Chances are you've heard the same airfare saving hacks time and time again but, do any of them actually work?
Rumors abound about how to save money on airfare. Some have been around for decades, and others are spread online without any data to back up a so-called savings hack. To separate fact from fiction, we asked several travel experts whether there is any truth behind some of the most common rumors surrounding airfare pricing. While some widespread rumors are backed by data, others will only waste your time and could even wind up costing you more.
Are Airline Tickets Cheaper When Purchased on Tuesdays or Wednesdays?
Buying airline tickets on certain days of the week can save you money. However, the best day to purchase tickets may fluctuate. Airline tickets often drop in price on Sundays, says Expedia Travel Expert Melanie Fish.
“Purchasing airline tickets on a Sunday can save travelers up to 17% compared to booking on a Friday,” she says. However, after looking at more than half a million data points, “Summer 2025 data confirms that flights booked on Tuesdays and Wednesdays are on average 6–15% cheaper than tickets purchased over the weekend,” says Jesse Neugarten, CEO and Founder of Dollar Fight Club, a flight tracking service. That’s because early in the week, airlines often drop prices to match competitors’ weekend fare changes, he explains.
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“That short window creates brief deal opportunities that disappear fast,” he explains. For example, “We saw round-trip flights from New York City to Lisbon drop from $612 to $441 on a Tuesday morning. Two days later, the same itinerary was back up to $600 plus,” he says. Neugarten suggests checking fares on Tuesday mornings for the best fares.
Is It Cheaper to Fly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays?
Flying on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays tends to be 10–20% cheaper than flying on the peak travel days of Fridays and Sundays, says Neugarten. “That’s because those days see less demand from business travelers and weekend vacationers,” he explains. According to Neugarten, flying on off-peak days is one of the easiest ways to save money if you have a flexible schedule.
Do VPNs Save You Big Bucks When Booking a Flight?
Some travelers use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to make it appear they are booking flights from somewhere other than their home state or country. Using a VPN may get you a better fare, but not always. Neugarten notes that this strategy is occasionally effective, particularly for international airlines.
You may get a fare up to 5–10% less expensive by using a VPN, “but it’s inconsistent and mostly applies to specific foreign carriers,” he says. For example, Neugarten found a Turkish Airlines ticket from Istanbul to LAX for $38.00 less when using a VPN to make it appear he was booking from Turkey rather than the United States.
“It’s something advanced travelers can test, but most people won’t find significant savings this way,” he says. Plus, trying to trick an airline into thinking you are in a different country might not work, even if you find a great deal. “You might need a local credit card or billing address” to complete the booking, says Ben Komenkuls, a travel advisor and founder of Ben’s Big Deal.
Does Searching for Tickets in a Weaker Currency Get You a Better Deal?
Some airline sites allow you to search for tickets in different currencies. “In some cases, booking in a weaker currency can lower the price after conversion. We’ve seen savings of $150–$200 on business class international flights this way,” Neugaten says.
However, whether searching in a different currency makes sense “depends on the airline’s system, and you may run into conversion fees, limited support, and currency risk,” he says. “For most travelers, it’s not worth the tradeoff,” he advises. However, if you try booking in a foreign currency to save money, Neugartren advises using a credit card that waives foreign transaction fees. Otherwise, your savings may be wiped out.
Does Booking With an Airline’s Credit Card Gives You Better Prices?
Booking flights with an airline’s credit card usually won’t lower your base fare if you are paying with cash, Neugarten says. Nevertheless, using an airline credit card to book flights can still save you money.
“Airline credit cards offer valuable perks like free checked bags, earlier boarding, and sometimes companion tickets,” Neugarten explains. “These extras can save you $50 to $100 per trip, depending on your travel habits,” he says. However, it’s a different story if you are booking with points. “You’ll get 15% off any mileage redemption on Delta flights if you have a Delta American Express credit card,” says Points Path founder Julian Kheel.
