Preparing for the holidays: Best time to buy flight tickets

By Josh Smith

With temperatures dropping across the nation, it’s time to put summer vacations behind you and focus on getting the best deal on tickets for your holiday flights.

If you’re reading this, and you haven’t already started your search for a holiday flight deal, you should get started.

When to Buy

Unlike the rest of the year, where demand is less predictable, Airlines know that the holidays will be booked up.

Despite this confidence, if you buy early, you can still score some deals, as airlines are still cautious. As planes fill up, prices will go up. Additionally, the closer you get to takeoff, the higher prices will be. There are no last minute deals on airfare, so you should make plans now, stick to them, and purchase tickets as soon as you can.

If you need to stay in a hotel during your holiday travel, you can often get a better overall price on the trip if you book them both at the same time. In some extreme cases, you can purchase cheaper tickets by adding a hotel and not using it.

When to Fly

Unfortunately airlines are adding fare increases earlier and earlier each year. If you are able to fly before December 17th and return after the New Year is over you can score cheaper airfare, but this isn’t realistic for most flyers.

Look for early morning flights and those with connections to cut back on the cost of flying, but beware of potential delays if you have a layover in a bad weather location.

If you are able to fly in or out on Christmas Day, you can normally score some deals.

How to Find the Best Deals on Holiday Flights

Bing Travel lets you search a number of airlines and airfare price comparison search engines, and delivers an easy to follow price predictor. Bing analyzes flight trends to figure out if prices are going up or down.

You’ll get a tip to buy now or wait, and Bing’s confidence of the prediction. Ultimately, this is one of the easiest ways to find out if you should buy now or wait.

Google has also launched a new tool for flights that helps you find the best deals on holiday airfare. Google Flight search lets you search many airlines and use visual tools to find flights that meet your needs.

One of the nice features of Google Flights is the ability to see which weeks offer the best pricing on trips like yours. For example, if you plan on taking a five day trip this December, Google can help you see the cheapest weeks for that trip. If you need a shorter or longer flight, you’ll see the best weeks for that trip. Just click on the calendar icon next to the return date at Google Flights.

It’s also worth checking directly with your favorite airline to see if they are offering a good deal, and don’t forget to factor in the cost of checked baggage to your price comparisons.