Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away and it’s one of the busiest holiday weekends for air travel. Each day a traveler waits to book their airfare, the more they can expect to pay per ticket.

“Now is the time to book an airline ticket,” said Jessica Brady, AAA spokeswoman, The Auto Club Group. “Airfares will increase each day as Thanksgiving weekend approaches. Even if current ticket prices seem high, they’re much cheaper than they will be a few days or weeks from now.”

Last Thanksgiving, more than 3 million people flew to their holiday destination. Although the exact forecast for 2013 is not yet released, millions are expected to travel by air again this year and airfares are forecast to increase year-over-year.

“If searching the web for the cheapest airfare seems daunting, the use of a travel agent will help,” said Brady. “Travel agents eliminate the hassle of surfing the web and ensure travelers will get the best flight, at the cheapest price.”

AAA Tips to Find Cheapest Airfare

• Shop on a Monday or Tuesday, between midnight and 5 a.m. Any flights that are not paid in full are released at midnight, a time when most people are sleeping. This means more seat availability, reduced demand, and cheaper airfares.
• Delete computer cookies. Delete your computer’s cookies before returning to a website to find reduced airfare. This way the computer/website will not remember you visited the site earlier and will reflect lower prices. Otherwise, the website remembers you visited before and may not show the lowest price available.
• Travel during off-peak times. Airfare is often much cheaper for early-morning or late-night flights. Since these times are inconvenient for many travelers, fares tend to be cheaper.
• Get quotes from regional airports. Oftentimes regional airports offer cheaper flights than international airports.
• Avoid traveling on busiest days. Avoid traveling the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 27) and the Sunday after the holiday (Dec. 1). Those days tend to be the most expensive to fly.

The Auto Club Group, the second largest affiliation of AAA clubs, offers travel, insurance and financial services to more than 8.8 million members across 11 states and two U.S. territories.  This includes Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; most of Illinois, Minnesota and Tennessee; and a portion of Indiana.  The Auto Club Group belongs to the national AAA federation with nearly 54 million members in the United States and Canada, whose mission includes protecting and advancing freedom of mobility and improving traffic safety.