Holiday travel deals: Give one as a gift
Holiday travel deals on airline tickets should be snapped up fast. But you can avoid the rush of holiday travel deals by giving miles, airline gift cards, or a voucher for local travel.
On what is traditionally the busiest traveling day of the year, Carly Wilczynski (right) is greeted at the Memphis International Airport with balloons and hugs from her mom, Chris Wilczynski on the day before Thanksgiving as she arrives home from her first semester in college. If you're finding holiday travel deals, consider giving one as a gift.
Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal/AP/File
Got a hard-to-buy for person on your list? How about giving them a vacation? Who doesn't need that? But how to go about giving such a gift can be confusing. Here are some tips from Travelzoo's Senior Editor Gabe Saglie:
—Miles. Use can use your own miles to book a trip for the person you are buying for and there will minimal fees associated with doing this. Gifting miles is also an option, however, you need to be wary of fees. You could also consider buying miles into the person's own frequent flier accounts as an option.
—Buy an airline ticket. The most important thing is to make sure you know your recipient's schedule as change fees for airline tickets can be $150 each way. If you're buying a ticket for holiday travel, act fast but save yourself some money by shopping on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for airfare deals, consider alternate airports, book early and connecting flights and pick destinations on sale (New York and Europe in winter, Caribbean in summer, etc.)
—Travelzoo Local Deals. Travelzoo usually sends you to travel companies directly to purchase a deal but with Travelzoo Local Deals, you purchase a voucher directly from Travelzoo that you then redeem when you visit the local business. You can purchase a voucher for anyone right from the site or from the new Travelzoo app, and there are no shipping fees. The Local Deals are transferable so if you see a deal you like now and are not sure who you want to give it to, get it and then give.
—Gift cards. Airline gift cards are a good alternative to buying actual airline tickets. It allows the recipient to buy his/her own airfare to best fit their schedule, but be aware of expiration dates.