Travel expert offers tips to make holiday travel less stressful

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - Millions of people will be traveling for the thanksgiving holiday next week.

Experts say traveling earlier in the week used to mean less people at the airport, but now people are flying out Monday through Thursday so you should expect long lines all week.

Before you head to the airport, experts say there are some helpful apps you should download that will make your trip less stressful.

"Things i think are must download are your airline app and also signing up for the push alerts so if you're traveling you are getting alerts if there are delays or winter weather advisories that may affect your flights also make sure if you're staying in a hotel, your hotel app. You can book activities or you can check in via your mobile device and finally have one of the ride share apps downloaded on your phone. You may not think you're a user of these like Uber or Lyft, but when you are in your destination you might find yourself in a situation where you want to use one of these," travel expert Jeanenne Tornatore said. 

Tornatore says it's also a good idea to sign up for loyalty programs with airlines and hotels you are using on your trip.

"Start accruing points now. You'll find that when you get to the off season closer to spring you may want to use sine of these points and what a lot of people don't realize especially on the hotel side is you don't have to have enough points to book an entire stay. Now, sites allow you to use some points and some have and combine to find the best advantage when you are looking for a deal on a hotel," Tornatore said. 

Also, if you want to get away around the holidays but don't want to pay higher prices you should travel the week after the holidays when hotels are up to 40% off.