Real Deal: Holiday Travel Planning

Last season, last-minute shoppers snapped up the best fares as the airlines slashed prices closer to the holidays.

This year, the procrastinators probably won't win. The planners will, Fox 29 Consumer Reporter Michelle Buckman said.

The good news is domestic holiday travel prices are down 15 percent to 20 percent compared to the same time last year, according to www.farecompare.com, but those fares are rising every day.

If you want the best deal on holiday travel, you need to buy your ticket now. Even waiting just a few days could cost you. At the very latest you should have your plans booked by the end of this month.

In addition to booking your flight sooner rather than later, choose your travel days carefully. The price tags on peak travel days are rising the fastest if you want the most popular Thanksgiving itinerary, departing Wednesday and returning Sunday that ticket already costs 10 percent more this week than it did last week.

Here's some advice from Farecompare.com CEO Rick Seaney: "The absolute cheapest day to depart is on Thanksgiving day so if you can actually leave on Thanksgiving and come back on Sunday for example, which is the most expensive, you still get half the benefit."

Want to still be home for the holidays without paying a premium? Check out these calendars for Thanksgiving and Christmas from Farecompare .

The other thing you need to look out for this year are "peak travel surcharges." It's just another fee the airlines are throwing at you, charging $10 each way if you book on the most popular travel days.

Here is a list of those dates to avoid:

November 29 - November 30, 2009
December 19, 2009
December 26 - December 27, 2009
January 2 - January 3, 2010
March 14, 2010
March 20 - March 21, 2010
March 28, 2010
April 11, 2010
May 28, 2010

Finally, here are two other ways to save big bucks on your flight. If you want to get to your designation the cheapest way possible, you have to give up convenience. Take a connecting flight, non-stop flights can be double the price.

The other way is to keep checked bags to a minimum. Those baggage fees can add $25, $50, even $100 onto your ticket price. Ship your gifts ahead of time or check out Southwest Airlines. They won't charge you to check baggage, unless you have 3 or more bags.