BUY NOW OR RISK LATER?

[SandyinMonterey]

I value the opinions on this forum. I would usually make this decision on my own but I'm feeling a bit down and discouraged after failing miserably trying to get airfare on Southwest. Never flown Southwest before. Got up at the time Southwest customer service told me airfare will be posted, etc....live and learn I guess. I just need some feedback, comments, opinions...whatever, mostly because the burden or travel, airfare in particular, always falls on me. My husband is really of no help and I'm left to myself guessing and wondering. We'll be flying Spring Break 2016. I know it's a holiday and to expect to pay more. I'm thinking about pulling the trigger and buying today but when I went thru process on line to check seat availability, I was surprised to see the flight/route still basically full. I realize there is no way to know if prices will go down but thinking it may since the flight(s) are still so full. I'm semi-comfortable with the price. Wish it was lower, of course. Just seems the harder I try, the more I fail.

 

[OhMari]

Buy now. I have flown with Southwest the last 5 years for Spring break, and I have rarely seen prices drop. If they do, it is only a little and then you can rebook and get the credit. The credit will probably be enough to purchase advance seating. If anything the price between now and Spring break only goes up or remains the same.

If the flight is showing full, that means it is full. I have flown with groups of teenagers and chaperone's that go down for Spring Break and participate in Magic Music Days. Very big time for school participation groups to be there and yes they do fly down to Orlando. My school goes every 4 years, but they take busses.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Buy now and if the price goes down you can get a price adjustment on the tickets for FREE. The refund amount will be in the form of a credit voucher that you can use for future travel up to one year from the date you originally bought the tickets.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I forgot to say that it wouldn't be Southwest that I book, it would be United. Southwest is so high right now, it's more expensive than United. Plus I would have to travel to a larger airport for Southwest, which also means getting hotel and car parking. United would be at our little, local airport 20 minutes away.

 

[Majesty1919]

I just went through something similar. I lucked up and got roundtrip tickets for around $250 roundtrip (CT to Florida) 10 years ago and somehow I alway think $375-$400 to be expected, just to go online and find nothing under $550. I, like you, think there is so much time between now and then and so much can happen.

Last week I went ahead and bit the bullet and bought our tickets for JetBlue. I went online this morning to see if the price dropped just to find out those same tickets went up $147 extra. So glad. I'd check to see if United price matches. You def. don't want to be kicking yourself to save a few dollars just to have to pay a lot more. Lock in what you want and try to adjust later.

 

[seashoreCM]

Note: You don't get to adjust later on United and most other airlines.
If on a particular day you are having a hard time deciding whether to buy that or wait, then flip a coin to see whether to check back in a few days.

Actually there is an overall incentive to wait. By participating in a groundswell to procrastinate (and you are not booking a very popular travel date like Sunday after Thanksgiving) you help make it dawn on cash-now hungry airlines to offer an incentive to book early -- by letting you adjust later like Southwest still does.