Christmas week flights - when to purchase

[Maxwell]

Anyone have any tips when the best time to purchase flights for Christmas week would be? How far out?

 

[sam_gordon]

I'll tell you EXACTLY when to purchase if you tell me tomorrow's winning Powerball numbers. Deal?

Seriously, there is no rule. Even Cheaptickets.com, which did a study on finding the cheapest rates, even said there are enough exceptions, you shouldn't use it as a "rule".

Know how much you're willing to pay, stalk airfares, when the price hits what you want, buy. Don't look again unless you can get credit (Southwest/Alaska).

 

[SalandJeff]

We are going to WDW 12/25 thru 12/31. I watched the fares for a while waiting for Southwest to release dates. The day they came out I purchased. They were still expensive, but JetBlue did come down slightly that day. I have continued to check, but they are only going up. If you want to go during that time you may have to just bite the bullet and pay.

 

[seashoreCM]

For really popular dates (dates vary depending on what day of the week Christmas is on) at least check the ticket prices at IPO which in some cases could be evening of the 332'nd day in advance.

Provided that ticket prices are not already jacked up to reflect the popularity of those dates, it would be a good idea to buy at that time.

 

[csjordan]

Anyone have any tips when the best time to purchase flights for Christmas week would be? How far out?

Last year, mid-Summer, flying those dates was cheaper than this year, I think! We flew 12/26-1/3 and I think I paid $150 something for the trip down and less than $100 on the way back. We are flying those exact dates again this year, and I am going to wait until mid to late Summer before I book. I still think they will come down some. If not, I guess we will be driving. Holding out hope for cheaper flights Thanksgiving week, too!

 

[Lynne G]

Yeah, I book December when first out as I want specific flights. Now my return date has no lowest cost SW fares the entire day. So far, nothing cheaper. We always leave a few days before Christmas, as it gets closer to Christmas the fares creep up quite a bit.

I do think it is sometimes just plain luck to catch when an airline wants to fill a plane and starts by offering cheap seats.

And for me, with the lack of more than one or two SW direct flights, I book fast. Last year, my down flight reduced by around 20 dollars, I think in the summer too. Our dates are fixed due to school schedules, 20 to 31.

 

[pooh4evr]

Now. We booked ours for Dec 25th Jan 3rd, the day SW released their schedule. They were high, but so many were already sold out for the 25th and 26th.