Traveling for Thanksgiving? Here Are the Cheapest Gas Stations & Flight Hacks Right Now

The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is officially here, bringing long lines, crowded highways, and higher costs. This year, AAA is forecasting one of the busiest travel periods on record, which makes every dollar-saving strategy more valuable than ever.

The window for booking flights and planning months in advance has closed, but there are still powerful, immediate moves you can make this week to cut hundreds off your gas bill and grab the best possible last-minute airfare.

Here’s your up-to-the-minute guide to traveling cheaper this Thanksgiving.

Part 1: Road Trip Savings — Your Cheapest Gas Strategy

The good news for drivers: gas prices are relatively stable compared to recent years. As we head into the holiday, the national average for regular unleaded is sitting between $3.02 and $3.10 per gallon, according to the latest data from GasBuddy and AAA.

The real money, however, isn’t in the national average—it’s in the huge price gaps that can exceed $4 per gallon within the same state or metro area. Here’s exactly how to make sure you’re always filling up at the lowest price possible.

1. Build Your App Stack: The Three Apps You Need This Week

Forget roadside price signs during holiday travel. You need real-time, crowd-sourced data to capture the 10–25¢ per gallon differences that add up fast on a long drive.

•  GasBuddy is still reigns as the best tool for finding the absolute cheapest stations via user-reported prices. Use its trip-cost calculator before you leave to see prices along your entire route, and enroll in Pay with GasBuddy+ for an automatic 3–5¢ discount per gallon at most stations.

•  Upside (formerly GetUpside) delivers cash back of up to 25¢ per gallon at thousands of stations. The key is to open the app, claim the offer at your chosen station before you pump, then pay with a linked card—cash back hits your PayPal or bank account within days.

•  Waze combines real-time navigation with integrated fuel prices shown directly on the map. It often highlights the cheapest nearby option in color-coded pricing while steering you around traffic jams.

Stack all three for maximum savings: let Waze navigate, GasBuddy confirm the lowest price, and Upside add cash back on top.

2. Skip Branded Stations and Target Wholesalers & Grocery Pumps

The most expensive gas is almost always found at big-name stations right off the interstate. For rock-bottom prices, venture just a mile or two farther:

•  Wholesale clubs like Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s consistently offer the lowest prices in almost every market. If you or a traveling companion has a membership, plan your route around these locations.

•  Grocery-store fuel centers (Kroger, Safeway/Albertsons, Harris Teeter, etc.) frequently beat everyone else when you redeem loyalty points. Check your accounts—many shoppers have hundreds of unused fuel points that can knock 50¢–$1.00 off per gallon this week.

3. Time Your Drive and Cross State Lines Strategically

The biggest “cost” this year may be time stuck in traffic rather than dollars at the pump. Wednesday morning through early afternoon (November 26) is projected to be the worst travel window nationwide.

•  Leave on Tuesday (November 25) or Thanksgiving morning itself for dramatically lighter roads.

•  If your route crosses from a high-tax/state-price area (California, Nevada, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania) into a low-price state (Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, Alabama), run the tank as low as comfortably possible and refill immediately after crossing the border—the savings can easily top 50–80¢ per gallon.

Part 2: Flight Hacks — Still Snagging a Last-Minute Deal

If you’re flying, the ideal 45–90-day advance-purchase window is gone, but flexibility and timing can still yield big savings and fewer headaches.

1. Fly on the Least-Popular Days & Times

The cheapest seats remain on the days almost nobody wants to travel:

•  Outbound: Thanksgiving Day itself (Thursday) is almost always the lowest-demand departure day of the holiday week.

•  Return: Avoid Sunday at all costs—it’s the single busiest return day. Instead, come back Friday, Saturday, or Monday. If you must fly Sunday or Monday, choose a flight departing after 8:00 p.m.—they’re far cheaper and far less likely to be delayed.

•  First flight of the day (5:00–6:00 a.m.) remains statistically the cheapest and most on-time option while everyone else is still asleep.

2. The Last-Minute Pricing Sweet Spot

Airlines often dump unsold inventory over the weekend when business travel bookings drop off.

•  Check fares early Sunday morning (like today, November 23) — historical data shows Sunday bookings can be up to 23% cheaper than Friday bookings as airlines reload lower fares.

•  Search one-way tickets separately. A one-way on Spirit or Frontier combined with a one-way on Southwest or Delta can beat even the “best” round-trip price.

3. Use Alternate Airports to Your Advantage

Don’t lock yourself into only your closest major airport and the main airport at your destination.

•  Fly into secondary airports (e.g., Oakland or San Jose instead of SFO, Midway instead of O’Hare, Ft. Lauderdale instead of Miami, Long Beach instead of LAX) for hundreds less and shorter security lines.

•  Consider nearby cities entirely—if you’re headed to a smaller destination, check flights into the nearest large hub and drive or take a cheap bus the last 1–3 hours.

Safe travels, spend less, stress less, and enjoy the holiday with the people who matter most.

Happy Thanksgiving!