HELP!! Trip moved up

[bear74]

My Mom who we were going to take to Disney with us has decided that she would like to go to Disney for her 50th B-day. So that pushes are trip up by a whole year. Going Sept. 27th 2006 instead of Nov. 25th 2007


So know i need to know what rewards programs you all do to help me make the money a lot faster.

We will be flying out of Austin Bergstrom Intrenational airport which airline would you use? Who usually has the best deals. My mom said she heard that flights are cheaper if you leave in the middle of the week and return in the middle of the week. Is this true?
Will probably use quicsilver shutle since they have carseat included in price. DD will have turned 3 in July.

We will probally stay at POP Century. Unsure how many days as of yet. At least 7 days possibly more.

All help and tips greately appreciated. TIA

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This may sound odd....

BUT, only 1 nights deposit is required for a trip of any length at Disney.

So if you are unsure at the time of booking your room what the best rate on airfare would be, you can always book your trip with bookends....with about 3 or 4 days prior and 3 or 4 days after bookending your trip.--this way, you have room to fluctuate your air travel plans based on the best deal and not have to worry about not having a room available for the best air travel date. When you have your airline tickets purchased, simply modify your ressie to your desired dates.

I know there must be others who do this

Most airline discounts incorporate a Saturday night stayover so as long as you sleepover on Saturday, you get a particular week. In my area, we have a lot of corporations, so midweek travel would tend to be pricier due to lots of business trips especially in the early morning and the end of the business day. But if lots of people like to leave on vacations from your airport--it could be the opposite and midweek might be cheaper.

Here is what I found on AAA..

advance 7 day purchase for leaving this Sept 27th--and returning October 4 (just to give you an idea of what it costs now) is $322.40 on American Airlines.

Traveling in August 2005 (as far as the dates would take me).. Delta leaving on Aug 7 and returning Aug 14 is $295 (Sunday departures while a Wed departure on Aug 10 and returning Aug 17 is $295 as well--so no seeming difference on days of travel. (Delta was the least expensive). So for you and DD and hubby--that will be about $900 in airfare.

Looks like AAA will let you book 1 year in advance. Delta.com is 331 days in advance, but the price is the same as AAA above.

Hope this helps you. Personally I like booking directly with the air carrier as I have seldom been able to find better deals at expedia or travelocity--plus I am dealing directly with the airline should I need to make modifications later on. (there price is $5 higher than above I suppose due to a booking fee).