When to purchase airfare on American or Delta?

[leebee]

We've been Southwest customers for decades, but for a one-way flight in November, Southwest won't work for us. I have points with both American and Delta, but 'prices' seem fairly high. I know buying at SW is best on the day the schedule opens (and then 'juggle' for a better fare if there is a sale released) but I have no idea how things at American and Delta work. It seems that Delta would let us cancel/rebook without a fee but American charges fees (at the lowest price-point ticket).
SO... would you purchase a fare now and watch it, or is it better to wait until closer to time to fly?

 

[RuntheMouse]

I have our October, December and January trips booked already on Delta. I watched prices for a bit and jumped in when I thought it was good.

Delta will let you rebook for no fee and issue ecredit if you cancel when paying cash fares. You mentioned points (miles I assume) on Delta, easy to cancel there as well and get miles redeposited.

You are right though, fares are high but I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

 

[DeeBee3]

I have been checking fares on Delta and Jetblue for at least 6 weeks. They have fluctuated wildly even within the same day. I normally checking morning and night to see if anything great pops up. I have not purchased yet. The flights I am looking at are also fairly empty - as in no one else has bought seats either.

 

[mjdis17]

Neither Delta nor American should charge you a fee to cancel/rebook if you booked with points, even on the lowest ticket fare. I would book something now and you can always rebook if the flight drops in points.

 

[jimmymc]

Delta and American both allow for future trip credits if you change your ticket later.

Trying to time your purchase is tough and depends on a lot of factors. If you check the seat map and a lot of them are taken, I would buy now, that flight probably isn't getting cheaper. If the seat map is totally available, they might drop prices.

 

[disneyseniors]

We use Delta exclusively because Minneapolis is the hub for Delta. I check out prices a while before our trip and If I see a good one, I go ahead and book it. I continue to look and if something cheaper shows up I just have to change it. No problems ever with Delta.

 

[OlliePop27]

I live near one of American's fortress hubs. I book multiple flights each month for both business and leisure. I don't personally believe in buying Basic Economy because of the severe restrictions and change fees. I always book Main Cabin, and I can cancel and rebook for a flight credit as many times as I want. If you book with miles, you can always cancel and rebook without penalty (no basic economy bookings with miles).

I would use Google Flights to track your specific trip. This will indicate if the price is "good" or not.

As others have noted, airfare is only going to go up from here. There are unique market factors at play currently. The cost of jet fuel is at historic highs, and this represents one of the airlines' biggest expenses. If you know you're traveling, I would book it now with miles or Main Cabin in cash and keep checking back to see if the price goes down. If you do get a flight credit, you would have to use it within 1 year from the date of receipt, so if you don't fly often, it might be worth waiting.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Unfortunately there are no more hard and fast rules for when to purchase airfare. The algos got smart to that long, long ago. I use google flights to see if the range is right for what I'm looking at so I don't really overpay.

 

[easyas123]

We live near a SW hub (BWI) as well, and often fly them so we've gotten used to being able to play with our fares & switch flights as needed. When we book other airlines I book when #1 the schedule works for me, and then #2 the fare is in my budget. Then I pull the trigger and don't look back or worry over it.
I just spent a LOT on two flights in Sept to Inverness on BA via American and once I bought the tickets I stopped watching & looking at the fares - I made the decision and that's that.

 

[DCLMP]

If demand drops due to price. Expect flight changes due to decreased capacity especially if your booking months in advance. Just be flexible. Airlines allow free changes if flight times change after ticketing.
It's hard to predict prices, but Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are usually the cheapest days.

 

[_19disnA]

Difficult to talk in generalities when looking at airline pricing. When/where you are traveling probably matter more than anything else. Orlando is likely a top destination the year round, so waiting/hoping for a sale if that is where you are traveling is probably not a good plan. Each flight has a set number of seats for each price category. When the lowest price seats are sold, the fare jumps to the next higher category. Non-stop flights and those at the most desirable times probably sell first. If those are your preference when traveling, best to buy your tickets once you have finalized your plans. If traveling around a major holiday, expect the prices to increase significantly as planes fill up, usually months in advance.

In the past, fares tended to be higher during the week since that is when most business travelers are flying and weekend fares were lower. Not sure if that is still true now. Check around on any of the online flight pricing websites to get a sense of current pricing to your destination.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Award tickets (bought using points) being fully refundable with no penalty at all is one of the best things about them. If you can buy your tickets now with points, do that and just keep checking and if the cost with points falls, or if a great cash fare comes up, then just cancel and rebook.

 

[beccasmom]

We book American the most often because our airport is a hub, so we have a greater variety of options for flights (non-stops specifically). Southwest doesn’t normally work for us anymore. There are fewer non-stops from our airport now and the fares are not much less than American.

Our next WDW trip is in late September and the base fair will be around $350.00 each. But that choice has a lot of restrictions. So we will generally opt for Main Plus or Select because my DH really needs the extra leg room (I don’t). One is refundable, the other is not. Those seats are about $560.00 each right now. We generally book about 3-4 months ahead.

