It’s only a month or so before turkeys appear on supermarket shelves and familiar holiday tunes play on the loudspeakers in stores. However, now is the best time to get serious about booking a vacation – especially when it comes to flights.
To avoid paying for vacation travel, it’s a good idea to lock in your vacation airfare sooner rather than later. According to the seasonal forecast from Google Flights, you should aim to book Thanksgiving flights in early October and Christmas and New Year flights in late October.
But how quickly you make your reservations isn’t the only thing to consider as you firm up your year-end travel plans, whether you’re headed home for Thanksgiving or to the mountains for skiing in late December. The type of ticket you book, the dates of your travel and the credit card you use to lock in your travel plans can also be important pieces of your information.
One of the most common mistakes is waiting too long to make a flight reservation. Here are seven more mistakes to avoid when booking a 2024 vacation.
Mistake 1: Inconsistency in travel plans
Being flexible with travel plans ensures you can take advantage of the lowest airfare.
For those of us with full-time, self-employed jobs or family members with work or school needs, flexibility is often easier said than done — especially when it comes to the short Thanksgiving holiday season.
Anything you can do to open up your airfare search can help, though.
Let’s say I’m a college student or young professional in Washington, DC, who needs to get back home to Austin for Thanksgiving.
Based on my schedule, I might feel like I have to fly out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) – the closest airport to Washington – no earlier than 4 pm on the Wednesday before the holiday and fly back the following Sunday.
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With all those parameters in my search, the cheapest nonstop flight currently available costs $858 on Southwest Airlines, according to a quick search on Google Flights.
Watch what happens, though, when I rearrange my schedule and time and search all Washington state airports.
Here’s a $564 round-trip flight – again, on Southwest – from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). Still from last Wednesday, just before the day; and it’s still coming back on Sunday, although it has a link to save you a few hundred dollars.
That’s a 34% savings just by removing a bit of strain on my plans, although you should always proceed with caution when deciding to launch a connection during a busy travel week.
Any other flexibility you can find in your plans can help, whether it’s flying on a different day or – for flexible travelers – flying from a different destination where the fares are cheaper.
Mistake 2: Flying on busy days
In both 2019 and 2023, the Transportation Security Administration set all-time records for passenger volume at checkpoints.
This summer, those records were broken several times, and nine of the 10 busiest days ever at TSA checkpoints came between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend.
Expect the same this Thanksgiving, especially the Sunday after the holiday, when millions of travelers will be heading home.
Since airfare is determined by supply and demand, you’ll see the worst prices on the busiest days around major holidays. So, the more you can do to avoid those peak days, the better.
For Thanksgiving, booking app Hopper suggests flying on the Monday before the holiday or before. To beat the huge crowds and high prices on the return trip, the company suggests one of two options: fly home on Black Friday immediately after the holiday or the Monday after Turkey Day.
Similarly, you can save money by avoiding the peak travel dates at Christmas. New Year’s Eve is among the best days to fly this year, Hopper noted.
Another way to save beyond extending your trip? Fly to your destination on a major holiday (like Thanksgiving or Christmas) itself. Usually, since most of the travelers are already in their destinations, the crowds are smaller – and that often translates to lower prices.
Mistake 3: Forgetting to set the airfare alert
Booking or booking holiday flights soon is good. However, if your plans aren’t quite set or you’re not ready to make the jump yet, the worst thing you can do is forget about the reservation and “check back in a few weeks.”
Several sites have services that will inform you of changing flight prices.
Let’s say I’m planning to book a Christmas flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Denver International Airport (DEN) and I’m not willing to pay this $379 round trip on United Airlines just yet. If so, I’ll use Google Flights’ “Track prices” function.
As long as I do that, Google Flights will monitor any changes in my itinerary and send me alerts about any changes.
Mistake 4: Using the wrong credit card
Another common mistake travelers make is using the wrong credit card to book a flight, hotel or other travel item.
