Straightforward answers to the questions we hear most often from travelers trying to find a better fare.
For most US domestic routes, booking 3 to 8 weeks ahead gets the best balance of price and flight-time choice. Booking under 2 weeks out usually costs more, since airlines raise last-minute fares as seats fill. Booking more than 4 months out rarely helps on domestic routes, since airlines haven't released their cheapest fare buckets yet.
A connection is usually only worth it if it saves more than about 15-20% on the fare and doesn't add more than 2-3 extra hours of travel, or if it's the only way to reach a smaller destination airport. For short or heavily-flown routes, nonstop pricing is often close enough to connecting pricing that the time saved is worth more.
Yes, on most routes. Tuesday and Wednesday departures are typically cheaper because they see less business and weekend-leisure demand. Friday and Sunday, the peak days for weekend trips, are usually the most expensive. The effect is strongest on short leisure routes and weakest on routes dominated by business travel.
Airline fares are managed by yield-management systems that adjust prices continuously based on how many seats are left in each price tier, demand signals, and even how recently a fare was searched. This is exactly why we don't guarantee a price until an agent confirms it directly with the airline or supplier at the time of booking.