Jet Away This Holiday With Travel Tips From Johnny DiScala

STUDIO CITY (CBS) — Johnny DiScala, a.k.a. Johnny Jet, visited the KCAL 9 studios Friday to give viewers holiday travel tips.

DiScala is a travel expert with stories, advice and more available on his blog. He is also the Hilton Honors Points Person.

Johnny Jet's Travel Tips

· Be Flexible: Traveling during the holidays is inevitably expensive and frustrating. Be flexible. If you are looking for a last-minute deal over the Christmas holidays, try flying on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve. You can save hundreds of dollars. The same goes for New Year's Eve. During winter break, consider flying either before or after the busiest travel days. Mid-week is ideal.

· Ship Bags: Travel experts suggest cutting your wardrobe by half so it fits into a carry-on bag, but this strategy sometimes isn't feasible – especially if you have gifts to pack. Try shipping luggage ahead of time using FedEx Ground or UPS to save money, time and space.

· Book Your Hotel Room with Points and Money: Have points that you'd like to use to book your room, but not quite enough? Hilton HHonors members can combine points with money to book a standard room. This is a great option for HHonors members who are looking to save on their hotel room but have not yet accumulated enough points for a free stay or prefer to save points for future free stays.

· Book the Early Flight: Book an early morning flight, as it increases your chances of an on-time departure and maximizes vacation time. The first morning flights have the best on-time records, with delays increasing as the day progresses.

· Search your Favorite Social Media Sites: A lot of airlines and hotels now offer Twitter- or Facebook-only deals. Follow your favorite travel companies' social media sites for these offers.

· Book a Premium Room with Points: For the first time, HHonors members can use their points to book premium rooms and suites at hotels worldwide, with no blackout dates. This new reward option opens up more than 200,000 additional rooms and suites that were previously unavailable for point redemption.