stops
Sat, Sep 13 - Sat, Sep 20
Frontier Logo
8:00 am - 11:58 pmSFO-ORD
13h 58m2 stops
Frontier Logo
12:22 pm - 9:21 pmORD-SFO
10h 59m1 stop
$203Frontier
Find Deal
Sat, Sep 6 - Sat, Sep 20
United Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 1:32 pmSFO-ORD
4h 32mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
7:43 pm - 10:34 pmORD-SFO
4h 51mnonstop
$205United Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, Sep 24 - Fri, Oct 3
American Airlines Logo
1:21 pm - 7:45 pmSFO-ORD
4h 24mnonstop
American Airlines Logo
6:45 am - 9:24 amORD-SFO
4h 39mnonstop
$207American Airlines
Find Deal
Fri, Oct 24 - Sun, Oct 26
American Airlines Logo
2:10 pm - 8:40 pmSFO-ORD
4h 30mnonstop
American Airlines Logo
6:45 am - 9:22 amORD-SFO
4h 37mnonstop
$217American Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, Oct 30 - Mon, Nov 3
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 6:59 pmSFO-ORD
9h 59m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 12:35 pmORD-SFO
7h 35m1 stop
$236Alaska Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Sep 16 - Tue, Sep 23
Southwest Logo
11:00 am - 10:00 pmSFO-MDW
9h 00m1 stop
Southwest Logo
3:50 pm - 6:25 pmMDW-SFO
4h 35mnonstop
$267Southwest
Find Deal
Wed, Sep 17 - Tue, Sep 23
Southwest Logo
7:00 am - 7:05 pmSFO-MDW
10h 05m1 stop
Southwest Logo
3:50 pm - 6:25 pmMDW-SFO
4h 35mnonstop
$273Southwest
Find Deal
Thu, Sep 11 - Thu, Sep 18
United Airlines Logo
10:51 am - 4:53 pmSFO-STL
4h 02mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
5:49 pm - 8:10 pmSTL-SFO
4h 21mnonstop
$299United Airlines
Find Deal
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for San Francisco to Illinois flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from San Francisco to Illinois to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from San Francisco to Illinois?

What is the cheapest San Francisco to Illinois flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest ticket to Illinois from San Francisco found in the last 72 hours was to Chicago, at $198 round-trip. The most popular route is from San Francisco (SFO) to Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport (ORD), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $198.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from San Francisco to Illinois?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

Yes, flying with a layover may cost you more time, but you can also save money on the route, with a 2 stops layover the cheapest option at $464 on average.

What is the cheapest month to fly from San Francisco to Illinois?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Illinois, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from San Francisco to Illinois is February, when tickets cost $286 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and August, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $436 and $366 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from San Francisco to Illinois?

The average price of all round-trip flights from San Francisco to Illinois clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

If your flying dates are flexible, you should consider flying to Illinois on a Wednesday, as we generally find the cheapest rates on that day for this route. On the other hand, Sunday is the most expensive day to fly from San Francisco to Illinois. For your return ticket, we recommend flying on a Thursday and avoiding Sundays for the best deals.

How far in advance should I book a flight from San Francisco to Illinois?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Illinois, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from San Francisco to Illinois, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 46% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 10 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$99
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 10% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 7% lower on average.
Flight from San Francisco to Chicago O'Hare Airport

FAQs - booking Illinois flights

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Francisco to Illinois?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from San Francisco to Illinois.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San Francisco to Illinois?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from San Francisco to Illinois is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from San Francisco to Illinois?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly from San Francisco to Illinois with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from San Francisco to Illinois?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from San Francisco to Illinois up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Illinois?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to Illinois is generally in the evening, when round-trip flights cost $415 on average. Morning departures are around 7% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Illinois is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $474.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Illinois

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found tickets from San Francisco to the following destinations at these prices or less: Chicago $166 one-way - $294 round-trip

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from San Francisco to Illinois

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from San Francisco to Illinois. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Francisco to Illinois? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 10000 reviews
7.0Entertainment
8.1Boarding
7.1Food
7.8Comfort
8.5Crew
Airline reviews

Had to pay $8 for internet wasnt cool, no tv’s, had to use phone to watch movies, no food choices seemed available unless u ordered in advance maybe I'm wrong about that but seemed that way, no snacks were served. Seemed a very bare bones flight. But it was on time and safe so that was good

6.0 GoodBarbara, Aug 2025SFO - JFK
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

Had to pay $8 for internet wasnt cool, no tv’s, had to use phone to watch movies, no food choices seemed available unless u ordered in advance maybe I'm wrong about that but seemed that way, no snacks were served. Seemed a very bare bones flight. But it was on time and safe so that was good

