I recently read that Tuesday is the best day to purchase an airline ticket, and wanted to know if there is any merit to this. I am planning a flight to Denver the Friday before Christmas this year, and I know that is going to be a hectic airport weekend, so wanted to know if there are any other money saving tips that can be provided. My instinct is to buy the tickets as soon as possible because they will only get more expensive as the weekend approaches, but if there is a specific time frame (two months, 5 weeks, etc), I would love to know about it! Thank you!
If you want to buy during a holiday season I would buy as soon as the tickets are available as the prices will go up. It does depend where you are flying from and the time, also how flexible you are. Generally I would look at the airlines and their specials. Major airlines you can buy a year in advance usually, so you can look at the prices now already and compare them.
@whysewserious, that Tuesday sale is only for Cathay Pacific. However, their sale is not that much and I was not successful in buying a ticket from that Tuesday sale yet because of the not so cheap cost of their plane tickets. However, last weekend Cathay Pacific held a travel sales in an upscale mall which I was fortunate to have been informed. And the only cheap ticket I got was for Manila-Hongkong flight at $200 per person round trip. I bought 2 for me and my husband and the flight is in April 2017. All their other flights particularly to the US and Europe are expensive in spite of the sale.
I know that average prices for tickets bought on Friday are usually 13% higher than on Sunday, according to a new analysis of tickets sold world-wide over the last year. The reason is simple: Leisure travelers tend to book discount trips more heavily on weekends, while business travelers typically pay higher fares booking reservations at the end of the work week. Prices creep up on Fridays. Fare sales typically expire before Friday and many airlines launch their price hikes at the end of the week to see whether competitors all match over the weekend. Also, the inventory of available cheap seats sells down during the week before replenishment over the weekend or early in the week.
I have a feeling the OP is on about domestic flights in the US which are slightly different as there are flash sales, but the seats are limited. The airlines are usually about the same price and the best deals are early as they know people will need the seats, and if they cancel they can still sell the seats later on. If you buy a non-refundable ticket it will be cheaper, but the week before Christmas prices rarely go down, so if you see a good ticket I would buy it as soon as possible. I would check if the airlines have any loyalty discounts and you could use airmiles or earn them.
Thank you all for the feedback. Right now prices for where I am headed are pretty normal, but I know they will explode if I wait too long. Jut waiting for my paychecks to come in! Yes, I will be flying domestic, from Texas to Colorado. I don't really have a preference on what airline. I know Southwest lets you check a bag for free, any other pointers for airlines that have good freebies like that?
According to my experiences I just wanna add an advice here. "Do book on the day while you get affordable deals for your available days."
