HOUSTON — The holidays are right around the corner, and like just about everything these days, prices for travel are going up.
A new report from Bankrate found that nearly 79% of people are changing their holiday travel plans because of rising costs, 26% said they will travel for fewer days and 25% said they selected less expensive accommodations.
Fred Blackburn is going to travel for Thanksgiving and will bring his own snacks for the flight to avoid airport prices. He also plans to stay with friends to save money. On a recent vacation, he did something similar.
"In the past, I would normally -- I would just rent a hotel while I was visiting. But this time, I mixed it up and so I'm staying with friends a couple of nights," Blackburn said.
Ricky Germano is also rethinking his holiday plans.
"Really planning ahead and maybe picking more affordable destinations and finding a cheaper way to do things," Germano said.
Bankrate's Ted Rossman said that in order to save money on airfare, consider changing the dates you travel.
"Think about your timing. For Thanksgiving, for instance, a lot of people travel on Wednesday and Sunday. If you could think about maybe going a few days early, or maybe staying a few extra days on the back end, that kind of zigging when others zag, can save you some money and reduce the crowds," Rossman said.
Travel company Hopper said prices for plane tickets are up 36% over last year. That's likely a major reason why 23% of people who were going to fly plan to drive to their holiday destination instead.
Rossman said that no matter how you are getting to your destination, it's important to plan early.
"Believe it or not, it's already getting kind of late in the game for holiday travel bookings, so I would say book as soon as you can, especially for flights. That's where we're seeing the biggest increases," Rossman said.
To help ease the pain of high prices, 22% of holiday travelers plan to pay with rewards points, according to the Bankrate survey.