We were singled out, greeted and helped with check-in at the busy airport. They offered to take our bags there and gave no fuss when we said they were carry-on. With United just last week I had to put up a fight just to get onto the flight with my one authorized carry-on.

boarding was late worst was going back LAX to SFO delayed not once ? but TWICE😡I was at the airport practically almost 5 hours of previous time , very inconvenient! i would have spend longer time with family , I was wanting to avoid TSA line? but it just got me to spend unwanted time @ d airport

Plane boarded and left on time or very close to the stated departure. Arrived on time. Staff was subdued. Could not hear the flight attendant too well. No announcement from the pilot which is always nice. Biggest complaint absolutely no little snacks! But the important thing is we left and arrived on time and we survived.

Crew was not happy to be there and neither was I 😭 well at least the lady that helped me.. I was stuck in the middle seat between two men. Totally my fault since I didn’t pay a fee to select my seat though. I recommend paying the fee even if you’re in a budget. It’s better than being placed aaaaallllllll the way in the back next to the smelly bathrooms. The seats didn’t recline either!! It was a red eye flight so I got no sleep whatsoever. Ordered a coffee and it tasted like…. Let’s just say it was horrible. I had to to return it to the same crew lady and she looked at me like this girl…. Sorry but I was not going to drink that- please take it back!! Oh and lastly, my luggage was completely broken and damaged. All wheels were missing by the time my luggage came around in the luggage cart. Lmao. Overall poor experience to say the least. Tickets were cheap though😂😂😂

Delayed flight both ways. Then, on the return flight, we were stuck on the tarmac for at least 30+ minutes. Idk what happened, but this was a bad experience.

Great flight, no bumps to speak of, pleasant crew, good inflight entertainment choices

Coffee or tea service would be nice for an evening flight, water or juice not good enough.

this flight had a 7 hour delay due to weather in NYC. It diverted to Pittsburgh for 2 hours then proceeded to NYC. Through it all the crew and flight attendants were terrific. They gave timely information, showed empathy , and were very professional.

Paying for first class and then they want $8:00 for wifi.

The cabin was quiet for the redeye flight. The area was clean. The staff was great. The 787 Max was in good condition. Drawbacks were that the seat widths were tight for some passengers. The seat padding was at best average and for a long flight uncomfortable.

Worst experience I had on Southwest. Still better than most, but the seating was barely tolerable.

It was okay. The plane was delayed from earlier in the day, but they kept updating the departure time, sometimes later, sometimes earlier. That was stressful. Once we finally got on and took off, it was fine. I was supposed to have a connection in Chicago to Los Angeles, and the time for so late I was rebooked to arrive in LA 3 hours late. The departure time to Chicago later became early enough to have taken my original connection and arrive earlier but that wasn't an option.

Delayed flight. Nicest crew member was a SW pilot flying seated next to me who kindly move to seat the final passenger. Flight extra delayed. My cup of refreshment of ginger ale was so packed with ice it was literally 2 sips.

No trays in our seats, we sat in first row, purchased a business class fare. Had to hold our drinks and snack in our hands. No plugs for our cell phones. Had to pay for it a drink cocktail each. Seats so uncomfortable.

Flight wasn’t even full, but too many carry-ons caused us to run out of bin space. New bag fee has folks who would usually check their bags carrying on. Watching Southwest morph into Spirit/Frontier is so sad to watch

Everything was on time. I was disappointed by the front section female, African American flight attendant. I did not see her name tag or would have identified by name not race. As passengers moved to the bathroom early in flight, she would say with a disdainful tone “I have to say the seat belt light is on” then go back to her book. Better trained flight attendants say something like be careful the seat belt light is on.

Southwest is Southwest. No frills. If you're luck enough to get a happy crew (we did), then it makes for a nicer flight.

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

Great flight, 47 passengers on a 180 seat plane. Stewardess was pleasant and cheerful.

The pilots were late and it made us 1 hour late. The meat was tough and bok choy was also tough.

Stuck on tarmac for two hours plus a 5.5 hour flight. Rude flight attendant. And no meals, not even for purchase!

I learned that seating towards the end of plane that a line forms for the restroom and people use your chair as a hand railing, bumping your seat consistently. I was seated in the aisle. I think that next time if I am towards the back row I would want to sit in the middle or window seat.

The best airline I have ever travel , really good customer service, attention and service !!

Everything was great. Only thing that could’ve made it better was buy on board options for hot food, but the snacks were decent. The flight attendants were great. I had no complaints. I was able to make it to my destination safely

Horrific. They missed my connecting flight to San Diego. I didn’t get there until Monday at 9am when I had a mandatory court settlement conference scheduled at 6am since we had parties on the east coast. This caused many issues. All because United apparently forgot to hold the doors open until my flight landed that only had a 10 minute delay. This was the last flight to Southern California. So I couldn’t even rent a car to finish the trip. United cannot be trusted when traveling on specific days and times since weather didn’t have anything to do with the delays.

