When is the Best Time to Book Flights for Thanksgiving?

a plane flying in the sky

The best time to book flights for the holidays, or any other time, will vary based on your origin and destination, but across the board, certain times are better than others. It varies among the “experts” but usually 60-90 days out is where you’ll get the better deals on Thanksgiving and Christmas plane tickets.

Based on last year’s data Skyscanner estimates the best time frame for Thanksgiving was the week of September 4. But for 2017, Expedia says the optimal Thanksgiving ticket prices can be found  through today, September 23. Surprisingly, they say 14-20 days out is the best time for Christmas.

Hipmunk says next week, the week of September 25 is best for both Thanksgiving and Christmas flight prices but that you can still get decent prices through October 30.

a graph of a thanksgiving flight
Credit: Hipmunk
a graph showing the price of flights
Credit: Hipmunk

Avoid peak days to pay less for holiday travel

Regardless of whether you can book early, one big way to save money on your flights is to avoid traveling on the days everyone else is. CheapAir’s Holiday report has a helpful calendar.

a calendar with numbers and a few days of thanksgiving
Credit: CheapAir

If you’re not ready to book, don’t panic. Consider setting up price alerts for your tentative dates through Hipmunk or Google Flights and they can let you know if the prices are dropping or increasing.

Full Disclosure: I may receive affiliate credit from links in this post or on this site which will help fund my travels. Thank you for your support!

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