If you haven’t finalized your Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah travel plans, get on it! Great airfare deals are passing you by every day that you wait to book.
In fact, this is the last week to snag the very best airfares for Thanksgiving travel, according to Hipmunk.
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Best time to book Thanksgiving and Christmas travel
“Travelers looking for a truly ‘screaming’ deal should book 2017 holiday flights the week of September 25 to maximize savings,” the travel website said in its annual holiday airfare analysis.
Here are some of the key findings:
- Early buyers can save up to 27% on Thanksgiving and 38% on Christmas flights
- Travelers purchasing airfare the week of October 30 saved up to 24% on Thanksgiving flights and up to 31% on Christmas flights
- 64% of all Thanksgiving flights and 84% of all Christmas flights were not booked until the start of October
Hipmunk examined historical prices for U.S. flights on and around Thanksgiving and Christmas to help travelers figure out when they can book the best deal.
Bottom line: To avoid the highest holiday travel prices, buy your airfare before Halloween!
Money expert Clark Howard likes to use Google Flights to search for deals. If you’re not ready to book, he suggests that you turn on email notifications to track price changes.
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