Amid uptick in pre-holiday travel, expert shares best times to book and tips to save on airfare

The hustle and bustle of holiday travel is fast approaching and as the TSA reported another seasonal high volume of screenings at airports — nearly 3 million people on Sunday — experts are sharing new insights and tips for booking holiday travel.

Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy, offered some key findings from the team’s new holiday travel survey with “Good Morning America” on Tuesday to help Americans who may be eyeing airline deals, or wondering about the best booking windows, what steps to consider for this peak season.

Best timeframe to book holiday travel for Thanksgiving, Christmas

With a majority of Americans planning to travel for the holidays and more than half of those surveyed expected to hop on a flight, according to The Points Guy research, Henderson said that focusing on finding a flight by booking during the Goldilocks period will prove pivotal.

“You want to book before prices are high, way out in the schedule and then right before they start climbing ahead of the holidays,” Henderson said. “Right now, prices will start climbing soon. You want to book your Thanksgiving trips now. You want to book your Christmas trips by Halloween. Every day after that, you can watch prices increase every single day. We’re in the goldilocks period, time to book.”

Where to find discounts on airline tickets

While Henderson doesn’t suggest booking a trip for someone, he recommended buying discounted airline gift cards from big box retailers.

“You can get discounts at places like Costco on Alaska Airlines, Southwest — They often offer discounts of 10% off flights. It’s a great way to give the gift of travel,” he said, adding that way the recipient can weigh in on the destination.

Current deals on holiday destinations

Some of the best deals Henderson and the team of travel experts have seen right now are in Europe, which he said is “on sale under $500 regularly.”

“I just saw last night United [Airlines] flights to Paris, France [from Chicago] for $511,” he said. “There’s some excellent deals out there right now.”

American Airlines also currently has fares as low as $364 to Madrid and Barcelona from New York City and Miami respectively.

Expert busts travel-booking myths

“There’s a rumor out there if you book on Tuesday, if you stay up and book at midnight that somehow you’re gonna get a better deal,” Henderson began. “That is absolutely not the case. It doesn’t matter when you book, but it matters when you travel. If you travel on Tuesday or on a Saturday, sometimes you can get a better deal.”

Another myth that Henderson happily busted is browsing for flights using incognito mode.

“The airlines are not tracking your search history on your computer, so it doesn’t matter [if you’re in incognito mode] when you book,” he said.

Finally, he explained that getting price adjustments on airfare after you’ve booked is easier than ever.

“The great news is after the pandemic, the airlines have gotten much more liberal about giving you trip credits or refunds,” Henderson said. “If you see that price drop, go back to the airline. They’ll either give you a trip credit and if they won’t, cancel the ticket and rebook.”