What’s The Best Day And Time To Book Flights (2024)

Historically, travelers have been advised to book flights on Tuesdays to get the best flight deal. And there was a time when this was true. A decade ago, airlines generally launched new sales on Tuesdays, and airlines were generally quick to match each other’s prices. This could lead to cheap flight deals on Tuesdays. That is if an airline launched a new sale.

However, this advice no longer holds true. Airlines don’t just release sales on Tuesdays, and airlines don’t always match their competitors’ sales. Now, the advice on what is the best day of the week to buy airline tickets depends on which study you read.

According to a 2023 study by Expedia, the cheapest day to book flights is Sunday. When comparing Sunday flight prices to Friday, Expedia found that travelers save 6% on domestic flights and 13% on international flights. An August 2022 study done by Google found that purchasing tickets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays resulted in prices that were 1.9% cheaper on average than flights purchased on Saturdays and Sundays. However, Google’s conclusion in releasing its study results: “There isn’t much value in purchasing your tickets on a certain day of the week.”

Most airlines release their bookable flights almost a year in advance, but there doesn’t seem to be any price benefit in booking so early. Incorporating the data from the Expedia and Google studies, here’s what we recommend in terms of how far in advance you should make your flight reservations.

Best Time To Book International Flights

According to Expedia’s study, the data shows that you ideally want to book around 60 days out, and no earlier than four months in advance for international travel. The study found you’ll save an average of 10% by booking sixty days in advance instead of further out.

Google’s flight price study analyzed two types of international flights. For flights to Europe, Google found that the best deals were found 129 days out—but could be anywhere between 50 and 179 days before departure. Flights to Mexico and the Caribbean didn’t require as much advance booking. Statistically, the best day to book flights was 59 days out, but the lowest fares were found anywhere between 37 and 87 days before departure.

Another reason to book international flights in advance is to take advantage of price drops. Basic economy fares are still generally restricted when it comes to changes on most airlines. However, standard economy fares are typically changeable for no fee on many U.S. airlines.

That means you can lock in what might seem like a decent deal well ahead of your flight. Then, watch for fare drops. If the price does decrease, you can change your flight and generally claim a voucher for the price difference. While a voucher isn’t as good as cash, you can utilize this voucher to save out-of-pocket costs on future flights.

Best Time To Book Domestic Flights

While you don’t need to plan too far out, you also don’t want to wait until the last minute to purchase domestic flights. The Expedia study found that the sweet spot to book is around 28 days before departure, where travelers save an average of 24% compared to those who wait. The Google study found prices bottomed out 44 days before departure. However, both studies agree that you don’t want to wait until the last minute.

Now that we’ve debunked that there’s a “one-size-fits-all” formula for the best time to book a flight, let’s talk about the real ways you can save when booking flights.

Book Changeable Flights and Rebook

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

Here’s the strategy: Start by booking a flight as soon as you know when you might travel. Make sure to select a fare that’s freely changeable or cancellable. Remember that basic economy tickets aren’t changeable or cancellable after 24 hours so double check the fare class before you press the buy button.

Then, track the price of that flight. If you catch a fare drop, change your flight with the airline to the lower priced ticket. You won’t get a refund for the price difference—instead you’ll get a flight voucher—so don’t forget to use the voucher before it expires. This strategy assumes that you would be likely to have use for the voucher, so if you don’t have future travel plans, then this is not a viable path for you.

Capital One Travel Price Drop Protection

Qualifying Capital One credit cardholders have a powerful tool on their side for finding cheap flights: the Capital One Travel portal.

Capital One partners with flight data service Hopper to analyze flight prices daily to predict when it’s a good time to buy your flight. When you search for flights, Capital One Travel will provide a recommendation on whether you should book now or wait.

Capital One and Hopper are so confident in their model that travelers get free price drop protection if the Hopper-powered price predictor tool recommends that you book now. Through this service, you’ll automatically get a Capital One travel credit of up to $50 if the price drops during a set time period after you book your flight.

Even better, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees) cardholders get $300 in annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel and earn 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases, 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25 and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel.

Track Flight Prices for Price Drops

Whether you aren’t ready to commit to purchasing a flight or you’re looking for price drops, you have a couple of free options for tracking flight prices—Google Flights’ price tracking tool and Capital One Travel’s price watch tool.

To set up price tracking on Google Flights, search for a flight. At the top of the results, you should see two options for tracking prices. One option sets up a flight price tracker only for flights that day. The other option will track flight prices on this route for any date—if your travel dates are flexible.

If you’re only interested in prices for a particular flight, select that flight from the results and click the Track prices button to track the price for just that flight.

Google Flights will periodically email you with updates on your tracked flights and routes. These emails can prompt you to book your flight—or rebook your flight at a lower price.

Or you can manually check back on how flight prices are changing over time by opening your tracked flight prices dashboard.

Read more. How To Use Google Flights To Find Cheaper Flights

Alternatively, eligible Capital One cardholders can use the Capital One Travel “watch this trip” option to get emails about price changes and when you should book. You can opt to exclude basic economy fares or include only non-stop flights.

Subscribe to Flight Deal Services

If you’re flexible on where you go and when you go, all of this advice so far isn’t going to help you much. Instead, we recommend subscribing to flight deal services that will alert you when there’s a cheap flight from your preferred departure airport(s). Some top flight deal subscription services include:

• Going (Formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights)
• FareDrop
• Thrifty Traveler Premium
• Dollar Flight Club

Airfare generally increases, often drastically, as the departure date approaches. Often the cheapest fares will have a requirement that the fare must be purchased 21 days in advance. As a result, last-minute flight deals are not all that common.

If you have to travel on short notice and your destination is fixed, here are some strategies to try. Note that these are generally some of the same strategies as looking for cheap fares.

Consider Flying to or From Alternate Airports

Check itineraries to or from other airports that you can reasonably get to. Positioning to another departure location could give you more flight options and lower prices. Similarly, arriving in an alternate arrival airport could get you a cheaper price. For example, flying into Chicago Midway can be cheaper than flying into Chicago O’Hare, or London Gatwick over London Heathrow.

Be an Early Bird or a Night Owl

Cheaper flights are often at less appealing times, such as early morning or late at night.

Be Willing to Change Planes

Flight routings with one or more stops can be cheaper, particularly with long layovers.

Use Spontaneity to Your Favor

If you are looking for cheap fares for a spontaneous trip, the Explore tool on Google flights is your best friend. Simply plug in your departure airport and dates on the Google Flights search page, leave the destination blank and click on Explore. Google will display the lowest cost for destinations all over the world.

Forbes Advisor Credit Card Writers Kaitlyn Rosatti and JT Genter contributed to this article.