Published October 22, 2022 at 6:26 am
Image of a passenger starting a flight search. via Getty Images
It’s that time of the chaotic holiday travel season again. If housewives haven’t already reached out for an itinerary, that call or text is probably right around the corner.
More than half of Americans plan to travel this year for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or both, according to a new Hopper survey. If you’re one of those who haven’t booked your flight or hotel yet, you’re probably paying more than you want to visit family and friends.
Although there was a brief respite in the fall when prices dropped significantly from their summer highs, according to Clint Henderson, managing editor of The Points Guy, prices are up about 50% by the week of both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“If you see a deal, you should grab it now, because we’re just not expecting any holiday deals this year,” adds Henderson. “It’s probably going to get worse from here.”
Henderson recommends using your reward points and miles if you have them for maximum value since cash prices are so high.
HOW FLIGHT DELAYS CAN PUT MONEY BACK IN YOUR WALLET
“I usually go home to the Bay Area from New York for Christmas,” he said. “Flights that normally cost $300, $400 are now $800, $1,200. So you really have to shop around now.”
According to Henderson, there are several factors behind the price increase.
First, airlines had to drastically reduce the number of flights and the number of seats for sale to most destinations in order to achieve decent reliability.
“Combine that with increased demand because everyone who hasn’t gone home for Christmas in the last couple of years because of the pandemic is willing to pay more,” Henderson said.
Now throw in jet fuel prices and it’s a recipe for disaster as far as costs go.
WHAT CAUSES TURBULENCE AND WHY YOU SHOULD NOT AFRAID OF IT
Henderson said if you’re willing to take your family vacation the week of Thanksgiving or even the week of Christmas to travel internationally, there are extraordinary deals if you’re willing to leave the country.
“It’s domestic fares that we’re really seeing an increase in,” he said. “And remember that the U.S. dollar is so extremely strong right now that Europe is on sale and places where the U.S. dollar is really strong, like Turkey, Colombia, are really cheap.”
If you thought travel hassles like flying on a Tuesday or Wednesday would save your vacation budget, Henderson said that’s no longer true.
In general, Henderson said, prices are lower if you’re willing to travel on Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and get a better deal. Even this hack doesn’t work as well as it used to, he said.
TOURISM NOW REACHES THE END OF THE EARTH FROM THE DEEP SEA TO OUTER SPACE
“My advice to people is, if you’re still waiting to book travel, set a Google alert, watch it for a few days, and if you don’t see a price drop in the next few days, it starts going up, then jump on that price,” Henderson said.
If you’re not too attached to your in-laws, you can just wait until the last minute and tell your significant other that it’s too expensive to visit this year. However, this may not go well with the family reunion next year.
