Tips for Booking Holiday Travel On Points

Christmastime is coming. Are you a stay at home Christmas person or do you take the time off to travel with your family? We usually stay home at Christmas but we often head to a warmer climate in January. Getting away in the winter (especially if you live somewhere like Calgary) is the way to keep your sanity during the long 9 months of winter.

So how do you get away when the budget is tight (which is especially true near Christmas)? If you are like me, you do it with POINTS. Yep. The holy grail of bargain finders….travel points. You can get them in a lot of ways; credit card rewards, shopping rewards and more. There are many different ways to earn points and many different points programs but one thing that they all have in common….the sooner you book, the better your chance of getting the flight you want…especially for holiday travel. Here are some interesting facts and a few tips from TD Canada Bank.

Why is that? Well, national research says:

• Over 80 per cent of Canadians are members of at least one travel rewards program (in Alberta it is more like 90%!)
• 30 per cent of Canadians share their travel points with family and friends.
• 70 per cent of Canadians say that earning travel points is one of the best ways to make trips more accessible and affordable.

What that means is that there are a LOT of people vying for that perfect holiday flight that you are trying to book. Eeek! So what does that mean for you? Well, you should book as EARLY AS POSSIBLE. Like today or at the latest, tomorrow. Okay, so maybe it isn’t that bad but sooner is definitely better.

A few things to keep in mind when booking winter travel with your points:

• Plan ahead to save time and money.
• Take advantage of additional benefits that a travel rewards credit card may offer, such as travel insurance coverage, concierge services and airline perks.
• Consider giving the gift of travel this holiday season by using points to book a flight for a family member or close friend to visit.
• Beyond flights, consider using points to book a hotel stay or activities while on vacation.

We love our travel points! We’ve used them to fly the entire family to Mexico and Disney World. I love that we collect them by buying things we would buy anyway. To me, points are a total win/win. I do realize, however, that to use them, I sometimes need to plan ahead. Especially during busy times like the holidays.

Long story short….book early…heck, book now. It is the best way to get the best flights at the lowest cost.

So….where are you heading this winter?

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by the wonderful people at TD Canada Bank! As always, all opinions are my own.