The reserve of affordable air tickets can be a turbulent process. Prices increase and fall day by day, or in some cases, time by time. In the past, frequent flyers swore for loose strategies to find offers: Book a Tuesday! No, a Wednesday! Never a weekend! – But experts warn that many suggestions are not equivalent to more than myths.

While finding cheap aerial passages may feel useless, it is not impossible. This is what experts say you need to know.

Flight prices fluctuate, a lot

If you are looking for a flight through the country this summer, you will notice that prices tend to go up. One day, it could cost $ 500 and the next, $ 450. Days later, the price has fired up to $ 800. It turns out that this is normal.

“The air rate is volatile,” says Katy Nastro, spokesman to go (previously Scott’s cheap flights). “It is never a singular price.”

Experts say there are several factors that drive these fluctuations.

“Flight prices are influenced by demand, competition, fuel costs and seasonal trends,” says Melanie Fish, Vice President of Global Public Relations of Expedia Group. “If airlines notice that they are not selling as many seats as expected, or low -cost carriers are reaching a much lower price, they can adjust.”

Reserve windows

By deciding whether to reserve air passages, Nastro says that he should always use what he will call the golden ricitos window, which is a time range in which the rates are more likely to be low.

For national flights out of season, he advises to reserve from one to three months out, or three to seven months for the maximum summer or the holidays. Upon flying internationally, Nastro suggests expanding that period to two to eight months free from free season and four to 10 months during peak periods.

“Outside those windows, if you are reaching the edge, it is the best for your best interest and book because at that time, you are not likely to see the flight price falls.”

And according to the Expenditure Air Hacks Hacks Report, which analyzed billions of data points of each airline together with the Airlines report corporation, when reserving one to three months before a national flight, it can save up to 25 percent compared to last minute reserves.

“Keep in mind that the beginning of the year is a popular moment for people to begin to plan vacations, so if you go to Paris in June, for example, you will want to reserve your flights and accommodations sooner rather than later,” says Fish.

Even more granular, a 2024 report published by Google discovered that for national trips within the US, the average prices of flights are lower 38 days before departure. For international flights, average prices are lower 101 days before departure, with a low -price historical range at any time 50 days or more before takeoff.

However, that is a guide, not a guarantee.

“It is a common erroneous idea that there is a better unique day of the whole year that will be, at 100 percent certainty, when the flight that is seeing is the cheapest,” says Nastro.

Track and analyze your flights

The first thing to do when considering a flight is to establish an alert.

“You can use tools such as Google flights to establish price alerts on the flights that you are tracking, so when the price changes, you will receive an email that informs you,” says Julian Kheel, founder and CEO of Points Path, a website that helps consumers to maximize the points and miles of rewards. “The offers alert websites such as Thrifty Traveler, Going and Dollar Flight Club are excellent ways to establish their search in automatic pilot.”

Flight alerts can even be useful if you have already bought aerial rates.

“The majority of the main US airlines. Uu made the vast majority of their air rates easy to reserve without paying a fine, an exception are basic economic rates,” says Kheel. “Then, if you see a flight that seems reasonably at a price, you must reserve it, but then continue monitoring even after booking. If the price falls, it costs nothing to cancel and reserve at the lowest price and get a flight loan for difference. “

Other tools can help determine if the price is reasonable.

“If there are enough reliable data, Google’s flights will show price ideas that allow you to know the cheapest moment to reserve your chosen dates and destination,” says Sophia Lin, director of Product Management for Google Search, Travel, Travel AND Local experience. “This can help you decide whether to book today or wait for prices to fall, and it is a really powerful way to see the advice adapted to their specific plans.”

There are better days to travel

Experts promise that there is not a day of the week when it is guaranteed that you will see cheaper prices.

“I do not want people to become obsessed with the error they heard in Tiktok that on Tuesday at 2 pm is the best day, or that they should only reserve their flights on Saturdays. That is simply false, ”says Nastro.

“Twenty years ago, airlines used to load their schedules on the Internet once a week so that Tuesday’s myth could have been true then, but these days, algorithms are much more sophisticated. They do not load their rates once a week, they do it in real time, ”says Nastro.

However, it is true that some days are cheaper than others to fly. The recently published 2025 report of Expedia says that Sunday is the best day to reserve trips, but Google’s 2024 report emphasizes that despite the fact that “historically it has been the cheapest day to book, it is only 1.3 percent cheaper than the most expensive day.”

“There is no perfect day to book, but there are days of the week that are better to fly, not only for more space in the elbow but also in terms of affordability,” says Nastro. “In general, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, you will find better prices as less people travel.”

Some months are cheaper

According to Expedia winter travel perspectives, which examined the historical reserve data, you can expect lower air ticket prices in January and February due to a fall in demand after the busy vacation fever.

The report found that the average ticket prices for national flights in January are 10 percent cheaper than in December, and in February, international flights are 15 percent cheaper than in December.

And although spring can be an occupied moment to travel, Nastro says that this does not mean that it is guaranteed. “Spring holidays is technically a shoulder season, and it is not the same week for each state or school district.”

While summer is, without a doubt, a maximum travel period, if you want to leave, then, time is everything when it comes to saving money. Another expedia study published last year found that August sees the average prices of cheapest tickets of the season, with flights inside the US. Uu. It runs 15 percent less than in June.

Or wait until September after the weekend of Labor Day, and the average prices of tickets for national flights will be almost $ 100 cheaper than during the maximum summer, or $ 200 cheaper in mid -October for international flights.

Some flights always cost more

While prices can be inconsistent, one thing is safe: last minute rates are expensive.

“Waiting too much time to book can be a high -risk and high reward strategy. On the one hand, you could hook incredible treatment. On the other hand, it could end with a longer tail, exhausted flights or a higher ticket price, ”says Fish.

Experts also say that there is generally a culprit behind the last minute price increases.

“Business travelers often need to book at the last minute and are insensitive to prices, since their company is paying and the trip is not optional,” says Kheel. “Airlines know this and take advantage of their prices as the departure date of a flight is approaching.”

Last minute offers are even less common when traveling abroad.

“If you travel abroad, our best advice is to book as soon as possible,” says Lin. “Our analysis based on Google flight data found that for international trips that begin in the US, prices are lower than 50 days or more before the departure date. In other words, prices only tend to get closer to take off, so there is usually not much benefit in waiting. “

You just don’t book too early, either. “Airlines do not need to get out of the door with super cheap prices because they have the whole year,” says Nastro.

Be flexible

According to Google, your recommendation to book 38 days before a domestic flight came to analyze all flights at any time of the day, with or without scales, or distinguish between airport sizes.

So, although cheap rates can be available then, they are not always desirable. “It is recommended to buy your tickets early if you are particular about being on a given flight because you want to avoid taking a redeese or want to hook some exit row seats,” says Lin.

“A ‘good’ flight combines convenience, comfort and value. For example, a $ 90 flight is not necessarily a good offer if it includes three scales or takes four times more to reach the destination of normal, “says Fish.

Finally, be flexible, perhaps even spontaneous.

“The best tested and true method to obtain low air rates is to travel to destinations at lower demand times when less people cry out to go to the same place,” says Kheel. “If you are willing to be the brave soul that travels to places where others are not, you can get some excellent flight offers.”

(Related: Traveling in 2025? These are the changes you need to know about)