Travel hacks don’t always live up to the hype, but there are still some proven ways to save money when booking tickets. Expedia has just released their 2025 Air Hacks Report, which debunks myths and reveals data-driven strategies for scoring cheaper flights.
The report from Expedia and the Airlines Reporting Corp (ARC) analyzes historical booking and pricing trends to dispute common myths about the cheapest time of the year to travel and the best day to book flights and to fly to save more. Their 2025 Air Hacks include:
- The best day to book flights is Sunday - According to Expedia and ARC, airfares are typically 6% lower for domestic flights and 17% lower for international ones when tickets are booked on Sundays compared to Mondays or Fridays.
- The cheapest month to travel is August - Forget what you’ve heard about summer being the most expensive, you’ll pay more to fly in February and March. Travelers can save as much as 12% on domestic flights by taking a trip in August instead of February.
- The quietest day to travel is Tuesday - And the quietest month is February, while July is the busiest.
- Saturday and Thursday are the cheapest days to depart - Flying on Thursday instead of Sunday can save as much as 17%, regardless of destination or fare class.
- The ideal booking window isn’t as far out as you think - There’s a myth that the further ahead you book, the cheaper your ticket will be, but the sweet spot to save is closer to departure. Book domestic flights one to three months in advance to save 25% over last-minute bookers. For international flights, booking 18 to 29 days before departure can save up to 17% compared to booking three months ahead.
- Morning flights are much less likely to be cancelled - Flights leaving between 9a.m. and 3p.m. have the lowest rate of cancellations, while flights departing after 9p.m. have a 57% higher chance of being cancelled than those leaving earlier in the day.
Source: Expedia
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