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Traveling on these days can help you score more affordable Thanksgiving and Christmas flights

Flying on the actual holiday can save you up to $200 per ticket.

By Amanda Teague Oct 15, 2024 5:00 AM

A man and woman inside of an airport stand in front of a christmas tree — Darcy Lawrey / Pexels

Planning to travel for the holidays? Hopper has released its 2024 Holiday Travel Hacks, and flexibility with your travel dates could save you up to $200 per ticket.

For Thanksgiving, the most affordable option is to depart on Thanksgiving Day itself or the day before and return the following Tuesday, December 3. Travelers leaving on the busiest day – Wednesday, November 27 – and returning on Sunday, December 1, will pay 34% more than those who wait until midweek to come back. By shifting your return to Monday or Tuesday, you can save an average of $168.

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Christmas travelers will find the lowest fares if they depart on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, with ticket prices dropping by up to 34%. To save even more, plan your return for New Year’s Eve. If you prefer to leave earlier, flying out on Monday, December 23, and returning on New Year’s Eve is your next best bet.

Other holiday flight tips

plane ticket — PeopleImages.com – Yuri A / Shutterstock

Hopper also emphasizes that timing your booking is crucial to securing the best deal. For Thanksgiving, the lowest prices are available through the first two weeks of October. After that, expect fares to spike by 5% to 10% each day, adding as much as $30 per ticket daily in the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

For Christmas, the sweet spot for booking is between mid-October and early November, with prices set to soar more than 32% in the last three to four weeks before the holiday.

To avoid costly travel disruptions, Hopper suggests choosing direct flights to minimize the risk of missed connections and aiming for early morning departures. Flights leaving after 9 a.m. are, on average, twice as likely to be delayed compared to those departing between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Amanda, an accomplished freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio, is a dedicated explorer of both the world and the written word… Read Full Bio

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