The Cheapest Days to Fly

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Pick the right day to fly

Do you know the best and worst times to fly? The busiest (and most expensive) travel days of the year are around the holidays. You’ll save a lot of stress and small cash by picking the right date. Ask a Travel Team Agent at 1-800-788-0829 what the best days are.

Rise and shine

Book the earliest flight you can, those first flights out are the least likely to be delayed, and airports are blessedly calm at those hours typically.

A word about connecting flights

When booking flights with a connection and have a choice of airport, choose the one farther south — less of a chance of a weather delay. And keep in mind that airports will be busier over the holidays, so allow some extra time to connect.

Upgrade your flight

Business travel is slow over the holidays, so those seats taken by business travelers tend to be empty. Look for business class seats on international flights — you might be surprised to find it might be only a couple hundred bucks.

It’s a wrap on pre-wrapping presents

Instead of packing a bunch of presents, consider buying your gifts online and have them shipped to your destination (to your name). Then just pack some gift bags and a sleeve of tissue paper and quickly wrap the presents when you get there.

Worried about traffic? Consider the train!

There’s a lot less stress when you’re not the one driving, and there’s no one else on the road. Watch the wintry scenery go by as you catch up on emails,  en route.

Drive day of

Do your driving the days of, when things are closed. You do need to make sure you’ve planned ahead and topped off your tank, but if you ever want to feel like the freeways are all yours, spend a peaceful day on the road.

Avoid getting hungry

Pack snacks. Grab some nuts, a piece of fruit and an empty water bottle before you head out the door to make sure you aren’t hungry when you get to your final destination.

If worse comes to worse, think ahead …

If your plans are flexible, capitalize on oversold situations by offering to get on the next flight out — you’ll get a hefty travel voucher and can usually negotiate other perks such as priority lounge access or even a first-class seat on your new flight (based on availability).

Speaking of vacations …

For those looking to get away, consider a destination Thanksgiving out of the U.S. It’s just a normal Thursday everywhere else — so hop on an international flight and enjoy the holiday somewhere new.

Taking a week around Christmas to travel?

Go the week before instead of the week after the holiday. Deals are all over the place — especially on vacation packages, cruises and hotels — and you can enjoy the holiday spirit somewhere new.

New Year’s Eve across the country

Manhattan hotel prices skyrocket on New Year’s Eve, but the Big Apple is not the only place to celebrate. An array of festivities to bring in the new year in a new city and country can be great, and low rates can be found at many of the hotels.

Cyber Monday sales

Good things come to those that wait, and if you can hold out until Cyber Monday, you’ll find that many hotel chains will be offering flash sales, including some holiday and last-minute stays. Subscribe to the Travel Team’s newsletter to get the inside scoop on the latest deals.