(WSVN) - People who plan on traveling this holiday season may be paying more across the board, from airfare to hotels.
Airfares have risen over 22% from a year ago, according to new federal inflation data.
The Points Guy’s Clint Henderson usually advises travelers to book by Halloween, but this year, he urges them to avoid waiting.
“It’s a bad news situation for those who want to travel, especially for the holidays,” said Henderson. “Sometimes this time of year, we’re seeing a drop in airfare, after the peak summer travel. We’re not seeing that this year, so this year, we’re saying book as soon as you can, because we expect prices to go even higher.”
Months of high jet fuel costs, driven in part by the conflict in Iran, have pushed Thanksgiving and Christmas fares to 10-year highs, according to the travel app Hopper.
“We’re seeing the average ticket for Thanksgiving, a domestic trip is around $400. That’s up 31% compared to this time last year,” said Hopper lead economist Hayley Berg. “Airfare for Christmas, similarly high with tickets averaging $450, up 23% year over year.”
Higher fuel costs have led airlines to drop less popular routes and flights, shrinking travelers’ choices.
“NerdWallet typically says the cheapest flights are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” said Sally French, NerdWallet travel expert and co-host of the Smart Travel podcast. “Those are the flights that airlines are cutting back, so that cheap flight, you might not even be able to book anymore.”
Higher costs don’t stop when travelers land, as hotels, restaurants and entertainment prices have also risen, but there are still ways to save.
“This is a great time of year to consider using that future travel credit for those rewards points to subsidize the cost of travel,” said Berg.
“Vacation packages. If you combine flights, hotels, activities, rental cars into one package, you can save up to 40%,” said Henderson.
If you are planning to travel during the holidays, experts recommend booking flights before Halloween. And while there’s no need to panic-buy the first ticket you see, waiting until November in hopes of scoring a last-minute bargain is a gamble with low odds.
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