The time to start planning your end-of-year travel is now—if you want to get the best prices, that is. After a few years of severe ups and downs in the travel industry, many problems are working themselves out, and airfare is dropping, especially on travel between the US and Europe.
You don't necessarily need to book your tickets right now unless you love the prices you're seeing and want to lock them in. Waiting until the first or second week of October should be all right. According to a report from NerdWallet that looked at data from Google Flights, you'll get the best rates for Christmas travel (that is, holiday trips in mid to late December) if you book about 71 days before your departure date—which puts you at booking no later than the week of October 9.
Take these four steps now to make sure you don't overpay for holiday flights:
1. Plan Your Dates and Nab Any Deals That Look Amazing
Prices for flights around Thanksgiving are low right now. The same is true for flights in December. So, if you're planning to travel, now is the time to decide which dates you want to travel, look at your options, and request time off work if needed. Find dates that work for your kids' schedules and any other people who may travel with you. If you can keep your travel dates slightly flexible—for example, being open to traveling on either a Tuesday or a Wednesday—it may help you save some money.
As always, the cost of holiday flights varies dramatically based on which airlines you're willing to fly. If you're OK with budget carriers, like Spirit, Southwest, TAP Air Portugal, and Play Airlines (a relatively new budget carrier in Iceland connecting North America and Europe), you can get very low rates if you reserve your plane ticket ASAP. For other airlines, the base rates are higher and always will be, but they're likely to fluctuate for the next two weeks and then increase after that. The tip below is about watching the fluctuation so you can pounce when rates are lowest.
2. Set Up Price-Tracking for Flights
Several travel apps and booking sites, including Google Flights and Kayak, let you track the price of airfare for particular routes and dates. Search for the travel you want and select the option to track flight prices.
All the apps and sites do it a little differently, but most send you a notification when the price goes up or down, or they can email you daily or weekly with the current price.
Hopper does it, too, but also gives you a prediction in advance for how it expects the prices to change over the next few weeks. In my opinion, Google Flights and Hopper both give the best level of detail about their predictions. For example, Hopper recommends a period of time when you should watch the prices and the latest date you should book for the best rate. Google Flights has a predictive graph showing how it thinks the rate will change over time.
3. Check Whether You Have Any Points, Rewards, or Discounts
If there's a chance you have travel points, rewards, or discounts you can use toward your holiday travel, figure out what they are now. Check your loyalty points with airlines, hotels, car rental services, and online booking sites, such as Booking.com and Hotels.com.
You should also look into any credit card points and rewards. Are there blackout dates? When do the points expire? You might even have an old upgrade code for a rental car in your email somewhere, so do a quick search before you book anything.
4. Reserve by Mid-October and Get Tickets You Can Change
Booking travel three or four months in advance can feel iffy for a lot of people. Travel plans change. Weather interrupts schedules. People get sick. So consider paying a little extra to get reservations that are refundable or have a good change policy. Think of the difference for the higher rate as add-on insurance. It's usually well worth it, even if just for your peace of mind.
Beyond Flights: Tips for Holiday Travel via Bus and Train
Not all trips require airplanes. If your end-of-year travel may have you going by rail, bus, or ferry, check out these apps that help you find and compare the best tickets and routes.
Curious about overnight train travel? Read about Kim Key's journey from Atlanta to New York on an overnight Amtrak train when she attempted to work and collected data about the Wi-Fi and mobile service en route. She might just convince you that it's better to go by train than plane when you can.