Q&A: Which Holiday Is Less Expensive to Travel on This Year, Christmas or Thanksgiving?

DraculaSneezePls writes, “Dear Deal Detective, I would like to fly out to see the family for the holidays but since money is quite tight this year I can only afford one vacation. In your opinion, which of the two holidays’ fares are more affordable, Thanksgiving or Christmas?”

Ah, the age-old dilemma of traveling for the holidays. It’s as old as the fruit cake you’ve had buried in your pantry, and probably just as hard because deciding which holiday to spend with family is no picnic.

Fortunately, just as Santa has his elves, here at SmarterTravel we have our very own team of airfare experts diligently monitoring holiday travel prices. They’ve determined that Thanksgiving is the cheaper option when flying to see your kin this holiday season. It’s worth noting that Christmas fares are the cheapest they’ve seen at any point this year, but Thanksgiving flights are still on average about $20 cheaper per route across the board.

If you want to choose your trip based solely on price, it looks like you’ll be showing your appreciation for your family this Turkey Day. If, however, you just have to make the jingle, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” a reality, you may still be able to snag a really cheap rate for Christmas travel if you book quickly.

Thank you for writing in with your question to last week’s blog. I’ll be answering a few of the other questions throughout the week. As for my other readers, please feel free to ask your travel questions in the comments field below!