Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of the busiest travel times of the entire year. High demand during these seasons not only drives up prices but also shortens the booking window.
While you don’t want to buy your flights too far in advance, as prices tend to start out very high, you also can’t wait too long to book around the holidays or you’ll run into the same problem. But as October rapidly approaches, how late is too late to book flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas?
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Here’s a look at when the prime booking windows are and what steps you can take to ensure you get the best price possible.
Know the Best Booking Windows
Scott Keyes, founder and chief flight expert at Going, a flight deal subscription service, told CNBC the best booking window for domestic flights is generally one to three months in advance. But that all changes during the holiday seasons. For peak season, Keyes recommended booking three to seven months in advance.
Under those parameters, the prime booking window for Thanksgiving has already passed. However, you may still be able to snag an affordable Christmastime fare — if you act quickly.
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Other travel planning experts, however, suggested that you’ve still got a bit of runway left in your quest for a lower fare. James Byers, Google Flights team leader and group product manager of Google Search, told ABC News that flight fares for Thanksgiving usually reach their lowest in October, while the most affordable time to book Christmas travel is generally between mid-October and mid-November.
The truth is that while there are patterns to airfare, nothing is set in stone. Depending on supply and demand, airfare can change at a moment’s notice. But using these booking windows as a guide can be a good way to know when you should start paying closer attention to pricing trends.
Be Flexible With Dates and Airports
When it comes to travel planning, flexibility always works to your advantage. This is particularly true over peak travel dates, like the holidays. While no one wants to fly on Thanksgiving or Christmas day, for example, if you can swing it, you can score big savings. If not, use the flexibility that’s built-in to search engines like Google Flights to see if changing dates or even your airports can result in lower fares.
If you live in the Los Angeles area, for example, flights out of Burbank, Long Beach, Santa Ana or even Ontario can often be cheaper than flying out of Los Angeles. Flying home on a Saturday instead of a Sunday can usually shave dollars of the cost of your flight as well. While flexibility can be difficult over the holidays, searching these types of alternate options can almost always turn up cheaper fares.
Set Fare Alerts
Once you’ve picked your travel dates, set up fare alerts so that you’re notified if prices change. Kayak, Skyscanner, Google Flights and other airfare pricing sites all offer this option. You can set up alerts for nearby dates and airports as well if you have some flexibility. Anytime prices change, you’ll get an email. Just understand that you might have to act fast if you see a fare drop during the peak holiday season.
Understand What a Good Fare Is
Part of the battle when it comes to getting cheap airfare is knowing a good price actually is. If you pull up a $500 roundtrip from Los Angeles to Miami over Christmastime, should you book it or not? Understanding what typical flight prices are can help answer that question.
The good news is that this is easy to determine. Search engines like Google Flights typically let you know whether a price for a certain flight is high or low relative to historic trends as part of your search results. That can be invaluable knowledge.
Personal experience can also be extremely helpful. If you travel the same route every year for the holidays, for example, take note of the prices you’ve paid and the ones you’ve seen quoted when you search. If you normally pay $400 for your roundtrip flight but this year you see a price of $300, you should likely jump on it before it goes higher.
Follow the Seasonal Patterns
Getting the best available prices on flights is part art, part science. Although the airlines can change prices at will, there are strong seasonal trends and pricing windows that they typically stick to. Once you’ve learned when fares tend to fall and what constitutes a good price, you’ll be better equipped to find the most affordable flight for your holiday travel.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Is It Already Too Late To Book Flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas?
