The Best Time to Book Flights to Popular Travel Destinations

Doing things at the right time can sometimes be helpful. Likewise, booking tickets for your vacation or any planned trip can avail you of better discounts than you ever thought of. Booking United Airlines tickets at the right time can save you hundreds of dollars. Here's what you need to know:

If you book your domestic flight 45 to 60 days before you leave, you can save up to 25%.

• Plan two to eight months for international flights; the best deals happen three to five months before you go.
• The best time to book is usually on Sunday when prices are the lowest.
• Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are usually the cheapest days to fly.

Peak Travel Times: From mid-June to mid-August and around the holidays, prices go up a lot. Travel in January or September, when it's not as busy, to get better deals.

Track fares with tools like Google Flights and set up alarms to find deals and wrong fares.

Read on to see a list of the best times and methods for booking by month.

Tips on How to Book Flights in General

When and how you book United Airlines tickets can make a big difference in how much a plane ticket costs. It's important to have the right tools at the right time.

Which times are best to book flights within and between countries?

If you want to save up to 25% on domestic trips, book between 45 and 60 days before you leave. For trips abroad, you should plan even further ahead of time—two to eight months before your trip is best, and the best deals are usually found three to five months before your trip. 

The best times to book a flight

When you book your trip, Sunday is usually the best day to do it because you can save 6% on domestic flights and 17% on international ones. Most of the time, the cheapest days to fly are Saturdays, when tickets cost about 17% less than Sunday trips.

Using tools and alerts to compare fares

Track ticket fares and get alerts when fares drop on sites like Google Flights. Email and text message alerts are sent by services about tickets that are on sale, including deals that are up to 90% off and sometimes mistake fares.

To get the best deal, you should just wait for those $1,000 flights to go down to $400. If you look far enough ahead of time, they will almost certainly do it.

You're more likely to find a great deal if you set up multiple alerts on different platforms. To save the most money, use these tools along with smart booking schedules.

Now, let's talk about the best times to book flights year-round.

Booking Guide Month by Month

When you book, your trips can have a big effect on how much you spend on your trip. Based on data and tips from experts, here is a list of the best times to get deals each month.

December through February is winter.

Traveling in the winter can be expensive, especially around the holidays. To save money, book your flights 36 to 72 days ahead of time, preferably before November 19. People who want to travel on a budget can save an average of $125 if they go in January instead of November. There are often sales after the holidays in early January to get people to book flights during this slower time. If you want to go on vacation in the winter, think about places with warm weather because they are usually the busiest.

As winter comes to an end, spring is a great time to plan both cheap trips and early summer reservations.

Spring: from March to May

Spring is the start of the busiest travel season. You have until early March to find deals before everyone starts shopping for spring break. For trips abroad, now is the best time to book summer flights; try to do this 4–10 months ahead of time.

Summer: from June to August

This is a very important time to travel because summer is hectic. After three to four months, start keeping an eye on prices. For the best deals, try to book your trip one to two months ahead of time.

As the summer crowds thin out, autumn travel becomes more peaceful and less expensive.

September through November is autumn.

You can plan your Thanksgiving trip well in the fall. Between 26 and 59 days before your trip is the best time to book. The sweet spot is around 52 days out. As part of the shoulder season, September and October often have lower costs and fewer tourists. When you fly during the week, especially on Wednesdays, you can save $102 on average compared to Sundays.

Extra Things to Think About When Booking

Here are some ways to handle certain booking situations without spending a lot of money.

Flight prices can go up during big events like the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Working with travel agents can help you get tickets to events and make a custom trip plan.

If you want to save money, book your trips at least 70 days ahead of time. You could save up to 40% by flying during the week instead of on the weekends. When you set up alerts for places that are connected to big events, you can get discount fares as soon as they are made public.

If you see a mistake in the fare, book it right away, but don't make any other plans until you get your ticket. Remember that airlines don't have to honor these fares, but they do for U.S. trips, which let you cancel within 24 hours.

Using programs for frequent flyers

Not sure if you should pay cash or use points? Fill in this number:  How much the flight cost in cash divided by how many miles it took to get there equals cents per mile (CPM). Aim for at least 1 CPM to get a good return on your points.

Get the most out of your frequent flyer points by:

• Putting them away for long, expensive flights abroad instead of short trips within the country.
• Putting an emphasis on systems that allow points to be transferred for more flexibility.
• Not losing wasted miles by keeping track of when their expiration dates are.

When traveling during busy times or big events, frequent flyer programs can help you save a lot of money. 

Let's take a look at the tools and sites that can help you get the best deals on travel.

Things you can use to book a flight

To get the best deal on tickets, you need a mix of smart tools and plans. Here are some of the best places to find cheap plane tickets.

Websites and apps that track fares

Tools that track fares make it easier to find cheap flights. A lot of people choose Google Flights because it lets you predict prices and look at past data to help you choose the best time to book.

These tools can help you find deals, and if you use them with companies that let you change your mind about your booking, you won't have to pay extra.

Airlines that have flexible rules

When traveling internationally, airlines such as United Airlines and Air Canada offer several rebooking options. This makes it easier to change plans without having to pay big fees.

How to Find Unknown Flight Deals

Aside from price trackers and flexible policies, there are other ways to save money. 62% of travelers say they use tools to compare fares to find secret deals, according to a 2023 study by Skyscanner.

You can also find cheaper routes and use a VPN to check prices in different areas. Stopovers may actually lower the total fare on long-haul foreign trips, which is why this method works so well.

Combine these strategies with smart time for the best results. Set up price alerts on more than one site to get deals as soon as they come up.

In conclusion

If you want a domestic flight with a United Airlines ticket booking, you should do so 38 days in advance. If you want to book a foreign flight, you should do so 50 days in advance. For the best deals on flights from the U.S. to Europe, book at least 94 days ahead of time. Keep in mind that prices tend to be higher during busy travel times, like from mid-June to mid-August and around Christmas. When prices are low, using tools like Google Flights can help you find better deals.

If you want a better flying experience, book flights that leave before 3 p.m., since flights that leave later in the day are more likely to be canceled. For confirmed flight tickets, you can call Airowings LLC and get exclusive deals for your flight tickets.

How to Get Cash Back

If you travel during the week instead of on the weekends, you can save up to 13%. To make your trip money go further, here are some tips:

•  Track and keep an eye on flight costs with price updates.
•  Between 21 and 52 days before your trip, book your local flight.
•  Look into other airports or close places to go to save money.