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Is one day of the week really better than all the others for booking cheap flights?
You may have heard that Tuesday is the cheapest day of the week to book flights and that you will find the lowest airfares on this day.
This has been common travel advice for years, but was usually considered a myth: the day of the week you purchased your plane ticket didn’t matter, but the day of the week you actually flew did, and Tuesday flights did Are among the cheapest.
However, a new study from Upgraded Points suggests that there may indeed be a cheapest day of the week to book flights.
They analyzed more than 44,000 flights from eight popular US airlines and here’s what they found.
The cheapest day to book flights is…
According to Upgraded Points data, this is the cheapest day of the week to book a flight Tuesday – but only a little.
The average flight cost for all flights analyzed was $225.21 one way, and on Tuesday there were cheaper fares with an average price of $213.31 a way.
This is closely followed by Wednesday where the average airfare was $213.44.
So it turns out that booking your flights on Tuesday or Wednesday can indeed save you some money – about 5% compared to the average flight price.
What is the most expensive day?
Upgraded points also determined the worst days to book a flight.
Saturday is the most expensive day to book a flight, with the average cost of a one-way ticket booked on this day coming in at $241.61 that is 7% more expensive than the weekly average.
Also avoid booking flights on one Friday because that’s what the average cost is $238.47.
If you wait a few days before booking a flight, you can save a significant amount of money compared to booking on a Friday or Saturday.
But it varies per airline
This may all seem pretty simple, but where it gets really interesting is that this is the cheapest day of the week to book a flight varies per airline.
While the above data is based on all eight US airlines analyzed, the cheapest and most expensive days can vary significantly depending on which airline you fly.
- Alaska Airlines: Thursday is the cheapest, Friday and Saturday the most expensive.
- US Airlines: Friday and Sunday are the cheapest, Monday the most expensive.
- Delta Airlines: Thursday is the cheapest, Friday and Saturday the most expensive.
- Border airlines: Tuesday is the cheapest, Friday and Saturday the most expensive.
- Hawaiian Airlines: Tuesday is the cheapest, Saturday and Sunday the most expensive.
- JetBlue Airways: Sunday is the cheapest, Friday the most expensive.
- Spirit Airlines: Monday is the cheapest, Saturday the most expensive.
- United Airlines: Sunday is the cheapest, Thursday and Friday the most expensive.
Overall, however, Monday and Tuesday have the cheapest flights, while Friday and Saturday have the most expensive flights.
More tips to save money on flights
So it turns out that booking your flight on Tuesday (or Monday) for better deals might not be a travel myth after all!
Now that you know the best (and worst) days of the week to book flights, why not check out these additional tips for saving money on flights?
These are the best Google Flight hacks to help you find the best deal on airline tickets.
These travel tips from Expedia are also helpful for knowing when to book your flights depending on where you’re going to save money.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, and not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included in the post.
