Travel Deal of the Day (January 17, 2008)

Do you go to the same destination every Thanksgiving? Have you thought about Thanksgiving yet? If you know where you are going for Thanksgiving, now is the perfect time to book your trip.

The Deal:
For the most popular holiday time periods such as Thanksgiving, especially if you travel the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after Thanksgiving, ticket prices only increase as you get closer to the time of departure. For this reason, you actually save money by booking as far in advance as possible, before the flights become sold out and only more expensive seats are available. If you are traveling for Thanksgiving and are not flexible on dates (meaning that you must fly on the highest demand dates), consider buying your ticket now. For most of the year, you want to wait for a sale that will lower prices for your itinerary – these sales are likely a few months before your travel date. For the Wednesday before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving, airlines do not have to offer such a sale, so you are better off booking now (if your plans are firm) to hedge against price increases.