We are now in the prime booking window for holiday flights.
As we often report, the best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare is one to two months ahead of time. We are now just ahead of the one-month window for Thanksgiving and two months for Christmas, so airfares should be at their cheapest around this time.
If you wait too long, prices will spike as we get closer to the holidays, so consider this your fair warning to get to booking. For the cheapest domestic trips, plan on booking Thanksgiving flights in early to mid-October and Christmas trips by Halloween. The cheapest holiday airfare deals are generally available in October.
Unfortunately, our latest data analysis of 2025 holiday prices for flights show fares are up year over year, though fortunately, they aren’t up as drastically as we saw last month. Still, it’s time to book.
Our advice for finding the cheapest prices ahead of time is to monitor the search starting three months before the dates you want to travel. (Though, obviously, you should jump on any deals you find before that.)
Try to have everything booked by Halloween. That’s a good goal, though you probably have a few more weeks after that to book Christmas flights.
That lines up with what Google reports, too.
- Average prices for Thanksgiving trips tend to be lowest 35 days before departure.
- Average prices for Christmas and New Year’s trips tend to be lowest 51 days before departure.
I’m a huge fan of Google Flights because you can set alerts for particular destinations.
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Sadly, there is no secret “best day or times of day” to book, so logging in at midnight on Tuesday won’t save you money. That said, there are better days of the week to travel.
Your best bet is to fly midweek, specifically Wednesday, for both domestic and international travel. Flying on the holiday itself can also score you big savings. For example, if you are willing to fly on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Eve, you will likely save a bunch.
Remember, too, that if you book now, you can get a trip credit for the fare difference if the price drops just as long as you don’t book basic economy fares. That’s why TPG always recommends booking standard economy fares and not basic economy.
Related: Airlines that offer you a credit if the price of airfare drops
Pricing trends for 2025 holidays
Budapest Christmas market. MEGAN DUBOIS/THE POINTS GUY
Our final report on holiday airfare trends is not what we were hoping to share. Unfortunately, fares are up year over year in most cases … at least, when it comes to the holidays.
New data from our friends at Points Path shows fares are higher for both Thanksgiving and Christmas trips aside from a few specific cabins and dates.
Points Path is a free web browser extension that shows points and miles award prices in Google Flights, along with cash fares. Points Path uses reams of search data to better understand how airlines are currently pricing flights.
Related: How to use the Points Path extension to compare cash and award rates in Google Flights
Thanksgiving prices
We looked at more than 100,000 flights with economy fares during Thanksgiving week, along with search data for international coach and premium cabins. The data was collected as of Oct. 19.
Overall, coach prices within the U.S. are up by about 3.4% year over year to just under $586 for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Points Path and TPG data on Thanksgiving travel. POINTS PATH
For domestic fares, business-class and premium economy prices are down between 1% and 5%, though average fares for first class are up by a whopping 12%.
International prices for coach tickets are up about 3% year over year, though we are seeing steep drops of between 6% and 35% in international premium economy, business-class and first-class cabins.
There’s your good news for Thanksgiving if you want to splurge on premium cabins internationally. ​​
Christmas prices
Prices for Christmas flights show similar trends, with domestic economy flights costing an average of about $639 compared to about $633 in 2024. Fares in coach are about 1% higher year over year.
Points Path and TPG data on Christmas travel. POINTS PATH
Domestic flights in premium cabins show even steeper year-over-year price increases of 8% to 14%.
International fares are generally down year over year so far, at an average of $1,258 for coach tickets.
Unfortunately, the year-over-year decline in airfare we saw earlier this year hasn’t lasted into the holidays. Prices are generally higher, especially for domestic fares.
Still, fares aren’t likely to get much lower than they are in the next few weeks, so it’s time to book.
Related: New data shows steep drop in airfare for Labor Day
Other tips for cheap holiday flights
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
We have some other tips for finding cheaper holiday flights (as well as other peak travel windows).
Remember that when cash prices are high, you can dip into your stash of points and miles. You are likely to get maximum value when cash prices are higher like they typically are during the holidays.
Also, try flying on nonpeak days, going to your destination earlier or staying longer. You’ll often score a better deal, for example, if you can, say, go home for Christmas for a few weeks rather than a few days.
Try to be flexible with days and times. Often, you’ll get the best deal on a flight leaving at 6 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. Depending on the price difference, it can be worth getting up at 4 a.m. to save some cash. The same goes for red-eye flights, which are often the cheapest flights of the day.
Bottom line
“Cirque: The Spirit of Christmas” at Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY
Points Path and TPG find that fares for the 2025 holidays are generally higher year over year. That said, prices are likely to be at their lowest over the next few weeks. It’s time to start booking.
We always recommend booking domestic flights one to two months ahead of time. But remember that if you’re using airline miles, it’s never too soon to start checking and booking.
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