When it comes to taking a vacation, your airfare is often one of the most expensive components. That’s why it’s so important to book the cheapest fare you can.
The problem is that the price of airfare is notoriously volatile. The amount you’ll pay for a flight can change from day to day and even from hour to hour, making it essential to snag a good fare when you see one.
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The good news is that in the era of “big data,” there’s enough information on historical pricing trends to give you an idea as to when the cheapest fares are most likely to be available. According to Google, the ideal booking window can vary dramatically depending on the type of ticket you’re buying and the time of year you intend to travel.
Just remember that while ideal pricing windows may give you the best shot at scoring a cheap fare, past trends don’t guarantee future results. With that in mind, here’s a look at the best time to buy various types of airfare, according to data from Google.
Domestic Flights
According to Google, the best window to snag a cheap domestic flight is within 21 and 52 days before take off. Within the 21-day window, prices almost always increase, and oftentimes dramatically. The exact cheapest day within this range of dates is impossible to predict.
However, according to Google, average prices for domestic airfare within the U.S. have been cheapest 38 days before departure. However, there are some exceptions depending on the time of year you’re flying.
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Holiday Travel
Travel demand in the U.S. peaks around the major holidays. This impacts airline pricing, as well. Even if you get a “good deal,” you shouldn’t expect your fare to be the lowest of the year on that given route.
Holiday demand also tends to push out the ideal booking windows. As most people want to travel on these dates, the cheapest fares go quickly, and as the saying goes, “the early bird gets the worm.” For this reason, you’ll generally want to buy fares for holiday travel sooner rather than later.
According to the Google data, trips around Thanksgiving are cheapest 45 days before departure, not the usual 38. This means the cheapest fares for Thanksgiving travel are usually found early in October. Overall, the range of lowest prices is from 26 to 59 days out, longer than the traditional 21 to 52 days out.
Christmas is an even higher-impact travel period than Thanksgiving. This means you’ll have to book even earlier — 36 to 72 days out — to get the best prices for travel over Christmas. Google’s data suggests the lowest price is usually found 58 days before departure. This puts the ideal booking window in the second half of October.
For spring break travel in March or April, the low-price window runs from 33 to 59 days out, with the cheapest prices 44 days ahead of travel. Over the summer, prices are lowest 21 days before departure, with the optimal booking window ranging from 13 to 43 days out.
International Flights
When it comes to pricing, international flights are a whole different animal than domestic flights. In most cases, you’ll have to book considerably earlier than you would with a flight that’s wholly within the United States.
Google’s data shows that average prices for international airfare are lowest 101 days before departure, or nearly three times as early as you’d want to book a domestic flight. Prices tend to increase dramatically within 50 days of departure, more than double the 21-day limit that’s usually the cutoff for cheaper domestic fares.
Flights to Europe from the U.S. tend to follow this same general pattern, with the cheapest fares coming 94 days before departure and the low-fare window expiring 50 days out.
For Mexico and the Caribbean, the cheap-booking window is a bit closer to the domestic range, but it’s still a bit more in advance. Typically, the cheapest flights come 44 days before departure, with the optimal booking window running from 26 to 68 days out.
The Bottom Line
Searching for the best airfare is part art and part science. While historical pricing trends can help provide a good estimate for how early you should book, prices are always subject to the whims of supply and demand.
The most important thing to remember is that you’ll nearly always find cheaper airfares if you book at least 21 days in advance for domestic departures and 50 or more days ahead of time for international flights.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Looking for Cheaper Airfares? Use These Booking Windows
