I’m sure you’ve heard people say that booking a flight on a Tuesday means you’ll get a lower price. Or that booking flights in incognito mode or clearing cookies before you search will ensure you don’t get price-gauged.
But buying into common travel myths without knowing the full picture can mean you miss out on the affordable deals you could find if you were armed with some background information and knew the tricks to savvier searching. Understanding how and when to book will save you money, especially as we approach the holiday travel season.
So, are Tuesdays really the cheapest days to book flights?
The short answer is no. You might be surprised to hear the truth after years of listening to travel myths, but when it comes to scoring cheap airfare, this is what you need to know:
How to get the cheapest flights
It’s not always about when you book. It’s about when you fly.
According to 2025 data from Google Flights, the most affordable days to travel are Monday through Wednesday — they can actually be 13% cheaper than flying on a weekend. After all, traveling on a Tuesday means missing a weekday (Monday) and a weekend (Saturday and Sunday), which are the most popular travel days. You might also have a less crowded airport experience with shorter waits when flying on Tuesdays (though Tuesdays after long holiday weekends may be exceptions).
Bottom line: Don’t buy into the myths. Booking on a Tuesday may not save you money, but flying on a Tuesday sure will. Now, looking ahead …
It’s already time to start thinking about holiday travel
I know it’s still summer, and it might seem like the holidays are a long way off, but our TPG Aviation team crunched the numbers with data from our partners at Points Path. In June, average ticket prices were up a whopping 27% over last year, and as we look ahead to the holiday season, it isn’t showing signs of falling.
Thanksgiving airfare is nearly 13% more expensive than in 2025, and looking ahead to the winter holidays, domestic fares between Dec. 18 and Jan. 3 are about 18% higher than last year.
If you are looking for international flights, you’ll likely pay around 19% more than last year.
With jet fuel prices soaring and airlines having the busiest summer on record, there’s no incentive for prices to drop. I am now advising people to book well in advance to avoid further price increases. I’m suggesting locking in holiday travel before mid-September when prices typically go up again. You can always get a trip credit if the price drops (depending on the type of airfare you book).
Here are a few things I personally do when shopping for airfare.
Set Google price alerts
I like to set price alerts on Google Flights to ensure I’m getting the best deal possible and monitor for any price drops.
You can click on ‘View price history’ to understand more about the cost evolution. Google Flights will show suggestions for the best time to book, and you can click the button to track prices for specific dates or any date range.
As I’ve written about before, we’ve been testing a few new tools that track airfare and automatically issue a refund if your flight’s price drops. Junova and pAiback are two that we’ve seen success with. There’s a fee for the service that’s usually a percentage of the refund, but it’s a set it and forget it type of program. Create an account, log any flights you’ve booked and it does the work for you.
It’s time to lock in holiday travel to guard against further price increases. And if you really can’t find affordable cash prices? That’s what points and miles are for, so consider using them instead.
Check out these additional stories for booking tips:
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