Air travel costs are up but there are ways to make the airport experience better and cheaper. Travel journalist Francesca Page joined Cheddar News to provide how to bring those costs down while traveling, especially ahead of the holiday season.

<div class="block">Air travel costs are up but there are ways to make the airport experience better and cheaper. Travel journalist Francesca Page joined Cheddar News to provide how to bring those costs down while traveling, especially ahead of the holiday season.</div>

Stretching Your Dollar

Stretching Your Dollar: Improving Your Airport Experience

Well, with inflation costs have gone up across the board. And air travel is no exception. But luckily there are ways to make the airport experience better and cheaper. And so to learn more about making the most out of your travel, I'm joined by travel expert Francesca page Francesca, the holiday travel season will be here before we know it. What are the biggest travel costs that customers need to manage these days? Well, the travel industry has had an albeit money making but frantic summer season, airlines and hotels reported record profits on both sides of the Atlantic. Now given this return to near near uh pre pandemic occupancy, we could see a rise in airfare prices especially given persistently high inflation. As you mentioned, as you mentioned, we're getting close to the holidays and that's when prices are really gonna start to rise. So if you're planning on going away this holiday season, you're gonna want to book now any dos and don't Francesca for making the airport experience better weather and flight interruptions have been a big issue this year. So absolutely ensure your trip at least covering any non-refundable elements and extra expenses due to delays in the event of an emergency. You don't want to get stuck in a foreign hospital if you are planning to travel abroad. So look into medical transport memberships like me, for example, they'll let you get you moved to a home hospital. Also check your flight status before you get to the airport and always sign up for free text alerts and download apps for updates from airlines. Sign up for ts a precheck clear global entry airports are predicted to be busy as we head towards the holiday season. We've all had that scary experience right where we're stuck in airport security. We don't know if we're going to get through the line. We're worried we're going to miss our flight. So talk to me about whether the S A pre approval global entry is really worth it. It definitely is. And I think the main question I keep getting asked is how to protect yourself. Anything you can do like that is better for your, is gonna be better for your experience. The main thing I think people are really concerned about right now is how much they're going to spend when they're looking to book these flights. And obviously the fear as I've mentioned of cancellations and delays. So we talked a bit about holiday travel. When is the best time to book travel to save the most money? Well, really now you want to avoid booking last minute, which is considered as far out as six weeks before the holidays, prices really start to spike during that last month before the holiday. So you should book, for example, Thanksgiving flights by October 14th at the latest. How should people be thinking about using some of their credit card points if they have them to try to improve the travel experience? Well, you want to call up whoever you have those credit card points with and find out all the parameters of being able to use them again, the sooner that you book these flights and book these trips the better and you'll be able to use those in the best way possible. Do any of the cards grant access to airport lounges? Yes, but that is changing quite, almost daily at this point. Um, I know certain airlines are changing the boundaries on what you're allowed to use and when you're allowed to use those lounges. So again, you do want to find out from your airline and find out from whoever is providing those points for you. Well, when it comes to international travel, are there ways to save or even make getting or renewing your passport a little bit easier? Yeah, absolutely. You're going to want to, um, if you do need to renew that passport, the sooner you do it, the better pay for the expedited passport service. It's only an extra $60 but worth every penny also pay for the express shipping for your passport two day shipping. It is only around $18 and completely worth it. It's also worth reaching out to the, um, the office of your congressional representative for help within 14 days of your scheduled travel date. How do you prep for visas for those who do want to travel, the countries that require them? Well, you want to find out absolutely from, um, as I've mentioned, whoever you're traveling with and wherever you're traveling to, to find out what those requirements are and the sooner you do that to prepare or when you're planning to travel, obviously like the passports the better. Ok. Other ways, Francesca, other tips for how our viewers can save money if they're planning an upcoming trip. What would you tell them? Yes. Well, the main again, main question I'm asking getting asked a lot now is, is it time to book for the holidays? Yes. But you want to choose your dates wisely. The cheapest day to travel or to fly is around Thanksgiving is on the Monday before the holiday for Christmas. The cheapest day to travel is actually on Christmas Eve. You'll wanna book both the Christmas and and uh Thanksgiving Travel, as I've mentioned by mid October to get those best rates and expect that prices will be the lowest before October 15th. Alright, Francesca page travel expert, Francesca. Thank you.