When is the best time to book flights?

[hcox31]

How many days out?
Any particular day of the week?
I have heard Tuesdays are lower prices for some reason...

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How many days out?
Any particular day of the week?
I have heard Tuesdays are lower prices for some reason...

The Best Time to Buy Airline Tickets
When to begin shopping and when to wrap up your purchase.

• Best day to shop: The best time to book a flight in the U.S. is usually Tuesday at about 3 p.m. eastern time. Reason: Many airlines release weekly sales late Monday or early Tuesday and by mid-afternoon, competing airlines have matched the lowest prices (so they don’t end up on page 30 of a shopper’s search query). Tuesday at 3 p.m. is usually when you’ll have the most deals to choose from.
• When to start and finish shopping: Shop too late and you may be hit with the kind of expensive, last-minute fares business travelers typically find, but shopping too early can also cost more. These are typical shopping windows for best-priced fares.
  • U.S. domestic tickets: Shop between 3 months and 30 days before departure.
  • International fares: Shop between 5 ½ months and 1 ½ months before departure.
  • Peak travel: During peak seasons such as June, July and August, the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving and the December holidays, it’s best to purchase tickets two months in advance.

http://www.farecompare.com/travel-advice/tips-from-air-travel-insiders/

 

[hcox31]

Thank you @PrincessShmoo !

 

[TDR32]

I will add that traveling during school vacation weeks mean high demand. If you are traveling during those times I would book as soon as you can. We bought tickets for our February 2018 cruise out of Miami back in May. The prices have only climbed from there. If you have a favorite airline find out when they release fares and book them early.

 

[longboard55]

I read 8 months for international and 3 months for domestic

 

[SteveMP]

Its funny, i read that same article posted about the day and times. On a Southwest flight I was looking at around 3PM on a Tuesday, the price actually went UP! It only went up about $40 but then was out of my points range. So i waited until the next week and bought them when they were low again(on a monday)My suggestion, if you have time, don't trust any article. Use something like that asa reference and then watch prices yourself for a week or two until you find one that fits your needs/budget.

 

[shellymo]

I booked our Southwest flights as soon as I could. They are booking out through next March and our cruise is in January. If you want a non-stop then it may fill up if you wait. The great thing about Southwest is if the price goes down then you can rebook for the lower price/points. One leg of our flight is already $100 more than when I booked. It may go up and down though several times during the wait.

 

[RobinVanellope]

Thanks.

The Best Time to Buy Airline Tickets
When to begin shopping and when to wrap up your purchase.

• Best day to shop: The best time to book a flight in the U.S. is usually Tuesday at about 3 p.m. eastern time. Reason: Many airlines release weekly sales late Monday or early Tuesday and by mid-afternoon, competing airlines have matched the lowest prices (so they don’t end up on page 30 of a shopper’s search query). Tuesday at 3 p.m. is usually when you’ll have the most deals to choose from.
• When to start and finish shopping: Shop too late and you may be hit with the kind of expensive, last-minute fares business travelers typically find, but shopping too early can also cost more. These are typical shopping windows for best-priced fares.
  • U.S. domestic tickets: Shop between 3 months and 30 days before departure.
  • International fares: Shop between 5 ½ months and 1 ½ months before departure.
  • Peak travel: During peak seasons such as June, July and August, the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving and the December holidays, it’s best to purchase tickets two months in advance.

http://www.farecompare.com/travel-advice/tips-from-air-travel-insiders/

 

[tlprice]

I bought my tickets to San Juan the first day that they were available for January 2018. I'm so glad I did. We got round trip tickets for under $400 each. The same tickets would be more than $1000 each now.