What is the cheapest time to buy airline tickets?

Timing plays an important part. Specifically, plane tickets usually don't get cheaper closer to the departure date. Instead, flights tend to be the most inexpensive when you book between four months and three weeks before your departure date.



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Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to fly domestically. The cheapest days to depart if you're flying within the U.S. are midweek — generally Tuesday or Wednesday. For economy tickets, Tuesdays are about 24% lower than peak prices on Sundays, which translates to savings of about $85 per ticket.

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Tuesday Around Midnight is the Cheapest Time to Book
In general, flights were slightly cheaper at midnight earlier in the week (Monday through Wednesday). However, this is only applicable to about 1.6% of U.S. markets, meaning that it's not likely you'll find the same savings on your specific route.

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Generally, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are the cheapest days to fly, while Fridays and Sundays are pricier, according to travel deal site FareCompare. Leisure travelers tend to fly on the weekends, either starting their vacations on Friday or taking a long weekend Friday to Sunday.

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Fares are usually lower on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and highest on Fridays and Sundays. Flights later in the evening are also usually lower demand. Search nearby area airports. Low fares sold out at one airport, may be available at another nearby airport.

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How to set up Google Flights alerts
  1. Enter your travel information. Enter your travel details into Google Flights (number of passengers, origin airport, destination airport, dates, etc.). ...
  2. Click the “Track prices” toggle. ...
  3. View the flights you're tracking. ...
  4. Monitor your email.


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In the early days of online flight booking, airlines used to manually post their updated prices at a certain time of day each week. This led to the rise of the myth that the cheapest time to book a flight was on Tuesday (and specifically at 3am, many claimed).

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Tuesday Around Midnight is the Cheapest Time to Book In general, flights were slightly cheaper at midnight earlier in the week (Monday through Wednesday). However, this is only applicable to about 1.6% of U.S. markets, meaning that it's not likely you'll find the same savings on your specific route.

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We've explained why Tuesday is the best day to shop for airline tickets in the past – because so many airlines release weekly sales early on Tuesday, which then prompts competing airlines to match prices – so Tuesday is a good day to find a lot of deals. But don't worry, you can find deals on other days, too.

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Flights are typically the cheapest when you book 3-6 weeks in advance for domestic or 2-4 months in advance for international. It also helps to travel in off-season for your destination. November and February are often cheap months to travel for this reason.

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Book one-way flights instead of round trips
You can book through different airlines for the best prices on the days you plan on flying. For instance, Delta may be cheaper flying to your destination, but American may be cheaper coming back.

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Yes. Red eye flights are usually cheaper. Because of their obscure flight times, red eye flights are usually less in-demand. Therefore, airlines offer red eye flight tickets at a cheaper price as an incentive for passengers to book flights during these off-peak hours.

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As we've shown, the price of ticket on any one flight will change – and can even change multiple times a day. You simply do not have the time to mull things over and to shop around the Internet indefinitely to “make sure” you're getting the best deal.

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