Buying Plane Tickets at the Right Timing

When you're planning to fly, whether for business or pleasure, getting a great flight deal can make the entire trip price-friendly or even free. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to know when a good deal will appear. Prices change constantly, and knowing the best time to buy is a guessing game.

The right timing will vary by route, destination, and date of travel. But experts agree on some general guidelines for scoring the best deals.

Start your search with an aggregator site or app that compares prices across multiple airlines and sites. Then check the airline's website directly to see if it has any better deals, which they may not share with aggregators. Buying through the airline directly also usually gives you the option to select seats, which isn't available on all apps and aggregators, and you can choose add-ons like bag fees and priority boarding. However, you should be wary of an airline that pushes its own add-ons hard during the checkout process, such as Frontier. The airline attempts to nudge you into buying a seat selection, priority boarding, and a flexible ticket at an increased cost.

Airline pricing is based on algorithms that take بلیط تهران مشهد many factors into consideration, including supply and demand. But experts say it's important to monitor trends to get a feel for when fares might drop or increase. That can be done easily with a flight tracker or price alerts from a service like Google Flights or Kayak.

A study by Expedia found that the sweet spot for booking a flight is 28 to 35 days out. And a recent Google study found that flights are typically cheapest in the middle of the week (Monday through Wednesday) versus the weekend.

Consider itineraries that skip one or more stops. Flights that depart early in the morning or late at night can be cheaper, as can connecting flights that reduce overall flight time. You can also score some cheap fares by flying to or from alternate airports close to your home, such as Chicago Midway instead of O'Hare and London Gatwick instead of Heathrow.

Be flexible on your dates. Trying to stick to specific dates can narrow your options and drive up prices. And don't dismiss "unpopular" destinations or times. Flights to and from smaller, less-popular cities can be significantly cheaper.

Once you find a fare that works for you, don't nerd out and search for five more hours, hoping to beat the deal. You'll just waste your energy and frustrate yourself. And if you do happen to find an even better price, many airlines honor that and will refund or credit the difference. Some credit cards offer price protection too, so it's worth checking the terms of yours before you book. If all else fails, consider calling the airline to ask if they will match or beat the competitor's price. That's not guaranteed, but it never hurts to try. Good luck!