Book Thanksgiving flights by mid-August and Christmas/New Year flights by early September. Fly on the actual holiday (Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day) for the cheapest fares.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are the two most expensive travel weeks in the US. Here's the playbook that frequent travelers and travel agents actually use.
When to Book
- Thanksgiving: Book by mid-August. Late October buyers routinely pay 40–60% more.
- Christmas / New Year: Book by early September. Prices peak in late October and rarely soften meaningfully after that.
Cheapest Days to Fly
Thanksgiving week (US):
- Cheapest outbound: Monday of Thanksgiving week or Thanksgiving Day itself
- Cheapest return: Friday after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) or the following Tuesday
- Avoid: Wednesday before Thanksgiving (peak), Sunday after Thanksgiving (peak return)
Christmas / New Year:
- Cheapest outbound: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day for outbound
- Cheapest return: January 2 or later
- Avoid: December 22–23 outbound, December 26 return, January 1 return
Routing Tricks
- Fly into a nearby smaller airport. Hartford instead of Boston, MDW instead of ORD, BWI instead of DCA, BUR instead of LAX. Sometimes $300+ savings per ticket.
- One-stop can beat nonstop. Connection-friendly hubs (ATL, CLT, DTW, MSP) often have cheaper Christmas-week fares than nonstops.
- Mix one-way fares. On Southwest and basic-economy fares, two one-ways can beat a round-trip.
What to Do If You Wait Too Long
If it's already October and you're booking holiday travel, your three options are:
- Use airline miles (some redemption charts haven't moved as fast as cash prices)
- Flex your dates (a day earlier/later can be hundreds cheaper)
- Call a travel agent — we sometimes find unsold inventory on partner carriers not visible in OTAs
Need a hand booking? Our agents are on standby 24/7.
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