The Best Days to Book a Flight and When to Fly
The old rules around the cheapest and the most expensive days to fly have slightly changed over the past years.
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Updated · 4 min read
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Believing there's just one optimal day of the week (and perhaps even a specific time of day) to save on flights is the stuff of legends. And like all good legends, there is some truth to it … but it's not the whole story.
The reality is that flight prices change constantly and at all hours of the day, adjusting to real-time demand. Airlines don't restock on the same day every week like a grocery store, so you won't find deals by waiting until Tuesdays to book. However, you might find some modest savings if you're willing to fly on certain days of the week, when there's less demand than usual.
Here's what the data shows on the best days to book a flight and when to fly to score the best deals.
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Best day to book a flight: Friday
You can find deals any day of the week since flight prices fluctuate with demand. That said, data provided to NerdWallet by Expedia indicates that — if you have flexibility on when to book — Fridays are generally best.
That said, the day you book matters less than how far in advance you book. Airlines adjust prices constantly based on demand, competitor pricing and available inventory. Flexibility and lead time will always matter more than which day of the week you open your browser.
How early should you book your trip?
Don't want to book too far in advance. According to airfare deals site Going, the best time to book flights with cash is one to three months in advance for domestic trips and two to eight months out of international trips.
And what about if you're paying with points? Book those award tickets as soon as they become available — as inventory will likely run out before deals even have a chance to drop.
Best day to fly
Friday averages the overall cheapest flights by pretty much every metric.
The 2026 Expedia data ranks every day of the week by average cost. Here are the days of week, from cheapest to most expensive for domestic flights:
- Friday (cheapest).
- Thursday.
- Tuesday.
- Wednesday.
- Saturday.
- Monday.
- Sunday (most expensive).
Flying on a Friday instead of Sunday can save up to 8%, according to Expedia's 2026 Air Travel Hacks Report. Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly in terms of raw average cost, coming in at about 14% less than Sunday departures.
Avoid Monday and Sunday departures
Sunday and Monday remain the most expensive days to fly domestically. If you can't fly on a Friday or Tuesday, midweek departures (Tuesday through Thursday) generally offer savings compared to weekend travel.
Do the same rules apply or international flights?
For international travel, the savings variation across days of the week tends to be smaller than for domestic routes, but midweek departures are still typically among the cheaper options.
Cheapest (and most expensive) months to fly
Picking the right month can make just as big a difference as the day of the week.
Cheapest months to fly: August, September and January.
Most expensive months to fly: December, June and July.
January and September are particularly strong for value. That's because demand drops sharply after the holidays and summer rush, and airlines respond with lower fares. If you have flexibility, these are the months to plan around.
When to book holiday flights for 2026
Holidays are an entirely different beast. Sure, September is generally one of the cheapest months to fly — but the rules don't apply on Labor Day weekend. There are typically more people flying in the days around a holiday, so there are fewer airplane seats available and higher prices.
Here are our recommendations for when to fly around some of the major holidays based on recent checkpoint data from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA):
The rules are also different around how far out to book holiday travel. Based on Google Flights' insights from four years of aggregated data, here are some guidelines on when to book flights for the winter holidays.
When to book Thanksgiving flights
- Lowest prices: ~35 days before departure.
- Sweet spot: 24–59 days out.
- Action plan: Start looking in early October.
When to book Christmas flights
- Lowest prices: ~51 days before departure.
- Sweet spot: 32–73 days out.
- Action plan: Start booking in mid-October through mid-November.
One underrated hack: flying on the holiday itself (Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day) is almost always significantly cheaper than the surrounding days.
Great cards for booking flights
Flight booking benefits
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• 5 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel (on up to $500K per calendar year). Terms apply.
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• 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. Terms apply.
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• 3 points per dollar spent on air travel.
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Still not sure?
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Tips to find cheap flights any day of the week
Set a price alert
Tools like Google Flights, Hopper, Skyscanner or Kayak can notify you when prices drop on a route you're watching. There's no reason to check manually every day.
Rebook if you find a cheaper price
Most airlines have adopted more flexible change and cancellation policies, which make it easier to rebook your flight and save money.
Most airlines now offer free changes on main cabin and premium tickets for domestic flights. If a price drops after you've booked, you can cancel and rebook — just verify your ticket offers this sort of rebookable fare (e.g. it isn't a basic economy fare) before counting on this.
Be flexible with destination, airport and dates
The golden rule of cheap travel remains: Be flexible. Use Google Flights to see if there are cheaper places to go by leaving the destination field blank when you search. Check nearby airports if you’re set on a destination and use the calendar views to find lower prices on different dates. Maybe embrace a long layover as a chance to see another city on your trip.
After all, the best day to book a flight and the best day to fly is when it’s cheapest, and that could vary depending on when and where you are going.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
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- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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