BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Are you booking any last-minute trips to see your family for the holidays? Experts say you need to act now. Waiting even a few more days could mean paying a lot more than you need to.<\/p>\n
“Anytime around the holidays, the pricing goes up. Demand goes up, supply goes down, and when that happens, that pricing on those airline tickets will go up,” said Julie Salazar-Garcia, owner of The Cruise Port.<\/p>\n
Salazar-Garcia, a full-time travel agent, says deals on airfare are hit or miss right now. To find them, you must continually check what’s available across different airlines.<\/p>\n
“I always say, if you’re happy with that price, you better buy it right then and there, because it’s never going to be that price again,” Salazar-Garcia said.<\/p>\n
But she warns that scammers are also active, posing as airlines or cruise lines to steal your money. She says she’s run into them herself.<\/p>\n
“I go, ‘do you work for Royal Caribbean?’ they go, ‘no’, they go, ‘well we work with Royal Caribbean’ and I said, ‘does Royal Caribbean give you a paycheck?’ click,” Salazar-Garcia said.<\/p>\n
When you’re booking online, legitimate airlines and cruise lines will clearly indicate that you’re on their official website. Salazar-Garcia says one red flag of a fake site is the absence of a physical address.<\/p>\n
If you do end up getting scammed, paying with a credit card gives you some protection through your card issuer.<\/p>\n
“They are going to ask you a lot of questions, but they are probably going to stand by you,” Salazar-Garcia said.<\/p>\n
Outside of holiday travel, Salazar-Garcia says Black Friday deals are live for future vacations, but they only last through December 1st, some through December 5th.<\/p>\n
If you still haven’t booked your holiday flights, stay flexible with your travel days \u2014 that’s your best chance at finding a reasonable price.<\/p>\n
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n
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