Why You Need to Book Your Thanksgiving Flight Right Now

If you’re planning on flying somewhere over the Thanksgiving holiday but haven’t booked your trip yet, it’s only going to get more expensive.

A new analysis from FareCompare.com finds that the cost of flights will go up about $1 a day from now through the end of October. In November, the cost of a flight will jump more than $4 a day.

Related: America’s Favorite Airlines, Ranked

The site also looks at the most and least expensive days to fly for Thanksgiving. It finds that the most expensive ticket (an average of $662) involves departing on the Wednesday before the holiday and returning on the Sunday after.

You can cut that price nearly in half if you travel on less desirable days. The cheapest ticket ($367) involves departing on Thanksgiving Day and returning on Black Friday. As an added bonus, airports will be far less hectic on those days.

In addition to being flexible with your travel days, you can further cut the cost of your flights by flying into smaller airports, which tend to have lower prices, smaller crowds and fewer delays.

It’s also worth checking whether you’re able to cash in credit card miles for a flight; some programs have blackout days that won’t permit you to use them during peak travel times. The higher that prices rise, the more valuable your miles become. You can use the website UsingMiles.com to figure out whether you’re better off paying cash or using miles for a particular flight.