When to book Thanksgiving and Christmas flights for the best deals, according to Google

October 5, 2026 / 11:23 AM EDT / CBS News

In trying to score the cheapest airfares for the holidays, when you book a flight often matters just as much as your travel dates. And this year, booking early is particularly important as airfares creep higher, new Google data shows.

Flights for travel around Thanksgiving will be cheapest in October, while people traveling around Christmas should lock in their itineraries by around Halloween, according to Google Flights.

It's best to book as early as possible when your travel dates are relatively fixed. For Thanksgiving, consumers will find the lowest fares 34 days before departure, according to Google Flights, which based its findings on five years of flight data. Thanksgiving is on Nov. 26, making Oct. 22 the best day to book travel for the Wednesday before the holiday. For the lowest fares on Turkey Day trips, travelers should aim to purchase tickets between 57 and 21 days before departure.

For flights around Christmas, the lowest fares will be available 56 days before departure. Travelers can land better deals between 33 and 67 days before their trips, according to Google Flights (as of Oct. 5, there are roughly 80 days before…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/