We have not booked yet because there’s a good chance we’ll be driving instead. It’s a longer visit (12 days) and having our car will be a nice convenience. And we have the time now (no worries about work schedules anymore! ). This would be my first road trip to WDW and I love road trips in general (took many when we were younger). DH loves to drive and there are a few stops we’d like to include along the way. We’ll have to make a decision soon one way or another.

 

[EACarlson]

We've been Southwest customers for decades, but for a one-way flight in November, Southwest won't work for us. I have points with both American and Delta, but 'prices' seem fairly high. I know buying at SW is best on the day the schedule opens (and then 'juggle' for a better fare if there is a sale released) but I have no idea how things at American and Delta work. It seems that Delta would let us cancel/rebook without a fee but American charges fees (at the lowest price-point ticket).
SO... would you purchase a fare now and watch it, or is it better to wait until closer to time to fly?

American is usually a better value per point than Delta, but it's also easier to obtain Delta points than American. At the lowest price point ticket, Main Basic, there is a miles redeposit fee for Delta of 9,900 miles. Main Classic or above and it is not charged. The advice is always to book as soon as you find a price you are comfortable paying.

As others have noted, airfare is only going to go up from here. There are unique market factors at play currently. The cost of jet fuel is at historic highs, and this represents one of the airlines' biggest expenses. If you know you're traveling, I would book it now with miles or Main Cabin in cash and keep checking back to see if the price goes down. If you do get a flight credit, you would have to use it within 1 year from the date of receipt, so if you don't fly often, it might be worth waiting.

The first part is a flat out lie, the second part I absolutely agree with. None of the market factors are unique. The cost of jet fuel is not at historic highs. Prices were 6% higher than they are now just four years ago.

 

[OlliePop27]

American is usually a better value per point than Delta, but it's also easier to obtain Delta points than American. At the lowest price point ticket, Main Basic, there is a miles redeposit fee for Delta of 9,900 miles. Main Classic or above and it is not charged. The advice is always to book as soon as you find a price you are comfortable paying.


The first part is a flat out lie, the second part I absolutely agree with. None of the market factors are unique. The cost of jet fuel is not at historic highs. Prices were 6% higher than they are now just four years ago.

You're correct, I was wrong and I apologize for using the word "historic" highs in an explicit way. Thanks for calling it out, but there may be a better way than calling someone a liar.

The point was that prices are currently high and may affect airfare more than usual. There have certainly been periods of high jet fuel costs before, you're 100% correct. The intended point of the comment about jet fuel was that prices have risen and it is likely to have an impact on airfare.

Again, not looking to get into an argument, and you provided accurate info about the cost of jet fuel compared to even recent history.

 

[Chirple]

You're correct, I was wrong and I apologize for using the word "historic" highs in an explicit way. Thanks for calling it out, but there may be a better way than calling someone a liar.

The last chart seems to agree with your use of historic, especially when compared to four years ago.

https://www.iata.org/en/publications/economics/fuel-monitor/

 

[DCLMP]

How is it easier to obtain Delta miles than American? Citi is now a transfer partner. It''s also very easy to book AA flights with Alaska or BA miles.

 

[DCLMP]

You're correct, I was wrong and I apologize for using the word "historic" highs in an explicit way. Thanks for calling it out, but there may be a better way than calling someone a liar.

The point was that prices are currently high and may affect airfare more than usual. There have certainly been periods of high jet fuel costs before, you're 100% correct. The intended point of the comment about jet fuel was that prices have risen and it is likely to have an impact on airfare.

Again, not looking to get into an argument, and you provided accurate info about the cost of jet fuel compared to even recent history.

I think there's a bit of difference between 2022 and now. I don't want to get into the weeds, but this has the potential of being much worse long term and fear is always a big driver in price. Airfare is high right now. I don't see how anyone can argue that it's not.

 

[leebee]

I ended up buying on Delta, and not "basic" so I could pick her seat (she has hip issues and needs a specific location- miss SW unassigned seating policy) and cancel without penalty, if need be. November seems like such a long way off, but plans are starting to form, but at least DD can get to Disney. I'm waiting for SW to open November booking to get ME to Disney, and then both of us back home (I'm going down before she can, but we'll be coming home together). One step at a time, right?

 

[EACarlson]

How is it easier to obtain Delta miles than American? Citi is now a transfer partner. It''s also very easy to book AA flights with Alaska or BA miles.

Delta's partnership with American Express allows AMEX MR to be transferred to SkyMiles. There are a lot more MR earning AMEX cards out there than there are TYP earning Citi cards with better earning rates. Booking AA flights with Atmos or BAEC points are limited to what inventory AA makes available to them and pricing can be hit or miss. It also has nothing to do with the fact it's easier to obtain Delta Skymiles than it is AAdvantage points.