Fewer people say they plan to fly for the holidays this year because prices on flights are just too expensive.<\/p>\n
NerdWallet says<\/a> the average American is going to spend about $260 more this year on hotel stays and airfare for the holidays.<\/p>\n Clint Henderson, managing editor<\/a> with the travel site ThePointsGuy.com<\/a>, says his go-to tool to track and find the best prices on flights is Google Flights<\/a>. It can tell you when prices are expected to be lowest for booking your chosen dates and destination.<\/p>\n Using pricing data compiled from several years, Google Flights found<\/a> the lowest prices to fly during Thanksgiving are usually about 35 days before departure. For Christmas, the best bargains can usually be found when booking anytime mid-October through mid-November.<\/p>\n Henderson recommends always tracking prices, even if you’ve already booked, because you could wind up getting some of your money back.<\/p>\n “As long as you haven’t booked basic economy, you can get a fare difference for the price if it drops,” Henderson said in a recent appearance on the new CBS News Philadelphia In Your Corner podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n “That’s one of the great things that came out of COVID was these more relaxed fare rules,” Henderson said, “and so they’re willing to either refund you and you can rebook at the lower price or they’ll give you a trip credit for the difference in price.”<\/p>\n If you’re looking for other ways to save, Henderson said you won’t save much by booking on any particular day of the week, like a Tuesday. He said it’s one of the biggest myths of air travel.<\/p>\n However, the cheapest days to travel are still Monday through Wednesday. According to Google Flights, taking a layover can help you save about 22% on average, versus flying nonstop.<\/p>\n The new CBS News Philadelphia In Your Corner podcast is dedicated to helping you find solutions to better manage your money, spot the latest scams, and know your rights as a consumer so you can protect yourself.<\/p>\n Each week will feature a different guest expert. You can find new episodes posted every Wednesday on the CBS Philadelphia YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n