As much as I love finding a good deal on a short trip or a longer vacation, that's usually a bit more difficult to do for travel during the holiday season. It may even feel impossible at times to book a more affordable flight for you or your family with the generally high cost of travel combined with the hiked up prices due to the holiday season demand. However, I have some suggestions for how you can still stay within or close to your budget and complete your journey to and from your destination!
Last year, I wrote about general tips for Thanksgiving travel. That post covered a variety of transportation modes, including flying. What I want to do with this blog post is provide you with blanket coverage of helpful information to know specifically about booking flights during the holiday season while scoring the best deals. Here are my recommendations for finding the best flight deals on holiday travel:
Leave Earlier Than Usual
In years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, traveling during the week of Thanksgiving was always at its peak Monday through Wednesday. That is not the case anymore. More and more people have the option for remote work and the Saturday before Thanksgiving along with Tuesday and Wednesday are now the peak travel dates.
If you can catch a flight even earlier than and have the ability to stay somewhere longer, that is the key to saving money! Flights are always priced lower before and after blackout dates. If you can arrive at your destination prior to and stay after blackout dates, you will be able to avoid more of those holiday season prices.
Travel on the Holiday
Catching a flight the morning of holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas is honestly the best way to go. They are still blackout dates, but the prices are a little bit cheaper and planes may be less crowded –– depending on the destination. Plus, this option is good if you really don't want to be somewhere for an extenced time but still wanted to make sure to show up for the holiday.
Check for Blackout Date Deals
Contrary to popular belief, you actually can find deals on flights during blackout dates. For example, Southwest is a budget airline that has deals and discounts at least a couple of times a month on flights. Recently, they had a deal in October that included blackout dates. However, the inclusion of blackout date flights in these types of deals doesn't mean all flights during those times will be given a reduced price tag.
Airlines want to fill up as many of the seats on their planes as possible. That means the blackout date flights that you can book on a special deal are likely going to depart at more obscure hours (very early in the morning or very late in the evening) and have more open seats than the airline would prefer. If you want to take advantage of a good flight deal during blackout dates, you have to be willing to fly at times that are considered less favorable.
Pro Tip: I almost exclusively book flights for obscure days and times throughout the year to get the best prices. I also mainly book flights when Southwest (my preferred airline) is running a discounted airfare campaign. Flying doesn't have to break the bank, but you do have to be strategic to make it more affordable.
Build Up Rewards Points
Airlines have many different options for earning rewards points if you are a member of their rewards program. The most obvious way to get points is by taking more flights. You can also shop with various vendors and earn points or get a credit card that helps you build up your points totals with any of your purchases. You may also be able to buy points, and this is a great option if you don't plan to fly much during the year because you can get discounts and deals on points that allow you to buy more while paying less.
Additionally, you can have points transferred to you if you know somebody with points to give. Depending on the design of the reward program, points can expire. Rather than letting expiring points go to waste, see if that person you know can transfer them to you. Once you have enough rewards points, you can cover one or more flights and only have to worry about paying taxes and a small amount in fees!
Travel to Another Country
Do you remember how in Home Alone (1990) Kevin McCallister's parents paid for the entire extended family to spend Christmas in Paris? As a kid, you probably didn't think much of it. However, as an adult, that seems like a ridiculous amount of money that was spent! Let's think about this more practically though. The McCallister family clearly had money; that's not up for discusssion. One thing that can easily be overlooked is how cheap it is to fly to an international destination from the the United States during the holiday season, especially around Thanksgiving which is not celebrated by most other countries.
If you want to go on that dream European vacation, consider traveling during the holiday season! Over the years, I always see roundtrip flights under $500 in the weeks leading up to and during the holiday season. Winter travel is a bit tricky because the weather can cause delays and cancellations, but it's typically cheaper than trying to fly to another country in summer.
Wherever you are flying to during the holiday season, make sure to plan early and stay on the lookout for low prices with these tips in mind!
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