Book your ticket at the right time
Supposedly, there is a method to the airline ticket price madness. Research shows that airlines often announce deals on Monday evenings, in turn by Tuesday afternoon other airlines are scrambling to match those deals. For that reason, many consumers think the best day to buy a ticket is on a Tuesday.
But, Texas A&M crunched some numbers according to USA Today. Their study found that in some cases it was actually cheaper to book a trip on the weekend. Writer Kim Komando explained the research: “That’s because airlines are more likely to lower their fares on Saturday and Sunday to attract leisure travelers. The study found that tickets purchased on the weekend were historically an average of 5% cheaper than similar tickets purchased during the week.”
But there is a catch. “That was only to places with mixed business and leisure settings. Leisure-only destinations, like Las Vegas, don’t change much through the week,” Komando wrote. Dillon echoed the theory that tickets seem to be cheaper by mid day Tuesday or even Wednesday. “Fridays, in my experience, are when fares are at their highest and rarely a good day to buy. If there aren’t sales happening during the week, then weekends can also be a good time to buy as airlines attempt to attract leisure travelers,” she said. Dillon also recommends signing up for airfare alerts when you’re focused on a particular destination.
Celebrate the holidays after the holidays
Sure, we may all dream of a Christmas or Thanksgiving holiday vacation, but if you really can’t afford to take off from the runway during peak travel seasons, postpone your trip until you can afford to go where you really want to go. Treat yourself to your own personal holiday after everyone else has. “Traveling off-season can save huge amounts of money on airfare and hotels,” Dillon said. “The shoulder season is the month or so between high season and off-season when tourists are slowly trickling in or out. Shoulder season is usually when the weather starts to change so your odds of good weather can be high in addition to reduced rates. Fares won’t be quite as low as during off-season but it’s a chance to hopefully get the best of both worlds.”Celebrate your family’s service with a discount.
