Travel Deal of the Day (April 29, 2008)

As I discussed in the post yesterday, I highly advocate thinking far ahead when booking holiday weekend travel. This becomes the most important when booking Thanksgiving travel.

The Deal:
If you are traveling for Thanksgiving weekend and you must fly the Wednesday before Thanksgiving or the Sunday after Thanksgiving, buy your air tickets right now. I know it seems early; I know you are thinking that I must be crazy to be thinking about Thanksgiving in April. This advice is based on years of watching Thanksgiving airfares. They do not decline. Unlike a normal travel day (when airlines are unsure if seats will be sold), airlines are certain they will sell as many seats as they offer for Thanksgiving weekend, especially for the Sunday after Thanksgiving. This provides airlines with the ability to continue to increase fares as we approach November. Since seats are so limited for Thanksgiving travel, if you must go on the peak dates, you must buy your tickets as early as possible.

With all this being said, my advice for Thanksgiving weekend travel is to avoid the peak travel days (avoid Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday and Monday following Thanksgiving if at all possible). But, if you must travel on the most in-demand days, buy your tickets now or you will pay more.

The Inside Scoop:
Remember that many Thanksgiving weekend airfares do not require a Saturday night stay (as Saturday night stay requirements are imposed so that business travelers will pay a higher airfare – but there are few, if any, business travelers over Thanksgiving weekend). So, consider returning on the Saturday after Thanksgiving if you need to return for work on Monday and you want to save money.