Five ways to save money on Thanksgiving travel now

This Friday marks the beginning of the sweet spot for reduced airfares for Thanksgiving Day, travel experts say. If you're looking to fly somewhere for the four-day holiday, they add, the best time to book is the first two weeks of October, when airlines put some seats on sale.

And there's the rub. Carriers will reduce fares for just a few seats per flight. With ticket prices climbing by 13% this holiday season over last year for an average round trip domestic airfare of $384 -- and the number of flights remaining the same as 2009 when far fewer folks were flying -- there's likely to be stiff competition for the cheapest seats.