June 1, 2020
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with travel dates on or after
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with effective start dates on or after
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A family, couple or solo getaway for the holidays can give you something festive and thrilling to look forward during the winter doldrums. But you may be thinking the busy Christmas and Thanksgiving season could be too hectic or expensive a time to travel. Here are some tips and tricks you can use to make your dollar stretch further during the holiday travel season.
One of the best ways to save money on a flight is to be willing to fly the day of a major holiday instead of days before. If you can be flexible, Thanksgiving day is often the slowest day of the year at airports. Due to low demand, prices tend to be much lower.
As a second choice, flying the Friday after Thanksgiving can be nearly $100 cheaper than on other days, and Monday, Nov. 20 is the most reasonably priced day to fly before the holiday, writes Travel & Leisure.
Similarly, Christmas Eve and Christmas day are less expensive times to fly, and returning home on New Year’s Eve instead of New Year’s Day can also save you money.
As for when to book your flight, a 2024 holiday travel report from Google Flights shows that ticket prices are lowest 45 days before departure for Thanksgiving trips in the U.S. And mid-October through early November are the most ideal times to book for a Christmas flight to snag the lowest air fare, writes Conde Nast Traveler.
If you are flying internationally, of course, the earlier the better for booking. Google advises buying tickets 94 to 101 days before departure and says prices start skyrocketing as early as 50 days before departure.
You should also know it’s a myth that booking on a specific day of the week will save more dough. But if you are willing to opt for a layover instead of a non-stop flight, you will see a huge reduction in cost. Non-stop flights are on average 25% more expensive than flights with layovers.
The early bird rule may not equally apply to booking a hotel. A NerdWallet study that looked at 2,500 hotel room rates from 2019 through the first six months of 2021, found that rooms tended to be 13 percent cheaper on average 15 days in advance, compared to when booked four months in advance.
But it’s not an exact science. The15-day rule tends to apply for “big business cities, such as New York and Chicago, but it’s not as accurate for vacation destinations like the Caribbean or Hawaii,” writes Travel + Leisure. “In those destinations, Hopper [travel app] notes that hotel rates are usually lowest about two or three months before your trip.”
Your domestic health insurance most likely won’t fully protect you if you experience a medical emergency abroad. Also, many medical facilities abroad require upfront payment for services, which can be costly.
And if you are planning on participating in any winter sports, such as skiing, travel insurance that covers emergency medical care and transportation can save you thousands of dollars if you have an accident on the slopes.
Allianz Global Assistance offers single-trip and annual plans for a range of budgets that include emergency medical, trip cancellation and baggage protection.
Google data shows that a mix of sunny and wintery, and international and domestic destinations are most popular this holiday season. Here are the rankings of top destinations from Google Flights based on searches for trips departing December 22 through January 5 from U.S. airports.
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