Very comfortable (upgraded to business class). The audio on my screen didn’t work, but I managed to play the audio through my phone while watching the screen.

Flight was late as pilot crew had to land at different airport in their previous flight. Passengers boarded and had to wait for pilots inside plane. Series of incomplete and unnecessary announcements by an annoying voice, rather than complete, informative announcements.

Breakfast was not loaded at SFO due to catering company change. Seems like a major airline at a major hub would have thought of something else or warned passengers to pick up food before boarding a 3 hour flight.

Boarding seemed to be organized bedlam. For what ever reason, preboarding took longer than 20 minutes. Made the plane 20 minutes late taking off. Luckily we arrived on time. Flight crew seemed very friendly. Only slight turbulence.

Any flight to ORD after about 2pm this summer has been challenging. Flight was delayed getting in (coming from ORD) and that led to it not leaving before a ground stop due to lightening before they could fuel the plane, and so forth. They made up some time but we were still late in arriving at ORD, and that led to missed connections.

Food was ok, but not as good as I have had before on AA.

Pretty good. The food was just mediocre, the boarding and crew were good.

My flight got switched and my prepaid bag didnt transfer over properly so I paid to check ANOTHER BAG. I was placed in a middle seat and it was just miserable. At least it was a bulkhead row so I had legroom. The flight just never seem3d to end

Was not able to watch most shows on the entertainment site. They would not load

On Wednesday, July 30 we were in mid flight from Manchester to Charlotte and we turned around because the right engine was malfunctioning. That was the last flight out of Manchester that night. I was rebooked for Thursday, which became a weather event Friday. There were no seats left on the flight from Manchester to Charlotte. Consequently I didn’t leave Manchester until Saturday morning and we flew to Chicago so to say the least my scheduled flight and return to Iowa was three days off and it messed with my business schedule. Consequently cash flow. I would like some sort of acknowledgment of this event.

Dreadful experience. Our flight was delayed more than 8 hours due to a maintenance issue and the assistance from rebooking was poor. I was travelling with a bad knee and needed assistance waited in one place more than 3 hours before someone came with a wheelchair. The woman next to me was a 91 year old great grandmother who had waited more than 4 hours. There were moments of support from the staff but it appeared as they were going against the direction of management. It was apathy, lack of ownership and dismissive responses with small moments of kindness and understanding typically from grey haired, female, veteran staff..

Couldn’t get the door on the plane to close leading to a nearly 2 hour delay. But, hey at least they didn’t cancel the flight.

Delayed flight, so I switched fights to SFO to Phoenix , Phoenix to DSM. Excellent service through American Airlines

The flight was fine and the crew awesome. The problem is ORD and AA. Computers went down, ORD fell apart and a 40 min flight turned into a 3 hour trip. Guess the answer is to not try and fly to ORD after noon. But, as I said, crew was awesome and did everything they could to lesson the flight time.

Severe turbulence. Captain never came on to reassure passengers after things settled down.

We were delayed three times ,and that destroyed my plans, and reservations

Cancelled flight after I arrived at airport after 75 min drive and parking. Next flight was 4 days in the future. Had to scramble and buy a much more expensive flight on another carrier.

I liked the turn-style feature at gate 209B at LAX. Very efficient process. The gate staff also made several, clearly directed announcements so I felt very informed.

The crew was delayed because they came on another flight that was delayed due to weather 10pm flight left at 1.30 am The airline made no effort to align alternate crew

The seats were awful, hard plastic covered in sheet vinyl. The airline tries to scam you into paying extra to get seat together when the flight wasn’t full. They were going to separate a family with young children but my wife who had a row to herself gave up her seat so the young mom could be with her young boys. I’m never giving this airline my money again.

It was a short flight so no food or entertainment….

Frontier had yet another flight cancellation. Have never made a complete round trip with this airline without at least one leg getting cancelled. Miserable flights - dirty, uncomfortable planes that apparently always have issues since I've had multiple delays and cancellations with them.

Flight was delayed 3 times, would have been nice to have received text message instead of email notifications. Frontier app wasn’t even updated accordingly, no gate number disclosed. No agent at front desk of gate to inform of delay. Very confused and left if the dark

The flight itself was ok and the pilot was very communicative. However, our flight was delayed for almost 3 hours, the gate was changed 3 times and there was no communication as we were waiting. The flight staff was overall a little crabby...I understand as they probably had a long day but we all did.

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