There are several factors to consider when deciding which card to use. You might want to use a card that earns a lot of rewards on airline or hotel purchases or a card that can help you get higher rates as the year winds down.
Perhaps most important, however, is to use the card in your wallet with travel insurance benefits. Most cards will reimburse you for cancellations of combined trips, trip interruptions or other problems. Using the right card can save you hundreds of dollars if you get stranded somewhere and face an unexpected night in a hotel.
In general, cards with travel insurance benefits will cover expenses even when a flight is canceled, for example, due to weather – which airlines usually won’t cover.
However, there is a catch: You usually have to book all aspects of the trip with that card to be eligible for an insurance claim.
On many occasions, we have heard stories from TPG customers who have made a travel insurance claim with their card issuer after cancellations and unexpected hotel nights. It was only later that they realized that they had booked their flight with a different card and, therefore, were not eligible for a refund.
Mistake 5: Using too many miles or points
Here at TPG, we’ll be the first to say it: Using points and miles is a great way to reduce out-of-pocket travel expenses.
However, treating your hard-earned points and miles like the currency they are is important to avoid giving away too many at once.
With many airline and hotel loyalty programs now using very unpredictable reward pricing models, you could end up paying a lot for points or miles for air travel during the expensive holiday season if you’re not careful.
As tempting as it is to avoid paying for that Thanksgiving flight, using up all your travel points over the holidays will mean there’s nothing left for next year’s vacation. This can be especially unfortunate if you’ve been saving up for a long-haul business class seat or other redemption that would give you more value for your points.
When in doubt, consult TPG’s award-versus-cash calculator, which will help you compare prices in dollars and points to decide how to book.
Mistake 6: Packing more than you need
Overpacking for any trip can cost you, but during the already hot and expensive holiday season, it can show the cost of a flight beyond your budget.
Proceed with caution when booking a basic economy ticket or a flight on a low-cost carrier. It can be an attractive way to save some money on fares, but it can cost you a small suitcase even if you don’t plan to check a bag.
On budget airlines, baggage fees for both carry-on and checked bags can be higher at the airport compared to online.
When checking a bag, remember the weight of your bag, especially at Christmas, when you may be returning home with presents in your luggage. Checking multiple bags or bringing a bag that weighs more than 50 kilograms can be costly.
That said, this is where the right travel or airline card can pay for itself: The right card can often provide free checked bags for multiple family members traveling in one destination.
Mistake 7: Making a reservation that you cannot cancel or change
If recent years have taught us anything, it’s the importance of “going all out” with your travel plans.
That is especially true during the holidays. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic boosted the tourism industry, and the subsequent omicron variant challenged the plans of many people three years ago. Then, there was the outbreak of Southwest Airlines in 2022.
One of the best ways to prepare for any wrench thrown in your travel plans – before or during your trip – is to book a reservation that you can cancel for a full refund or full trip credit.
Airplanes
For airlines, the three “legacy” carriers (American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines) will usually give you a full trip credit if you cancel even a large non-refundable cabin ticket. And they don’t charge change fees at normal economy rates.
However, on most airlines, basic economy tickets are often very restrictive in terms of ticket changes (which are usually not allowed unless you pay) and refunds (even travel credit).
Southwest Airlines will give you, at a minimum, a full trip credit on all tickets as long as you cancel at least 10 minutes before departure.
Hotels and rental cars
Changing your plans is more difficult when you’ve already invested in prepaid, non-refundable hotel reservations and car rentals.
Even though choosing to “pay now” for hotels and cars can be an attractive way to save some money, proceed with caution when paying in advance.
In general, most standard hotel and car rental reservations will allow you to cancel, without penalty, up to a day or two before your trip. This allows you to accommodate any unexpected twists and turns — and allows you to cancel and rebook your stay if you later find a better price.
However, award flights or stays booked with points usually do not have a prepaid, non-refundable booking tracking. If something comes up, you can cancel and get your points or miles back.
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