Traveling can get expensive fast, so we’re always on the lookout for any tips that help save money along the way. If you’re planning a trip back to New York, new data has reveled the cheapest time to book your flight in advance, down to the exact day.
Lucky for us, flight prices have steadily declined with airfares dropping 5.3% this March compared to last. However, we’re still always interested in ways to save, especially when the average NYC rent is 149% higher than the rest of the country.
NetCredit analyzed pricing data from 7,050 routes from Google Flights to find just how many days in advance you should book your ticket to find the cheapest fare.
After combing through the price history of one-way economy class tickets for flight routes from America’s 50 busiest airports to every recognized international airport in the nation, and repeating the process for all 50 flight routes to each airport, NetCredit found how many days on average passengers should book their trip in advance, categorized by destination state.
For travelers heading to New York, the data shows that it’s best to book a flight 34 days in advance to find the cheapest price. This means you’ll want to book your flight around a month out from your departure date. In fact, data shows that 34 out of the 50 states are cheapest to fly into when booked anywhere from 30 to 40 days in advance.
So if you’re a procrastinator, you better hope its Rhode Island you’re flying into, as data suggests it’s best to book only 21 days in advance–the shortest amount of time from departure out of all 50 states. Inversely, those headed to Alaska will want to book 49 days in advance—the furthest in advance for any U.S. state.
You can search how many days in advance you should book your flight by state with NetCredit’s search tool.
In addition to booking the optimal amount of days in advance, the study offers a few more tips to score the sweetest deals on domestic travel. These tips include using flight comparison tools, being flexible with your travel dates, and to check if your airline offers to credit the difference if you find a cheaper flight.