Why now is the time to start booking your holiday flights to get the best deals

We’re now in a prime booking window for holiday flights.

As we often report, the best time to book the cheapest flights is one to two months in advance. We are now two months away from Thanksgiving and two months away from Christmas, so air tickets should be cheapest at this time.

If you wait too long, prices will skyrocket as the holidays approach, so consider this a fair warning before you make a reservation. For the cheapest domestic travel, plan to book your Thanksgiving flights in early to mid-October and your Christmas travel before Halloween. The cheapest holiday airfare deals are usually available in October.

Unfortunately, our latest data analysis of holiday flight prices in 2025 shows that fares are increasing year on year, but fortunately the increases are not as dramatic as last month. However, it’s time to book.

To find the cheapest prices in advance, our advice is to start monitoring searches three months before the date you want to travel. (Obviously, though, you should grab any deals you find before you do.)

Try to reserve everything before Halloween. That’s a good goal, although you may still have a few weeks after that to book your Christmas flights.

This is also consistent with Google’s reports.

• Average prices for Thanksgiving trips tend to be lowest 35 days before departure.
• Average prices for Christmas and New Year trips tend to be lowest 51 days before departure.

I’m a big fan of Google Flights because you can set reminders for specific destinations.

Unfortunately, there’s no secret “best date or time of day” to book, so logging in at midnight on Tuesday won’t save you any money. That said, there are better days of the week to travel.

Your best bet is to take domestic and international flights mid-week (especially Wednesday). Flying during your vacation can also save you big bucks. For example, if you’re willing to fly on Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve, you could potentially save a ton of money.

Also keep in mind that if you book now, as long as you don’t book a basic economy fare, if the price drops you’ll get a travel credit for the difference in fare. This is why TPG always recommends booking Standard Economy fares rather than Basic Economy fares.

RELATED: Airlines give you points if ticket prices drop

Pricing Trends for the 2025 Holidays

Our final report on holiday airfare trends is not what we wanted to share. Unfortunately, in most cases, ticket prices increase every year…at least during the holidays.

New data provided by our friends at Points Path shows that fares are higher for both Thanksgiving and Christmas travel, except in a few specific cabins and dates.

Points Path is a free web browser extension that displays points and miles award prices and cash fares in Google Flights. Points Path uses extensive search data to better understand how airlines currently price flights.

Related: How to use the Points Path extension to compare cash rates and award rates in Google Flights

thanksgiving prices

We looked at search data for more than 100,000 economy-class flights during Thanksgiving, as well as international economy and premium cabins. Data collection ends on October 19th.

Overall, passenger car prices in the United States rose about 3.4% year-on-year during the Thanksgiving holiday to just under $586.

In terms of domestic fares, business class and premium economy class prices fell by 1% to 5%, but the average first class ticket price increased by 12%.

International long-distance ticket prices increased by about 3% year-on-year, but international premium economy class, business class and first class ticket prices fell significantly by 6% to 35%.

If you’re thinking of spending money on premium cabins internationally, there’s good news for Thanksgiving. ​​

Christmas prices

Prices for Christmas flights are showing a similar trend, with domestic economy flights averaging about $639, compared with about $633 in 2024. Economy class fares increased by about 1% year-on-year.

Prices for premium cabins on domestic flights have increased even more year-on-year, reaching 8% to 14%.

So far, international fares have generally been declining year over year, with economy class fares averaging $1,258.

Unfortunately, the year-over-year declines in airfares we saw earlier this year have not continued into the holidays. Prices are generally higher, especially domestic fares.

Still, prices are unlikely to be much lower than they will be in the coming weeks, so it’s time to book.

RELATED: New data shows airfares drop significantly on Labor Day

Other tips for cheap holiday flights

We’ve got some other tips to help you find cheaper holiday flights (and other peak travel windows).

Remember, you can use your points and miles when cash prices are higher. You’ll likely get the best value when cash prices are higher, like they are during the holidays.

Also, try to fly during off-peak times, arrive at your destination earlier, or stay longer. You’ll often get a better deal, for example, if you can be home for Christmas for a few weeks rather than a few days.

Try to be flexible with dates and times. Typically, you’ll get the best prices for flights departing at 6am instead of 10am. Depending on the price difference, waking up at 4am might save you some cash. The same goes for red-eye flights, which are often the cheapest flights of the day.

Finally, set up a Google Flights reminder and monitor prices in the coming weeks. Like I said before, try not to wait until after Halloween to book your tickets.

bottom line

Points Path and TPG found that ticket prices are generally up year-over-year for the 2025 holiday season. That said, prices are likely to drop to rock-bottom levels in the coming weeks. It’s time to start booking.

We always recommend booking domestic flights one to two months in advance. But remember, it’s never too early to start checking and booking if you’re using airline miles.

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