Here are some tips for timing your ticket purchases to get the best possible rate for buying plane tickets for every occasion. Just keep in mind that airline prices are an art, not a science.
If you’re traveling:
At a normal time (Not During the Holidays or High Season)
Non-peak domestic flights present one of your best shots at timing your ticket buying. This will be easiest if it’s a route you’re familiar with and you have a sense of what a good price is.
When to buy: Recent fare analysis by the Airlines Reporting Corporation, which processes ticket transactions for airlines and travel agencies, reported that over the past four years passengers paid the lowest price for domestic flights when buying just about six weeks in advance.
So, when buying your tickets:
- Check available tickets eight to ten weeks before your departure. If the flights aren’t too booked, wait until six weeks prior.
- At six weeks: If the price looks good, go ahead and book. If the tickets look a little high but your flight is pretty full, buy anyway because fares will probably only go up. If the price is high and your flight is pretty empty, you can choose to wait a week or two to see if prices decrease.
- Consult resources like Kayak’s fare chart and Momondo to see if your flight’s price is likely to go down. Put a fare alert on a few different airlines.
- Right before you’re two weeks out, buy your tickets. If you book within 14 days, airlines assume you’re a business traveler and will charge you a premium.
To a Popular Location in the High Season
Disney World during summer break. Aspen during ski season. Anywhere warm during the winter. When you’re trying to go somewhere at a popular time, buy tickets well in advance.
When to buy: One to three months in advance—preferably three.
Bonus tip: Prices will be lowest if you avoid the usual Friday to Sunday weekend cycle. If you’re going for a weekend, try using the “weekend trip” option under the “flexible trip” search on most web resources like Kayak. This lets you define weekend however you want, whether Friday to Sunday or Saturday to Monday, so you can find the cheapest options.
Around a Holiday
Thanksgiving is the absolute hardest to buy tickets for, because everyone is trying to fly out and return on the same days (Wednesday to Sunday). Christmas is more flexible because people choose different days off. Notice when holidays fall midweek. For example, if July 4th falls on Wednesday (like this year) some people take time off before, some after. This allows you more flexibility in buying tickets.
When to buy: At least three months out. Aim to buy Thanksgiving tickets the Tuesday after Labor Day; don’t book too early because rates will usually come down at least a little after the summer, when rates are high because gas is expensive.
Bonus tip: If you can, avoid Sunday flights and traditional travel days. That could mean leaving before and coming back later than most people, or flying on the holiday itself. You can often save 50% on a ticket by flying Christmas Eve or day. For example, you could leave Thanksgiving Day and return on Saturday for cheaper fares.
In the springtime
Avoid spring breaks are in your region, if at all possible. Spring is pretty expensive across the board because of spring break and Easter holidays. Spring breaks are different for college kids, families, public schools, private schools, etc. You can search your local school district’s website for the dates.
When to buy: If you’re traveling any time during your area’s spring break, at least three months in advance. If not, you can look at how full your flight is and try to time your purchase for the best prices.
Over the summer
If you’re looking to travel this summer, book your flights right away because there will almost certainly be more fare increases to come. Take earlier morning flights because rain delays are a lot more common in the summer.
When to buy: Three months before your departure, depending on where you’re going. More than any other season, buy early because gas prices are notoriously high. Prices usually only go up as the summer progresses.
Bonus tip: Extend the summer for better prices—if you can book your vacation for May or September, you’re likely to save as much as 25-50% on air and hotel. You can also find deals when certain regions have slow seasons because of school schedules. For instance, Northeast schools are usually in session through mid-June, so beaches in New England offer deals in early June. Southeastern schools start back in mid-August, so beach destinations in South Carolina and Florida may offer late August deals.
During the fall
Autumn isn’t typically leisure travel season since kids are back in school, so there are a lot of great fare sales, particularly last-minute ones around late September or October. If you are open and flexible, this is a great season for an off-peak leisure trip to a mountainous area or somewhere off-season like Mexico.
When to buy: You can wait longer and be more open to last-minute deals (like two to four weeks in advance) in the fall. If you need to go somewhere in particular, though, buy six weeks in advance so you aren’t gambling.
Bonus tip: Avoid fall convention hotspots like Las Vegas, NYC and Orlando. A great time for a cheap leisure trip is between Thanksgiving and Christmas. For trips during that time, start looking in September.
In the winter
Aside from the obvious winter holidays, traveling in the winter will depend a lot on where you’re going. If it’s a warm getaway, you’re buying in the high season. If you’re going somewhere less popular (read: to and from colder locales) you’ll have more leeway.
When to buy: If you’re going skiing, book extremely early because ski season is so short and flights to tiny ski towns are often small—at least three months in advance, if not as early as September. If you’re traveling somewhere warm, give yourself three months. If you’re going to an unpopular destination, you can play closer to the bone and try to time the best prices. (Check out the section about off-peak travel for the plan of attack).
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