Google data reveals the exact best days to book travel for the holidays

The cheapest time to scoop up low airfare has just been revealed.

You can always count on the holidays to be two things — stressful and expensive. Those traveling to visit loved ones have most likely played the proverbial game of booking flights.

Should you buy now or wait a week to see if fares drop? Well, Google may have given you the right answer. 

Google just released its latest insights on booking cheap flights kasto – stock.adobe.com

The search engine behemoth has been collecting data using its Google Flights fares, and recently released its latest analysis on the best times to book flights this holiday season. And you may want to act fast because it’s right now.

The global tech company used five years of its own aggregated data and found that the best time to travel for Thanksgiving and Christmas is in October.

For Turkey Day, Google found the lowest prices are 34 days before departure — with the cheapest price range being 21–57 days.

Cheaper Christmas bookings saw a bit of a difference this year — as better deals have shifted earlier. According to the new data, the most affordable prices now hit 56 days before departure — with the lowest price range between 33–67 days. 

This means that the best deals fall between late October and mid-November — about five days earlier than last year.

For early planners, the internet giant also included the cheapest time to purchase tickets for spring break and for summer vacation. Spring breakers will find the lowest prices 50 days before departure with the lowest price range between 29–64 days for trips in March or April — a full week earlier than last year. 

Summer vacationers will see the cheapest bookings 21 days before take off with the lowest price range being 20–47 days for trips in July or August.


A female tourist holds her passport and boarding pass while looking at flight schedules in an airport terminal.
The global tech brand found that lowest booking fares for Thanksgiving and Christmas start in October Shutter2U – stock.adobe.com

Google also dispelled a few myths like the Tuesday trick — where travelers see lower fares on specific weekdays.

The company said that while Wednesdays actually beat out Tuesdays for the most affordable day to book — the difference is negligible. 

“Buying on a Wednesday only saves you about 1.4% compared to Sunday, the most expensive day,” Google said in its release.

The company said it’s better to focus on when you fly rather than when you book. For example, departing on Monday and returning on Tuesday or Wednesday saves roughly 14% over weekend flights — and up to 20% domestically versus departing and returning on Sunday.

Lastly, travelers looking to save even more may want to be a bit more flexible and open-minded to the dreaded connecting flight. While the nonstop route is typically preferred, passengers will likely keep more cash in their pocket by skipping the nonstop, as those tickets are 20% more expensive on average.

So, passengers looking to save a few bucks this year on plane tickets may want to break out those computers and start booking.

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