Financial Planning Busting Cheap Airfare Myths Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this: Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn Written by Mint.com Published Feb 11, 2013 2 min read Advertising Disclosure The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. Third-party blogger may have received compensation for their time and services. Click here to read full disclosure on third-party bloggers. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice. The content on this blog is "as is" and carries no warranties. Intuit does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, reliability, and completeness of the content on this blog. After 20 days, comments are closed on posts. Intuit may, but has no obligation to, monitor comments. Comments that include profanity or abusive language will not be posted. Click here to read full Terms of Service. Planning to hit the beaches on spring break or take your kids to a theme park during school vacation? Better buy those tickets soon. A new study from CheapAir.com indicates that the lowest prices can be found about seven weeks out. The study also addresses questions like “When’s the best time to buy a ticket for Thanksgiving?” and “Is Tuesday night really the best time of the week to buy a ticket?” The answer to the second question, by the way, is “no.” “This is one of the most surprising things to me,” says Jeff Klee, CEO of CheapAir.com. After all, doesn’t “everyone” know that the best time to buy is around midnight Monday? But Klee’s data sugests that while many sales are advertised late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, they tend to be “a limited number of seats and only for certain flights and dates.” Besides, he says, plenty of “unheralded” sales are announced throughout the week. The progression of airline ticket prices. CheapAir.com crunched data from more than 560 million search requests last year to come up with this information. Generally speaking, the fare progression looked like this: When tickets first become available for a flight, fares stay on the high side for a while. Two to three months out, airlines look at how ticket sales are going and “how aggressively (they) have to discount.” Up to about one month out, prices were fairly low and fairly stable. At the one-month mark, fares went up pretty drastically. The prices go up – who knows where they come down? Klee notes that these are averages, not absolutes. Still, they’re a decent general indicator of how prices are determined in general. Sure, incredible deals are sometimes available at the last minute. Often they aren’t. “For everyone who lucked out with a great price at the last minute,” he says. “There were thousands who couldn’t find one.” Helpful travel tips. If you’re interested in going to Europe this summer, start looking no later than 81 days before you want to leave. As for Christmastime travel, the best deals appeared about 14 weeks out. Tuesday is generally the cheapest day to fly and Sunday is usually the most expensive. There’s an average difference of $58 between the two days. Thus, the more flexible you are, the more you’ll save. Finally, if you’re buying your ticket online, give yourself an additional layer of savings by purchasing through cash-back shopping sites like Mr. Rebates, Extrabux, or Ebates. “Busting Cheap Airfare Myths” was provided by MoneyTalksNews.com. Previous Post 9 Online Resources for Aspiring Urban Homesteaders Next Post Easy Chocolate Valentine’s Day Desserts Written by Mint.com More from Mint.com Browse Related Articles Mint App News Intuit Credit Karma welcomes all Minters! Retirement 101 5 Things the SECURE 2.0 Act changes about retirement Home Buying 101 What Are Homeowners Association (HOA) Fees and What Do They Cover? Financial Planning What Are Tax Deductions and Credits? 20 Ways To Save on Taxes Financial Planning What Is Income Tax and How Is It Calculated? Investing 101 The 15 Best Investments for 2023 Investing 101 How To Buy Stocks: A Beginner’s Guide Investing 101 What Is Real Estate Wholesaling? Life What Is A Brushing Scam? Financial Planning WTFinance: Annuities vs Life Insurance