Here’s the Best Time to Actually Book Your Flights in 2026—and When Not to Use Your Miles

Like the famed fairy tale, the Goldilocks method of booking flights relies on getting the booking window just right. But that window can look quite different depending on where travelers are going and how they are choosing to pay.

When paying for a flight with cash, the experts at Going.com recommended travelers book between one to three months in advance of a planned departure for domestic flights and book within two to eight months in advance of a planned departure for international flights. And if it’s a peak time like summer, travelers should add a couple months to that.

But when booking with points or miles, that can vary drastically. Going noted the best redemptions can often be found right when airlines release their schedules about 10 to 11 months out and then again in the final weeks before a planned departure.

“In between, the period when cash deals are often at their cheapest, can actually be the worst time to find good redemptions,” the company wrote in a recent report, adding, “When schedules first open, airlines often release a handful of saver-level award seats per flight, particularly in business class. As demand takes shape, those cheaper award seats often disappear. Then, as departure approaches and airlines reconcile how many seats are likely to go unsold, they quietly release another wave of award seats … Award space often dries up during the months when cash fares are typically cheapest.”

That said, Going noted the value of points was “slowly decreasing” and proclaimed 2026 was the year to use your points.

“Points don’t age well because loyalty programs keep changing the rules. And lately, those changes have tended to make your points less valuable, not more,” the company wrote. “Waiting for the ‘perfect redemption’ is no longer strategic—it’s risky. The longer you sit on your points, the more likely you’ll wake up to another quiet devaluation.”

Travelers hoping to maximize reward flights should consider booking long-haul routes to Asia, which is where the company said the value per point is currently strongest. Economy flights to Australia and New Zealand are also a great value.

Overall, Going said airfare is “dramatically cheaper” than 10 or even 20 years ago, and noted June 2025 was the second-cheapest month for airfare on record when adjusted for inflation. The company said it expects 2026 to continue that trend, adding “we are still in the Golden Age of Cheap Flights.”