Additionally, travelers holding Chase United Airlines credit cards may unlock “super saver” fares that are only available to cardholders using points, Komenkuls says. However, these fares aren’t available on all routes, and unlocking them is hit-or-miss. If you hold an airline’s credit card, check if you can save by using points before booking.
Can You Get Better Fares Using Incognito Mode?
It’s pure fiction that you can get better fares using incognito mode, Neugarten says. “We’ve tested this hundreds of times,” and it doesn’t work, he says. Searching in incognito mode can’t hurt, but any price difference you see is likely due to normal fluctuations in pricing rather than the browser you use to search.
Does Clearing Cookies Before Searching Lead to Better Prices?
“Clearing cookies does nothing to affect fare pricing,” Neugarten says. Prices go up and down constantly due to airline inventory management rather than your personal search history, he says. Just like using incognito mode, clearing your cookies won’t hurt, but it’s a waste of time if your only objective is getting a better price on an airline ticket.
Does Your Price Increase if You Search Multiple Times for the Same Flight?
The price of your airline ticket won’t go up just because you perform multiple searches. “This is one of the most persistent myths, but it’s simply not how airline pricing works,” Neugarten says. Instead, “the fluctuation you’re seeing is likely due to dynamic pricing, where seats in lower fare classes sell out quickly and trigger automatic price increases,” he explains.
Can You Get Cheaper Flights by Buying Tickets at the Airport?
Although some people swear by buying tickets at the airport to save money, it’s not the best approach for most travelers. “This only applies to a few budget carriers in the U.S., like Spirit and Frontier,” Neugarten explains. However, even for these airlines, the savings aren’t huge.
The base fare is usually the same whether you buy your ticket online or at the airport. However, if you buy your ticket at the airport, you don’t need to pay the online booking fees that many budget carriers charge. These are typically $19.00 –$38.00 per ticket, according to Neugarten. “For most travelers and routes, it’s not worth the hassle,” he says.
Can You Get a Last-Minute Deal on Airline Tickets?
In the past, some lucky travelers were able to snag last-minute deals on airfare. However, “gone are the days of airlines slashing prices last-minute to fill empty seats,” Neugarten says. “Now, dynamic pricing and AI-driven demand forecasting allow airlines to price for maximum profit,” he explains. In fact, waiting until the last minute to book can cost you.
“Last-minute tickets are usually expensive, especially for international routes,” Neugarten says. However, some spontaneous travelers may still get lucky. Henri Chelhot, CEO of the booking platform FlightHub, has seen some last-minute deals emerge on less popular routes and mid-week travel dates. This tends to happen when a flight has a significant number of empty seats very close to the departure date, Kheel says. However, dips in price for last-minute deals aren’t common, and booking in advance is still best practice.
There is one notable exception, however. Last-minute tickets can be an “amazing deal” if you’re booking a premium seat on an international route with miles. “Airlines often release extra award space for these seats close to departure when they can predict that some unsold seats won’t sell for full price,” Kheel says.
Do You Always Get the Best Deals by Booking Far in Advance?
Contrary to popular belief, you won’t always get the best deals on airfare by booking as soon as the airline releases tickets. Sometimes, it’s better to wait for the optimal time to book, which varies by destination. “The best windows for deals are 1 to 3 months in advance for domestic flights and 2 to 8 months in advance for international travel,” Neugarten says.
Should You ‘Watch and Wait?’
Some people obsessively check airline fares, hoping to find a better fare. However, this isn’t a good approach. Duncan Greenfield-Turk, founder of the travel agency Global Travel Moments, advises travelers to book as soon as they see a fare in their budget. “Prices these days are constantly changing, so if you’re comfortable with the rate, that’s your moment,” he says. “Waiting could cost you a lot. I recently saw a $1,000 per ticket fluctuation overnight on business class fares from the US to Asia,” he says. Neugarten agrees. “Most of the best deals last less than 48 hours,” he says.