The end of the year might seem far away, but if you're hoping to get away for the holidays, ABC15's Smart Shopper team found the best way to save money on your travel — get those flights booked now.
Katy Nastro is a travel expert for the flight-tracking website "Going." She says her best advice for saving money on holiday flights is not to wait too long to buy your tickets.
"For peak seasons you should aim to book between three and seven months out if you're looking to travel domestically. For international flights, you should book between four and 10 months out, a little bit wider of a window. So, we call these Goldilocks Windows. You're basically not booking too far out, but you're not booking too late. You're kind of trying to find that perfect middle ground. And so really, you're giving yourself the best odds at finding a great deal," said Nastro.
Another tip, watch out for the most expensive days of the week for flying.
"In general Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays you'll typically see lower fares due to the fact that Mondays and Fridays traditionally see more business travelers who are less price conscious," said Nastro.
She tells us there are a number of cities offering good deals this year to fly out of Phoenix.
"From the Phoenix area, you can fly over to New York for $243 round trip over New Year's. Maybe spend New Year's in Times Square. Tick that off the bucket list. Or maybe you want to go skiing, take advantage of the winter, you can head up to Denver for $138. Or maybe head up to Vancouver and have a little international vacay for $258. Take advantage of that weaker Canadian dollar," said Nastro.
"What if people are worried about booking now because their plans might change, or the price might drop?" asked ABC15's Katie Raml.
"You know, keep that flight alert on whether it's through Going or Google Flights or someone else. You can always, for most ticket types you can actually call, cancel that ticket, get a credit and apply it to that new lower fare and then have credit to use in the future on another trip. So, you're really saving overall. So, that's another great tip to consider," said Nastro.
If you're worried about another holiday season full of flight cancellations and delays, Nastro says we should have cautious optimism. She says that's because of this past summer and the way airlines have been able to handle the busiest travel days.