Cheap flights to
Pittsburgh (PIT)

We know there are all kinds of tips out there for the precise moment it’s cheapest to book a flight, but the reality is that there isn’t just one magic time when you’re guaranteed the lowest fares. (There are definitely magic times when you can expect fares to go up, though, like at the 21-, 14-, and 7-day marks.) All you can do to give yourself the best chance at a cheap flight is book within the Goldilocks Window.

This is the period of time before a flight when the lowest fares are most likely to occur. For domestic flights, that’s 1-3 months before departure, and for international flights, it’s 2-8 months ahead of time. If you’re traveling during peak season (like the summer months or winter holidays), look for flights 5-6 months beforehand. Like June or July for a trip during the winter and December or January for a mid-summer getaway.

Sometimes taking a more roundabout route to a faraway destination is the cheapest way to go, and that’s what the Greek Islands Trick is all about. Say you live on the West Coast and want to visit Pittsburgh, but flights directly to PIT are pricey. If you can get a $200 flight to Cleveland instead of a $500 flight to Pittsburgh, the 3-hour drive might be worth your while, especially if you’re bringing the whole family.

Since crossing the country is the most expensive part of the trip, it follows that looking for alternate routes to get you in the same area as your destination can save you money. From there, you can find a cheap flight or rent a car and drive to close the gap, often for far less than the cost of buying the journey in one piece.

Kind of like the Greek Islands trick above, this strategy involves playing around with your flight route to find the cheapest fares. It might seem natural to fly out of the Sacramento airport if you live nearby, but what if flights to Pittsburgh from SFO are cheaper? A little extra time in the car can mean a lot of extra room in your budget and more money to spend once you get to your destination.

As school breaks start and temperatures rise, adventure comes calling. June, July, and August are some of the busiest travel months worldwide, which means they’re also the most expensive times to fly. The same thing goes for the winter holidays. If you can, schedule your vacation for a different time of year to get cheaper fares and find fewer crowds wherever you’re headed.

If you can’t avoid peak season travel, there are still some times when it’s better to fly than others. The first two weeks of June and the last two weeks of August, for example, tend to be cheaper than the rest of the summer. Try to travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays rather than Fridays and Sundays, and you’ll find prices are relatively lower.

As you go about looking for cheap flights, make things easier on yourself and set email alerts for specific trips. That way, you’ll get notifications when prices go down for the routes you’re looking into, and you won’t have to lift a finger. It’s an easy way to stay on top of flight prices without spending hours on research. Just try to set alerts before the Goldilocks Window, and remember to set multiple alerts if your travel dates are flexible.

PIT is Pennsylvania’s second-busiest airport, offering flights all across the US and some to Central America and Europe with 15 different airlines, so there’s lots to keep track of.