3 reasons now is the right time to plan your 2027 summer holiday

It might feel way too early to start thinking about summer vacation. It's not even Thanksgiving, and you may still be figuring out holiday travel plans amid rising fuel prices.

Airline fares have already risen over 23% from last year, according to the most recent consumer price index. If travel prices rise even further, now is an even better time to start thinking about future plans. Travel rewards can be an excellent way to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses, especially for flights and hotels.

One of the best ways to optimize your points and miles is to plan ahead. You'll need time to accumulate rewards, and you'll generally have more options the farther in advance you book.

If you're already stressing about how to afford your vacation next summer, here are three ways planning ahead can help.

Using miles, points and cash-back rewards is a great way to save money on travel. For most people, the quickest way to amass a large rewards balance is to earn a welcome bonus from a new credit card.

The best limited-time welcome offers can be worth thousands of dollars in travel, but you can't just get approved for a card and use the rewards right away. You typically have to meet a minimum spending requirement within a certain amount of time from when you open the card (usually three to six months).

If you open an airline or travel credit card right now, you could have the bonus miles or points in your account and ready to use by December. Even if you're not ready to apply for a card, now is a great time to start thinking about what card is the best fit for next year's travel plans. Card offers frequently change, and if you know what card you want, you can be prepared to jump on a big offer when it's available.

For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card typically has a welcome offer worth 75,000 miles, but right now you can receive 40% more value. You'll still earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 within the first three months of opening the account, and on top of that, you'll also receive a one-time $300 credit for hotels and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel (valid for one year).

The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card is another good option if you want to take advantage of a special increased offer. Now through Nov. 4, 2026, you can earn two domestic round-trip Delta Comfort Flight Certificates* and 50,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 in purchases in the first six months of card membership. It wouldn't be unrealistic to be able to book three round-trip Delta flights using only this card's welcome bonus, which could go a long way in getting where you want to go.

*A 21+ day advance purchase is required. Taxes and fees up to $80 per person apply. Terms and other restrictions apply.

As much as I wish it wasn't true, there isn't a secret day or time to book travel and lock in massive savings. While prices tend to be cheaper when demand is lower, they're still constantly in flux.

When you book further in advance, you have more opportunities to take advantage of price drops. And there are lots of tools that can help you track your bookings.

For rental cars, I always have AutoSlash track my rental itineraries for price drops. You enter your rental information and get an email when a cheaper rental is available. Sometimes the savings are small ($20 or $30), but I've also saved hundreds on a lengthy car rental by rebooking multiple times.

You can track airfare prices with sites such as Google Flights, Skyscanner and Expedia. When you get an alert for a lower price, you can adjust your flight. Just be aware that basic economy tickets generally do not allow changes beyond 24 hours after booking.

AI-powered tools, such as Junova, Autopilot and Gondola, take price tracking a step further and can automatically process refunds for you. Some services can track hotel or flight prices and may even offer award price tracking. Just be aware that these tools aren't always free and may not be available for every airline.

Protect your vacation with travel insurance

Instead of booking your vacation and paying it off in the following months, you can give your future self a helping hand by setting aside money for next summer's travel. With the holidays right around the corner and prices increasing faster than your paycheck, this may feel like a tough time to add an extra task to your budget.

But if it's important to you, having a plan in place can help. And there are tools that can support your efforts. A service like Rocket Money can help you identify unwanted subscriptions and track your spending.

EveryDollar and YNAB (previously known as You Need a Budget) are services that use the zero-based budgeting method where the money you make minus your expenses, savings and investments equals zero. This allows you to know exactly what each dollar is for. I use this system and find it useful for planning for future expenses.

Goodbudget is a similar service that operates on an envelope budgeting system and allows you to assign money to virtual envelopes.

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For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, click here.