A new survey from The Points Guy and YouGov suggests this holiday travel season will be defined by one thing: money. Of 2,445 U.S. adults polled in September, the 1,058 with holiday travel plans mostly agree on two things — flights are too expensive, and yet two-thirds of them still haven't booked a thing.

The numbers are striking. Just 15% of holiday travellers have locked in all their arrangements, another 15% have booked part of their trip, and a hefty 65% haven't booked anything. The most common reason? Hope. Some 42% are holding out for prices to drop, while 34% are still saving up for the trip. Meanwhile, average fares are moving the wrong way: recent tracking put Christmas domestic flights around $675 and Thanksgiving flights at $647, with prices climbing steadily in recent weeks.

Cost dominates every booking decision this year. Nearly half of flyers (48%) say price is the single most important factor when booking holiday flights — almost double the 25% who prioritise convenience. Loyalty barely registers: 7% said sticking with a favourite airline mattered most, and 61% would rather skip redeeming points and miles entirely if it meant paying less. Similar majorities said price trumps their preferred hotel brand (71%) and favourite airline (70%).

Here's the twist, though — cheap doesn't mean happy. Despite all the price anxiety, 63% agreed it's worth paying extra for convenience. In practice, that means plenty of travellers will pass on a rock-bottom fare with two connections in favour of a pricier nonstop that's less likely to fall apart. The cheapest ticket isn't always the best deal.

As for who's going where: road trips lead the pack, with 23% driving to visit family and friends and another 13% driving for a vacation. About 11% will fly domestically to see family, 9% domestically for leisure, and roughly one in ten will head abroad — international trips, The Points Guy notes, can offer both lower fares and thinner crowds. Overall, 55% of Americans said they aren't travelling at all between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

Worry runs high beyond fares. Some 39% are anxious about airfare specifically, while 37% each fret over airport crowds and delays or cancellations, and 36% worry about weather. Those fears aren't irrational: a storm at a major hub like Chicago, Denver or New York can cascade across the whole system, and peak-season flights are so full there's rarely a seat on the next plane out.

If you're in the unbooked 65%, the practical takeaway is simple. Book soon — fares are more likely to rise than fall between now and the holidays. Have a backup plan for disruptions: know which other airlines fly your route, install your airline's app, and pay with a card that includes trip delay and cancellation cover. And if you do end up paying full fare, at least put it on a card that earns you something — 49% of those surveyed plan to collect rewards on their holiday trips this year, even if few plan to redeem them.