Hopper Accurate?

[Frozen2014]

I know there is no guarantee, but do others find Hopper useful (i.e. accurate)?

We're looking at travelling from Ontario (Toronto) to Fort Lauderdale for a cruise the week before Christmas. The current cost is $1300 for 2 for decent times (can get it down to just over 1K for bad times/or if we want to chance Air Transat). Hopper says to wait, and $1300 seems quite high for two. The last couple weeks the flights haven't budged and hopper says to wait and will drop by as much as $100 per ticket over next 7 months.

So do others find that Hopper is accurate?

 

[hardis5]

Watched using and actually bought watched trips through the app. I found fluctuating prices were seen but you have to have a drop threshold you're willing to jump at immediately AND the drop may be seen on the unattractive times/non-direct flights one would not normally choose. Our lowest price buy was seen only once (on 3 of 4 seats needed) and was never seen again.

IMHO you have a must needed flight during a high cost season so I'd weight that into the equation to save up to $200 (or 15%).

 

[Frozen2014]

Watched using and actually bought watched trips through the app. I found fluctuating prices were seen but you have to have a drop threshold you're willing to jump at immediately AND the drop may be seen on the unattractive times/non-direct flights one would not normally choose. Our lowest price buy was seen only once (on 3 of 4 seats needed) and was never seen again.

IMHO you have a must needed flight during a high cost season so I'd weight that into the equation to save up to $200 (or 15%).

Thanks. Didn't realize you can buy through the app. (If not booking directly with the airline we purchase through expedia for using/getting points). We also want direct there (will take 1 stop on return if it makes a big difference). Sounds like it often doesn't reach the lowest (or rarely as you say).
Was hoping the week before Christmas would be cheaper....but maybe not? e.g. Dec 14-21
Everytime my phone beeps (i.e. a notification) I jump to see if it's hopper.

 

[hardis5]

If wanting direct and as long as you select direct it will only show (and watch) direct flights. For us, like yourself we'd do a one stop layover depending on the flight times and layover duration but it is solely direct or not with Hopper which lead to a lot of false excitement for us in flights we'd never choose. Ended up watching direct and got our cheaper seats and was the middle of the workday when receiving and then was only 3 of 4 of us at that price.

I set-up Google Flights for specific flight combo's to watch and it then tracks the price history of (and they disappear as flights are cancelled/rescheduled) along with Hopper price predictions which allows me to time (in my mind) and choose at a price I am comfortable with. My one caveat is never look at pricing after you book a non-refundable fare for one will always say I should have waited to save that $25 (but then it may not be for all seats).

 

[Jdsomers]

I went to MCO a couple years ago, and hopper was accurate. I’m also obsessive and booked my flight before hopper notified me, but they did send a push notification later that same day. Ended up with return flights for 380.

This year I used Member Exclusive fairs on WestJet and got a good deal. Not sure if Fort Lauderdale is part of that program. But I just bought the Westjet points I needed to get the flights, worked out super cheap.

 

[Frozen2014]

If wanting direct and as long as you select direct it will only show (and watch) direct flights. For us, like yourself we'd do a one stop layover depending on the flight times and layover duration but it is solely direct or not with Hopper which lead to a lot of false excitement for us in flights we'd never choose. Ended up watching direct and got our cheaper seats and was the middle of the workday when receiving and then was only 3 of 4 of us at that price.

I set-up Google Flights for specific flight combo's to watch and it then tracks the price history of (and they disappear as flights are cancelled/rescheduled) along with Hopper price predictions which allows me to time (in my mind) and choose at a price I am comfortable with. My one caveat is never look at pricing after you book a non-refundable fare for one will always say I should have waited to save that $25 (but then it may not be for all seats).

lol...very true. Never check prices after you book. Thanks for the note abotu Google Flights. It looks like a good summary of options too. I also use Flight Hub, but it just sends daily update of prices (which I tend to check anyways).

And yeah...for a cruise, we want to fly direct there (and that's how I have set up hopper)....but coming home, we would do 1 stop if it makes a big difference.

 

[Frozen2014]

I went to MCO a couple years ago, and hopper was accurate. I’m also obsessive and booked my flight before hopper notified me, but they did send a push notification later that same day. Ended up with return flights for 380.

This year I used Member Exclusive fairs on WestJet and got a good deal. Not sure if Fort Lauderdale is part of that program. But I just bought the Westjet points I needed to get the flights, worked out super cheap.

Is the Westjet member deal, the one with the credit card? Or is it just by booking WestJet then you obtain dollars for next time?

 

[kuhltiffany]

I use Hopper all the time when we travel, that way I don't have to obsessively check for flights! Just booked our last one for this summer's Europe trip (Copenhagen to Zurich) this morning thanks to the notifications

 

[Jdsomers]

Is the Westjet member deal, the one with the credit card? Or is it just by booking WestJet then you obtain dollars for next time?

I do have the card, but not needed. You have to have a member number though, and pay the base fare in WestJet Dollars. I just buy the dollars needed through WestJets website, and book the exclusive fares. From Edmonton and Calgary to MCO for instance, I got fares for 365 return , by the time I factored in the purchase cost of the reward dollars.

 

[jcourtney]

I used hopper to track flights for our last trip. I found it helpful to track multiples flights all in one place and it would give me a notification when prices changed. However, how much they said it would go down to changed almost daily and it never did go as low as they predicted. I found the app useful just for keeping track and I booked when it hit a price I was comfortable with. I wouldn't wait for it to hit the low price they claim it will.

 

[Frozen2014]

I used hopper to track flights for our last trip. I found it helpful to track multiples flights all in one place and it would give me a notification when prices changed. However, how much they said it would go down to changed almost daily and it never did go as low as they predicted. I found the app useful just for keeping track and I booked when it hit a price I was comfortable with. I wouldn't wait for it to hit the low price they claim it will.

Thanks. Yeah, I wonder what their algorithm is. For us, the current estimate is far from current price. As you noted in your example, I don't expect it to come down that much, but hoping it will come down. So far, it has only risen a bit. If we weren't catching a cruise, we could be a bit more flexible in the dates/times but of course with a cruise we want to come in the day before...and morning or early afternoon so more limited. So it's hard to know whether to pull the trigger and just buy...or hope that it will at least move in the right direction (even if just a little). Prices are quite high now.

 

[jcourtney]

Thanks. Yeah, I wonder what their algorithm is. For us, the current estimate is far from current price. As you noted in your example, I don't expect it to come down that much, but hoping it will come down. So far, it has only risen a bit. If we weren't catching a cruise, we could be a bit more flexible in the dates/times but of course with a cruise we want to come in the day before...and morning or early afternoon so more limited. So it's hard to know whether to pull the trigger and just buy...or hope that it will at least move in the right direction (even if just a little). Prices are quite high now.

Chances are that if they say it will come down it likely will at least a little bit. It just depends on how long you are willing to wait. In my case I had a specific flight I wanted so I was worried it would fill up.