Google Flights Says the Cheapest Day to Book Airfare Is a Myth—Here’s What Really Matters

Travelers are always on the lookout for ways to save, and new insights are revealing a popular booking belief may actually turn out to be a major myth.

For years, the rumor has been purchasing tickets or choosing to fly on Mondays and Tuesdays would save money, but that’s not actually the case, according to data from Google Flights shared with Travel + Leisure. Instead, there isn’t actually a day of the week to book that is significantly cheaper than others.

“It’s worth knowing that you won’t save much by booking on any particular day of the week,” James Byers, the group product manager for Google search, said in a statement shared with T+L. 

In fact, while Sunday is traditionally the most expensive day and Tuesday is technically the cheapest, there’s only 1.3% difference.

“Ticket prices are constantly changing and being updated across different data providers, even from second to second,” Sophia Lin, Google’s director of product management for travel and local, previously shared with T+L. “And every day, our systems are computing an enormous number of possible ticket combinations for trips around the world.

However, there are still important timelines to follow when booking flights to snag the lowest rates. Google recommends booking 39 days in advance for domestic flights and at least 49 days in advance for international flights to get the best prices. That can also change based on the destination: trips to Europe, for example, are typically cheaper 48 days or more before a scheduled departure while trips to Mexico or the Caribbean are cheapest 50 days before departure.

For the end-of-year holidays, Google recommends booking 35 days in advance for Thanksgiving and 51 days in advance for Christmas.

And while the specific day to book may not matter, it is notably cheaper to fly on Mondays through Wednesdays. Traveling early in the week could save about 13% compared to flying over the weekend, the tech company noted.

Travelers can take their cost-saving skills a step further by setting pricing alerts to be notified if the fare drops and using tools on Google Flights like looking at the price history. Google said booking a layover could also save an average of 22% compared to flying nonstop.

Byers told T+L tools like these make “it easy to locate those deals and get a better sense of how prices are expected to change over time.”

To develop its recommendations, Google analyzed flight prices across 4,000 markets between 2021 and 2025.