Two free tools for holiday airfare: a price tracker and a 24-hour cancel rule
Google Flights emails you when a route's price moves. Federal rules let you hold or cancel many tickets free for 24 hours.
With Thanksgiving on Nov. 26 and the December holidays close behind, two free tools can help travelers avoid overpaying for flights from San Jose Mineta International Airport or elsewhere.
The first is price tracking on Google Flights. Search a route, such as San Jose to Los Angeles, then turn on Track prices. Google says it emails you when the price for that route or a specific flight changes significantly. If your dates are flexible, choose Any dates, and Google watches the route's lowest fare across the coming months. Google also sends alerts when it predicts a fare is likely to rise, with an estimate of how confident it is.
The second is a federal rule. U.S. Department of Transportation regulations require covered airlines, generally U.S. carriers, to let customers either hold a reservation at the quoted fare without paying, or cancel it without penalty, for at least 24 hours after booking, as long as the booking is made a week or more before departure. Each airline picks which of the two it offers, so check its policy before you buy.
Together, the two tools let a traveler book a fair price, keep tracking it, and rebook within a day if the fare drops. Tickets bought through travel websites rather than the airline may follow different rules.
This is a consumer guide, not an endorsement of Google or any airline.
Source: Google Flights help page; 14 CFR 259.5 via the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations; DOT ticket refunds page, checked Nov. 2, 2026.