Used to book flights 6 months ahead, now I wait 6 weeks

I always thought booking early saved money, but last fall I needed a last-minute trip to Austin and found a round-trip for $89 six weeks out. Now I just set alerts on Google Flights and grab whatever pops up around 45 days before. Has anyone else noticed the sweet spot getting shorter?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_martinez821mo ago

Yeah I've been doing the same thing. Flew to Denver last month booked exactly 47 days out and got it for $68. Used to think I was being smart booking way early but airlines just drop prices close in to fill seats.

murphy.aaron1mo ago

Ray I must be the idiot they designed those algorithms for. I booked a trip to Chicago six months out last year and paid $250, then watched it drop to $80 the week before. My girlfriend still brings it up like I committed a financial crime. Now I just tell people my travel planning strategy is "wait until the last possible second and panic". At least I'm consistent right?

patricia_gonzalez1mo ago

Wait is this actually a thing now? I booked a flight to Miami THREE months out once because I was so scared prices would go up, ended up paying $220 and then saw the SAME flight drop to $140 six weeks before. My cousin works in travel and she told me airlines use algorithms now that literally punish early bookers by charging MORE because they know anxious people will pay. I only fly like twice a year so I never paid attention, but after that Miami thing I started testing it. I booked a trip to Phoenix exactly 40 days out last spring and got it for $97 round trip. The key for me was setting like five different alerts and actually checking them, plus being flexible on which airport I fly out of.