Book Early verus waiting for Ding

[joeathome167]

We are flying SW for the first time in Dec. (7-15) and I've been waiting for flight for Dec to go on sale. However, I signed up for Ding and the rates 2 months out are spectacular and I was wondering does everyone book flights when they are released or do you wait for a better price on dings a month or two before your trip?

Am I going to miss out getting a flight if I wait til Oct to book?

 

[PA Princess]

In the past I have always bookd flights when the schedule first opened up and then I waited for dings. However for our trip in September this year, I decided to wait...see if I could snag a lower fare.

It was not looking well the past few weeks, but then this morning out of no where I snagged a $49 each leg per person fare - wooohooo! Best part was the rate was great and so was availability as far as flight choices.

So for us it worked better this time to wait a bit before booking. And we fly PHL to MCO. Happy hunting!

 

[disneymarathoner07]

PA Princess--got a question for you--You got dings offered today for September? We are leaving Aug 31 and coming back Sept 8 and I haven't seen any dings yet for that far out--I know the dings are different depending on your city--just wanted to check and see if that was the case--if so--I need to start looking closer at the dings!!! Thanks! Amanda

 

[Amy5000]

In the past I have always bookd flights when the schedule first opened up and then I waited for dings.

So could you use Dings if you already had booked a flight?

(Sorry for the probably obvious question...I'm new to "Dings" and I'm curious).

Thanks in advance. Amy

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

So could you use Dings if you already had booked a flight?

(Sorry for the probably obvious question...I'm new to "Dings" and I'm curious).

Thanks in advance. Amy

Yes, you can. 1st you must cancel your original flight, (keep that conf. # handy) Book the ding fare and on the page where you enter your cc info, you enter your original conf# in the part labeled "Ticketless Travel Funds"
You will end up with a credit that you have 1 yr. from original date of purchase to use. You can also call SWA prior to exp. and get a 6 mo. extension.

We only book right away if our dates/times are not flexible, esp with a cruise. If your dates are flexible you could watch for a while but don't wait too late or you'll lose out. If you're flying mid-week you can afford to gamble a little longer. OTOH, if you want a Sun. afternoon flight home, you better grab it soon. good luck, hope this helps!

 

[PA Princess]

PA Princess--got a question for you--You got dings offered today for September? We are leaving Aug 31 and coming back Sept 8 and I haven't seen any dings yet for that far out--I know the dings are different depending on your city--just wanted to check and see if that was the case--if so--I need to start looking closer at the dings!!! Thanks! Amanda

Ooops sorry if that was the impression I gave in my post...no not a ding fare, just a regular booking on their website. What I booked was listed in the second to last column as a Promotional Fare at $49-$109. I selected this fare and it offered me $45 fares each way for a bunch of flights for my dates (all total with the various tax it was about $59 total per leg...I bought 7 tickets for $835!!!).

Dings have worked well for us in the past, but this time just checking the website every day payed off!

When I plugged in your dates I found $79 for the leg down (big travel day with the Labor Day weekend I guess) and $49 return flights. Personally, I would have taken that same offer and then waited and hoped for a ding fare for the 8/31 flight. Happy hunting!