This Is When You Should Book Your Memorial Day Weekend Flights To Save Big On Fares

Memorial Day is right around the corner, and you know what that means — three-day weekend! If you're anything like me, all three-day weekends demand adventure and travel. If you're strategic about when you book your trips, you could end up getting really great deals. Here's when to book your Memorial Day 2019 flight for the best savings on your three-day weekend adventure.

Since Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer, you probably want to try to save as much as you can on your holiday flights, because no one wants to drop a ton of cash on plane fare when there's a whole summer of fun ahead. According to Alexis Tiacoh, PR Manager for Expedia, booking your flight for Memorial Day weekend at least three weeks in advance of the holiday weekend is the a good way to find savings. For your best shot at saving money on the holiday flights Tiacoh suggests booking on a Saturday or Sunday, so use those weekend days to book your trip rather than doing it on a week day. Memorial Day 2019 falls on Monday, May 27, so you should look at Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5 as the best days to book flights to take advantage of savings. Don't have plans yet? Maybe book first and plan later to snag a cheaper flight.

Tiacoh also shares, when selecting travel dates, it's generally best to depart your city on a Thursday or Friday for maximum savings. For your 2019 trip, that means look at heading out on either Thursday, May 23 or Friday, May 24.

If you still don't have a specific travel destination in mind for your Memorial Day weekend getaway, Tiacoh also shared data for some of the destinations that have the cheapest tickets during the month of May, including Dubai, United Arab Emirates; the Maldives; Sydney, Australia; and Aukland, New Zealand. If you're looking for cheap lodging, average daily hotel rates are lowest in May in Hong Kong and Singapore.

If your lodging plans are flexible for Memorial Day weekend, Tiacoh recommends waiting anywhere from zero to six days before your trip to book your hotel. According to Tiacoh, waiting until the last minute could benefit you because some hotel chains will lower their rates if their rooms aren't filled. For those looking for even more discounts on lodging, Expedia will be offering a 15% off Memorial Day coupon on May 17 for 24 hours. The coupon can be applied to standalone hotels for travel between May 17 and Aug. 31.

In case you were wondering where most Americans end up vacationing for Memorial Day, travel agency company CheapOair.com collected data on the top 10 domestic and international destinations people have already booked for Memorial Day weekend. The most affordable destination on the list is Atlanta, Georgia, with an average booking cost of $268, and the most expensive spot is Barcelona, Spain, with an average booking cost of $883. Other popular Memorial Day weekend spots for 2019 include Los Angeles, California; Denver, Colorado; Seattle, Washington; and Miami, Florida.

In a press release, Tom Spagnola, the Senior Vice President of Supplier Relations at CheapOair, said both domestic and international travel is cheaper around Memorial Day. Spagnola said,

Memorial Day weekend is always a very busy travel time due to some great last-minute deals to popular destinations. Average airfares, both international and domestic, are at a lower price point this time of year ahead of the peak summer travel season when prices are expected to increase significantly.

As a reminder, Memorial Day is on Monday, May 27, 2019, so a vacay during that time could be the perfect way to reset, recharge, and close out spring to get ready for summer.