Southwest ticket pricing

[Melora]

We are planning our first trip in 12 years back to Disney in January.
There are most likely going to be 7 or 8 of us flying from the west coast.
I like flying Southwest because of the free bags and the no change fees but I'm not sure when is the best time to actually purchase the tickets.
The cost keeps going up and down.
Last week I could get a round trip flight for about $250 (it had been more the week before) and now its gone back up to over $300.
I have to wait another week or two before I can actually buy the tickets but I'm wondering what everyone's experience is with the best time to purchase.
Have you seen them go up and down?
Is there a cheaper way / airline to get there? (We have a 4-year-old with us so the 30+ hour drive isn't in the cards).
This is going to be so expensive but so I'm trying to mitigate the costs as much as possible.

THANKS in advance.

 

[robinb]

I always purchase my Southwest flights in one-way segments. Frankly, I think $300 RT to Orlando from the west coast is a great price and I would have jumped all over $250. I don't think you'll find anything a whole lot cheaper, but you can check Google Flights for other options. The best day to purchase an airline ticket is mid-week. Many airlines raise their prices over the weekend because that's when people have the time to shop. I'm not sure if Southwest is one of them, but I would look again on Tuesday and see if the flights are cheaper. Also, departures mid-week are cheaper than weekend departures. Good luck!

 

[KristaZ]

Southwest fluctuates their prices a lot - it depends on the sales they have going on and how many people are booked on that flight. I think they usually release their sales on Tuesdays. I generally find the best prices about 6-8 weeks out with them, but if it's on a holiday or busier time, they don't drop as often. If you see a price you're comfortable paying, then I would just book it. You can continue to monitor the flights and get a credit if the price does drop - however the credit does have to be used within a year of booking for the same person the ticket was originally booked for.

 

[bakerworld]

We have been exclusively been flying SW for about 15 years. Yes, the prices will go up and down - especially 6 to 8 weeks out and mid-week or Sunday AM. Back in the day I would 'play' and only purchase the tickets once I saw them going down. The flights can be booked at the high price and changed on the SW website to acquire the same flight at the lower cost. A credit will be issued. Then you have to remember to hold onto the boarding code to apply the travel credit and the credit is only good for a year from the Purchase day. I have lost travel credits because I couldn't remember the code or the flight a wanted to use the credit on was over the expiration date.

Lately I've been purchasing points because SW made the points never expire, they are automatically credited back to your account when you change out the flight to accommodate the lower pricing/points, which can be done easily on their website. I believe the downside is flights booked on points don't count towards A List or companion rewards (neither of which to we fly often enough to acquire anyways).

 

[leebee]

I might also break up the travel group into smaller groups... 4+4 or by 2s, or something like that. There are only a certain number of tickets assigned to each price group. Once they sell out of that price point they move to the next one. SO let's say there are only 5 tickets available at the lower price point. If you try to book for 8, they won't give you the cheaper 5 tickets and then 3 at the next price point; they'll book all 8 at the higher price. However, if you break up your group, you can get some of the tickets cheaper. You can check this by doing a search... search for one or two seats and check the price offer. Then search for 5 seats and see if each ticket is the same price as when you searched for fewer seats. Playing around with this will indicate if you can get all your seats at the cheaper price, or allow you to get the cheaper price for X tickets and then pay the higher price for the rest.

 

[kc51570]

$300 from the west coast sounds like an amazing deal to me and I would have jumped on $250. I don’t think you’ll see cheaper than that. I fly down from New England and am lucky if we ever see $300 RT. I just paid around $200 one way, but it’s also school vacation week so those book up quickly and only increase in price after release.

 

[Melora]

Thank you all for the info. I seem to remember hearing that flights are cheaper mid week so I will keep that in mind.
Also about breaking up the group into smaller groups sounds like a good idea as well.
I wish I could have booked the $250 flights (there was a flight one way for $99!).
I'll keep checking.

 

[robinb]

Thank you all for the info. I seem to remember hearing that flights are cheaper mid week so I will keep that in mind.
Also about breaking up the group into smaller groups sounds like a good idea as well.
I wish I could have booked the $250 flights (there was a flight one way for $99!).
I'll keep checking.

There is no penalty for booking 2 one-way trips with Southwest. So, the next time you see the $99 fare you can book just THAT trip. If you're waiting for friends/family to commit skip them and book for the people you KNOW are going to go.

 

[Bullseye]

As soon as I find a decent price even 5-6 months out I grab it right away. Then I just keep my eyes open for a better rate. You can change it without any fees. My fear in waiting too long is that I won't get a flight or I'll get stuck with a higher fare due to limited availability later on.

 

[Lewisc]

. Many airlines raise their prices over the weekend because that's when people have the time to shop. I

Old thinking was people purchased tickets in the lower fare buckets over the weekend. Monday revenue people came back to work for the week and would add more seats to lower fare buckets.