When to give up on waitlist

[Jasminerk13]

We have one more night left in our December waitlist and have a question.
When should we give up on the waitlist?
The reason I ask is that we will need to purchase our plane tickets and then bank any left over points in September. If we wait too long, then I will lose the points we have sitting there. Also, we risk the flight prices going up the closer we get. Soooo, do we give up right before our 4 month mark so we can bank those points?

 

[shortypots]

What is your use year? The points need to be banked 5 months before the end of your use year, so June is Jan bank deadline, and August is March, etc. Not necessarily 4 months before your trip. Just want to make sure you were aware of that.

As for when to give up on the waitlist, that would depend on if it is a day in the middle of your trip or at the end? If it is a day at the end or beginning, I guess it would depend on the flight prices and whatnot, so I guess it is hard to say. I guess if you book on Southwest, you can change it at any point, so you can keep an eye on the prices and change it if you get the incling that it is going to go up. Although, I would almost dare say your waitlist will not come through for Dec. Seems to be the time that everyone likes to go due to fewer points and the holiday decorations. Although, you can wait as long as you like. I guess my answers don't really help

 

[Jasminerk13]

My use year is February. So I thought I had to bank the unused points no later than September 30th?

 

[toniosmom]

What is your use year? The points need to be banked 5 months before the end of your use year,

It's FOUR months early that you have to bank. I have a December UY and need to bank by July 31st. For a February UY, you are correct, it would be September 30th.

I only put us a waitlist if I already have something else booked for the same nights, therefore, it doesn't matter when I buy my airline tickets. Otherwise, it's too risky with the airfare. But that's me.

 

[shortypots]

Sorry I was counting back the number of actual months, not the fact that it is the end of the month of that 5th month so technically 4 months. Sorry.

 

[jarrdisney]

If you live in warrenton, I assume you're flying out of IAD. That being said, I don't think you should worry about airfare going up within the next 2 months. They usually keep steady or go down until about a month out. Especially with Southwest. Also, book on wed. It has always been the cheapest day to book airfare.

 

[pumpkinboy]

If you live in warrenton, I assume you're flying out of IAD. That being said, I don't think you should worry about airfare going up within the next 2 months. They usually keep steady or go down until about a month out. Especially with Southwest. Also, book on wed. It has always been the cheapest day to book airfare.

Of course if you're looking for the Christmas Holidays, I would doubt the price would ever come down appreciably. Otherwise, it should be worth the wait. I agree about booking on Weds, tho Tues is sometimes good too.

If the OP is going around Xmas and are finding the airfare too steep, you still have the Autotrain option in Northern Virginia. An overnight trip might be just the ticket. Sux for us that we would still have to drive 8+ hours to get to Lorton for the Autotrain, so flying is our main option.

Good luck