When to book Thanksgiving and Christmas flights, the cheapest days to fly, and what the fares actually look like right now — with live prices checked November 10, 2026.
Updated November 10, 2026. Booking windows from Google Flights' 2026 holiday analysis (published October 5, 2026) and Hopper's 2026 Holiday Travel Index. Fares below are live prices from a November 10, 2026 search — always confirm the final price at checkout before you book.
Holiday flights do not follow normal booking rules. The cheapest window opens earlier, closes faster, and once it is gone, prices do not come back down. This guide gives the actual windows for Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026, the cheapest days to fly, and live fares showing what late booking costs.
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, 2026. Google Flights' 2026 holiday analysis puts the cheapest Thanksgiving booking window at 21 to 57 days before departure, with fares lowest around 34 days out — for a November 26 departure, roughly September 30 to November 5, bottoming out around October 23. Going.com's 2026 figures run close to the same band, 24 to 59 days out. That window is now closed: as of November 10, Thanksgiving is 16 days away.
That does not mean you should keep waiting. Hopper's data shows holiday fares rise sharply in the final weeks, and Google's data puts the Tuesday before Thanksgiving about 88% above baseline, the Wednesday before about 93% above, and the Saturday after Thanksgiving about 167% above. If you still need a ticket, the best move now is to book the cheapest acceptable option and fly on Thanksgiving Day itself, which is consistently one of the cheapest days to travel.
Christmas falls on Friday, December 25, 2026. Google Flights' 2026 analysis puts the lowest Christmas fares at 56 days before departure, inside a low-price range of 33 to 67 days out. For a December 19 departure, that is October 13 to November 16, lowest around October 24. For a December 24 departure, it is October 18 to November 21, lowest around October 29. Hopper's advice is blunter — book Christmas before Halloween — and Expedia's 2026 Air Hacks report says domestic Christmas flights by November 10. Kayak's data points to a similar dip four to seven weeks out. Hopper's 2026 Holiday Travel Index calls this the most expensive holiday season in a decade, with the average domestic Christmas round trip around $452, up 23% on last year, and Christmas fares rising more than 32% in the final three to four weeks.
For international Christmas trips, book even earlier: Google's analysis puts the lowest international fares around 89 days before departure, and the average barely improves with waiting across the wider range — so the advice is to book as soon as you can.
| Holiday | Cheapest booking window | Lowest point | Deadline | Status on Nov 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving (Nov 26) | 21–57 days out (Google Flights 2026) | ~34 days out (Oct 23) | By Halloween | Closed — book now |
| Christmas (Dec 19–24 departures) | 33–67 days out (Google Flights 2026) | ~56 days out (Oct 24–29) | By Halloween (Hopper); Nov 10 (Expedia) | Closing this week |
| Christmas, international | ~89 days out (Google Flights 2026) | ~89 days out | As soon as possible | Book now |
We checked live fares from Chicago (ORD) on November 10, 2026, for one adult in economy, and compared them with the same routes in mid-January, when the holiday peak is over. The gap is the cost of the holidays.
| Route & dates | Cheapest fare | Same route, Jan 15–22 | Holiday premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago–Cancun, Thanksgiving (Nov 25–29) | $762.04 (Volaris, 1 stop) | $442.95 | +$319 (+72%) |
| Chicago–Cancun, Christmas (Dec 19–27) | $718.87 (American, 1 stop) | $442.95 | +$276 (+62%) |
| Chicago–Lisbon, Christmas (Dec 19–27) | $1,305.48 (United, Basic Economy, 1 stop) | $815.19 | +$490 (+60%) |
Two things stand out. First, the holiday premium is roughly 60–70% on these routes. Second, the cheapest holiday fares all involve a connection: the nonstop Chicago–Cancun flight for Thanksgiving week was $1,649.27 on United — more than double the cheapest one-stop fare of $762.04. On peak days, nonstop is a luxury, not the default.
If your dates can move to January, the same routes drop sharply. These are our tracked fares for January 15–22, 2027, from Chicago (ORD), checked November 9, 2026:
| Destination | Jan 15–22, 2027 | Airline |
|---|---|---|
| Cancun (CUN) | $442.95 | Volaris |
| Paris (CDG) | $666.19 | SAS |
| Lisbon (LIS) | $815.19 | United |
| Bali (DPS) | $992.29 | Delta |
| Bangkok (BKK) | $1,085.49 | Cathay Pacific |
| Tokyo (HND) | $1,195.09 | ANA |
See our best fare deals page for the current deals, and cheap winter getaways for where to go once the holiday peak passes.
The single biggest lever is not when you book — it is when you fly. Going estimates that departing on the holiday itself saves 15% to 30% per ticket compared with the peak days around it. The cheapest days to fly this year:
Airlines sell each flight in fare buckets, cheapest first. For a normal trip the buckets empty gradually, which is why the 3-week to 2.5-month window works. For the holidays, everyone wants the same few days, so the cheap buckets empty weeks earlier — that is the whole reason the Thanksgiving and Christmas windows sit earlier than a normal trip. Inside the final three weeks, the cheapest buckets are usually gone entirely, and CheapAir's study found domestic fares run about 26% above the cheapest window 13 to 7 days out, and about 59% above it in the final 6 days. There is no secret sale coming to rescue a late holiday booking; the price curve only goes one way from here.
Expedia's 2026 Air Hacks report names Friday as the cheapest day to book a domestic flight, about 3% below Sunday. Google's data names Wednesday, by about 1.4% over Sunday. A 1–3% difference on a $450 ticket is a few dollars — it is not worth waiting for a particular weekday when the booking window itself is closing. Book on the day you find a fare you can live with.
Planning a winter trip around the holidays? Pair this with our cheap winter getaways guide to pick a destination, our Japan in winter guide for the season's best long-haul trip, and our carry-on only for winter guide to pack warm and check nothing.