Fares went up in the middle of my booking

[Anal Annie]

OK, so I compared all of our August flight options again this morning & decided I'd book us on United out of Dulles. I'd been watching their fares ever since SW released last weekend & they'd been a steady price of $210 round trip (much less than JB, SW or AT). WHILE I WAS JOINING their stoooooooopid Mileage Plus program their fares went up $9 per round trip so I didn't complete my purchase yet. Would you think that it may be a mid-day price incease that may disappear again later in the evening? They were the same freaking price every day every time I checked it for the past 10 days. Why did it wait for me to start to pull the plug before it jumped up? Would you go ahead & wait a little while to see what happens?

 

[Brian Noble]

$9 barely buys you a turkey leg. I'd've gone ahead with it, especially for non-stop flights at good times that are much less than the competition.

 

[Anal Annie]

$9 barely buys you a turkey leg. I'd've gone ahead with it, especially for non-stop flights at good times that are much less than the competition.

Not a fan of turkey legs!!

Meanwhile they just went up another dollar. What is THAT? One dollar?! I am beginning to think that the airlines are raising their fares NOW knowing that all the travel advisors say you should shop for airfare on Tuesdays so they're raising them in anticipation of the big rush?!

 

[Annie78]

Some e-commerce sites will adjust the price based on your recent web activity (raise it if they think you're about to buy, lower it if they think you are checking out competition). I don't know if the airlines are doing this, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try another web browser or to clear your browsing history and then see what prices you get.

 

[Anal Annie]

Some e-commerce sites will adjust the price based on your recent web activity (raise it if they think you're about to buy, lower it if they think you are checking out competition). I don't know if the airlines are doing this, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try another web browser or to clear your browsing history and then see what prices you get.

That must've been what happened. I actually DID clear my cookies & history & try browsing the fares again this afternoon. It remained the same. Then I just now decided to look again before going to bed & it had dropped the extra $10 and was back to what it HAD been so I booked it. Enough is enough. (Although I'll still obsessively watch it like a hawk to see if I made the right call!! ) $210 round trip. Can't believe we're paying the same for mid-August as we are over spring break tho.

 

[Missy29]

I think you got a good deal! I paid $200 rt and I was excited especially after what other people are saying they are finding flights for.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I wouldn't waste your time watching the fares now that you've purchased. If they go down, you'll just aggravate yourself. United, like the other legacy airlines, would charge you $150 per ticket to change the fare.

 

[macraven]

i fly with United or American.
i do notice that when tickets have been sold, the price increases and stays up for a certain amount of time.

i recheck in an hour or sometimes wait longer to see if the fares went back down.

 

[Muhlenberg]

Some e-commerce sites will adjust the price based on your recent web activity (raise it if they think you're about to buy, lower it if they think you are checking out competition). I don't know if the airlines are doing this, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try another web browser or to clear your browsing history and then see what prices you get.

Interesting. I tried using a different browser, and sure enough, got different prices.

Yesterday, my flight (SWA) into TPA went down by $14 each, which I managed to grab. I noticed, however, that there was "less time" in which I had to switch things, before the website defaulted and I had to start over. It was for 4 seats, and as soon as I grabbed those 4 seats at that price, the price went right back up to what it was before.

I'm wondering if they're only offering "reduced" prices in small groups at a time.

Knowing this, I'll check on different browsers from now on. Their quest to gain more revenue has gotten increasingly creative.

 

[bumbershoot]

I wouldn't waste your time watching the fares now that you've purchased. If they go down, you'll just aggravate yourself. United, like the other legacy airlines, would charge you $150 per ticket to change the fare.

I agree. Don't make yourself go through that if it goes down. (concentrate on Universal plans instead. )