Travel experts reveal if booking flights on a Tuesday is actually cheaper

So, now we're in holiday season, there's a long-standing belief that it's always cheaper to book your flights on a Tuesday - but is this actually true?

"Why nobody told me flights cheap asf on Tuesday," one X user wrote.

"Every Tuesday is a fight between my bank account and my cheap flights email alerts," another wrote.

As we've seen before, though, you should only follow travel hacks from the experts.

So is there any truth to flights being cheaper on Tuesdays?

It can be hard to decide when to book your flight. (Getty Stock Image)

As recently as this month, a spokesperson for Google Flights told USA TODAY that when shopping for flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, as opposed to on weekends, prices are just 1.9 percent lower.

So if there is a difference in price, it's incredibly small.

Hayley Berg, lead economist at fellow flight-booking app, Hopper, said: “We tested out [the Tuesday theory] and looked at the best day of the week to book for a number of popular trips and Tuesday was the cheapest day just one percent of the time."

She added: "The best price might be available on Tuesday – but it might be available on another day of the week.”

We all want the best possible deal. (Getty Stock Image)

With that in mind, according to Google Flights and Hopper, there's no point waiting for a specific day to book your flights - it's better to just get it done.

There has been more research, too.

A report by Expedia’s 2024 Air Travel Hacks, which was published in September 2023, had different findings.

It stated: “Sunday remains the cheapest day of the week to book flights, while Fridays are most expensive.

"On average, travellers saved up to 13%.”

So while there may be a preferable day to do it - it doesn't appear to be Tuesday at any rate.

“While everyone wants a golden rule for the best day of the week to book a flight – the reality is that the best day, and time, to book a flight depends on a number of factors,” Berg shared.

Being organised is important when it comes to booking flights. (Getty Stock Image)

One of Berg’s top tips is to book in advance and don’t wait until the last minute.

Flight booking companies including Google Flights, Hopper, Skyscanner and the like are really handy tools that allow customers to compare flight prices over entire monthly periods.

In order to land a good deal, Berg shared that it's a good idea to book domestic flights one to three months prior to takeoff, and international flights between four and five months before.

She explained: "Don’t leave booking too late; prices can increase by hundreds in the final weeks before departure."

Expedia's report backs up Berg's advice, finding that people who buy their domestic flights at least 28 days in advance pay 24 percent less than those who wait longer, on average.

It seems it may matter less which day you book on compared to the day you fly out.

Google Flights found that flights which depart on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are 12 percent cheaper than flights that depart on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, on average.

I guess it pays to be organised!