Best Time To Book Flight Ticket

For many years, conventional wisdom was that Tuesdays were the best days to book flights if you were looking for the cheapest fares. But does this truism still hold? Multiple studies have looked at the best day to purchase airline tickets and how far in advance to book—and the results might not be what you expect. 

What Is the Best Day To Book Flights?

Airlines were once known to discount fares on Tuesdays, with competitors quickly matching their prices. However, this advice is outdated: Airlines can (and do) update prices dynamically, with the best fares popping up sporadically rather than predictably.

Though sales come and go, a 2025 study by Expedia found the cheapest day to book flights is Sunday. However, the savings aren’t as significant as one might hope: Booking Sunday rather than Monday or Friday (the most expensive days) only saves travelers an average of 6% on domestic flights. On a $300 ticket, that’s $18. International tickets saw greater savings of up to 17%.

Before you get excited about booking on Sundays, you’ll want to take a look at some more data. A 2024 data study by Upgraded Points found that the best day to purchase airline tickets is Monday or Tuesday, with Friday and Saturday being the most expensive. And a Google study found that purchasing tickets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays was cheaper than buying flights on the weekends. Even Google concluded what you might be noticing: “There isn’t much value in purchasing your tickets on a certain day of the week.”

While there isn’t a clear answer on the best day to book flights, it does seem like you might want to avoid Fridays.

Learn more about how to use Google Flights to find cheap airfare. 

Booking in Advance: The Best Time To Book a Flight

If the day of the week doesn’t matter, it could be advantageous to book your flight with the appropriate amount of notice. Most airlines allow customers to book flights up to 11 months in advance, but booking on nearly a full year’s notice rarely results in the best price. Instead, here’s how far you should make your flight reservations in advance.

Best Time To Book Domestic Flight Tickets

The Expedia Air Hacks report found that for the best price, travelers should book flights within the U.S. 34 to 86 days prior to departure, or about one to three months’ notice. By doing so, travelers could save an average of 25% off the price of their ticket. The Google study found something similar, with the prices bottoming out about 44 days before departure and good pricing at any point from 21 to 60 days in advance.

Best Time To Book International Airfare

Contrary to what you might believe, booking international airfare on relatively short notice can be a good deal. Expedia found that buying international airline tickets with only 18 to 29 days notice can save you 17% compared to booking with at least three months advance notice.

Google dug into flights specifically for the U.S. to Mexico or the Caribbean and found that 59 days is the sweet spot, though booking flights anytime with 37 to 87 days notice could result in a good price. For Europe, a little more notice could be helpful: The best deals were typically 129 days before departure, with low fares available from 50 to 179 days out.

Although you’ll see some variability in numbers and trends, there’s no data to support that you need to commit to tickets a full year in advance if you’re looking for a deal.

Cheapest Day of the Week To Fly

Though the best days to buy plane tickets can vary, the day of the week you actually fly can make a big difference. Expedia’s data shows that flying on Saturdays will land you the best price when traveling within the U.S. while Thursdays are the best for flying internationally. A Hopper study also found midweek departures are a good way to save, with tickets on Tuesdays through Thursdays generally a better deal, especially within the United States. By focusing on the cheapest days of the week to fly, travelers could save approximately 15% on their tickets.

The most expensive flight day? Sunday, for both domestic and international travel.

How To Get Cheap Flights

When it comes to travel budgets, every little bit helps, but a few methods could supercharge your savings to whole new heights.

Travel Off-Peak

Everyone wants to go to Florida during spring break, to visit family for Thanksgiving and explore Europe over the summer. That means these popular flights will be attached to premium prices.

Traveling when the crowds aren’t, if you’re able, can help you lock in a better price. For example, flights for beach vacations are cheaper in January than in March, yet just as fun. The shoulder season of September and October can be a more affordable time to fly than over summer when school’s out in June and July. For holidays, shifting your travel by a day or two can also help you find off-peak pricing.

Off-peak can be more subtle, too. Taking the first or last flight of the day could be cheaper. Choosing less popular, alternate airports like Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) instead of Washington Reagan (DCA) or accepting a connecting itinerary instead of a nonstop flight could save you a ton.

Track Flight Prices

Airfare price tracking no longer requires you to manually recheck costs on your own—multiple websites will do this for you. Search tools like Google Flights, Kayak.com and Skyscanner use algorithms to compare current prices to past trends to estimate when it’s a good time to buy. You can also set up price alerts, so you’re notified by email if prices change.

Some tools allow you to get very specific with your price tracking (for example, limiting results to nonstop flights, specific airlines or certain times of day) while others will track all prices for all flights on your route and date. 

Look for Opportunities To Rebook If the Price Drops

Most U.S. airlines have eliminated change fees on standard economy tickets and higher. That means you can book early and rebook at a cheaper rate if your price drops.

To take advantage of this strategy, book a flight as soon as you find one that’s acceptable to you. Then, track flight prices. If the fare drops, you can cancel your ticket and rebook at the lower price to lock in the savings.

This is an expert-level strategy, so there are a few things to keep in mind before trying this:

1. Basic economy tickets aren’t eligible for changes or cancellations, so double-check the fare class before you press the buy button. You’ll need to buy a more expensive Economy fare if you think you’ll want to change it in the future.

2. Savings from price drops are issued in vouchers. You won’t get a refund on your credit card. Instead, you’ll get a voucher for future use with the airline. You’ll need to watch out for expiration dates (and be aware that the expiration might coincide with the last day you can travel vs. the last day you can book).

3. There’s no guarantee that prices will drop. You might get lucky with a price drop and a voucher, but you also might never see a decrease in price. It’s better to assume what you paid is the final cost of your ticket and perhaps be pleasantly surprised later.

Subscribe To Flight Deal Services

Often, the absolute cheapest airfares are the ones you’re not seeking. If you’re flexible with when and where you travel, subscribing to a flight deal service will alert you anytime there’s a killer deal from your preferred departure airport(s).

These can be bargain-basement fares of 50% off—mistake fares may save you even more—but this requires you to be open-minded about how you book a trip. Instead of settling on a destination and then looking for a good price, you’ll peruse through deals and see if any catch your eye. The deal determines the destination.

Some subscription services include:

• Daily Drop Pro

• Dollar Flight Club

• Fare Deal Alert

• Going (Formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights)

• Secret Flying

• The Flight Deal

• Thrifty Traveler Premium

Bottom Line

The once-popular notion of booking flights on Tuesday doesn’t hold as true today, but there are still strategies to find the best deals. Instead of focusing on the best days to buy plane tickets, travelers are better off booking within the optimal time frame (one to six months in advance, depending on your destination), avoiding peak travel days and using tools like price alerts and flight deal services. With a little planning and flexibility, travelers can still land great deals without a crystal ball that predicts the perfect time to book.

Find the Best Ai

© 2026 www.bookings99.in. All Rights Reserved.