TIL that booking a flight on a Tuesday is actually a myth for saving money

I was reading a report from a travel data company called Expedia last month. They looked at millions of flights over a full year. The data showed the cheapest day to book varies wildly by route and season, and Tuesday was rarely the best. For a trip I planned to Lisbon, the cheapest fare popped up on a Thursday, and it was $75 less than the Tuesday price. Everyone repeats the Tuesday tip, but it's just not backed by solid numbers anymore. Has anyone else found a different 'rule' that turned out to be totally wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade5171d agoMost Upvoted

Totally agree with @piperbailey. These old tips just become folklore. The cookie clearing one is another great example of a dead hack. It feels like the only real rule now is that there are no rules, which is annoying. You just have to check a lot and be ready to book when you see a good price.

piperbailey1d ago

I used to swear by the Tuesday rule for years. After tracking prices for a trip to Chicago last fall, I noticed the lowest fares actually showed up on Friday afternoons three weeks out. It made me realize how much these old travel hacks just stick around even when they stop working.

hannah4001d ago

Yeah, the Tuesday thing is so outdated. I've had the same experience with the "clear your cookies" tip for cheaper flights. Tried it for weeks on a trip to Denver, prices never budged. A friend who works in airline revenue told me most big sites don't even work that way anymore, they use cached prices. We all just pass these old tricks around forever.