Does booking flights in incognito mode make them cheaper?
No. Multiple independent studies (Consumer Reports 2022, DOT 2023) found no consistent price difference between logged-in and incognito searches on major carriers or OTAs. Regional currency, IP-based routing, and A/B tests can cause price variation, but incognito is not a reliable lever.
The myth persists because prices really do change between searches, but the cause is usually inventory movement (a fare bucket closes between searches) or A/B testing, not personalised tracking. Consumer Reports and the US DOT have both tested this at scale and found no repeatable incognito advantage. What does matter: search from the airline's actual country website (regional currencies produce genuine differences), and clear cookies for airline sites where held-fare timers apply.
Related reading
Last verified 2026-07-29.