Need opinion on when to book flight!

JuneBugsMommy

DH and I rarely fly so I need the help of all you experienced flyers. DS and I are going to visit DH in Texas around September 6 (I'm flexible with the dates) I found tickets last week for $275 roundtrip and now I'm kicking myself for not buying them because now they're up to $450! Should I buy now or wait until it gets closer to the date we'll leave? Do prices drop the closer it gets?

MrsI

I have heard that flights are the cheapest on Tues and/or Wed.  They go up on weekends when people are home and more readily booking flights.  I watched a flight and it stayed the same Tues so I held off and while I was looking at it late (7ish) Wed night it dropped by about $100.  So I would personally wait until Wed to see if you can get a better deal.  If its the same Wed night I would book it before it goes up for the next weekend.

JuneBugsMommy

Thanks for that info!

LollyBug18

Another vote for Wednesdays. DH heard it somewhere. We were looking at flights one Wednesday but didn't book bc we weren't quite ready. Went back some other night and it was a lot higher but waited until the next Wednesday and it was back down so that's when we booked. It saved us at least a couple $100 roundtrip.

Sunidaze

Tuesday nights.  When I went to Phoenix back in April, I stalked for a bit before doing so...I caught a small window where they dropped and I took advantage.

I heard last week that if you book a flight for Friday the 13th, you can find fares that are significantly (like up to 60%) cheaper.  Just for future reference for anyone who may be reading this (and there is not another Friday the 13th until next September, I believe).

mum2monkees

When we book flights, we use Bing. They have this neat feature that tells you if it is good time to buy or not. I don't know how accurate it is, but we use it alot and are happy with it.

Sunidaze

Input from our travel queen (I do not ever want this woman's job...ever):

Hit or miss?.  Sometimes after a holiday, or before a holiday.  Tuesday night and Wednesday are good hits for loading new fares.  Check this weekend, even Monday for special Labor Day fares.  (You sometimes just have to book on that day, not actually travel.)

JuneBugsMommy

Thanks for all the input ladies! I'll definitely be watching like a hawk tomorrow and Wednesday!

lovebugkim

This is all good info. but keep in mind that Labor Day weekend was probably the reason for the high price increase. If it doesn't go down before the weekend, I would wait till after the weekend to book. Be careful though because waiting till the very end can cause you to pay a higher seat price since most of the discounted seats will have already been purchased.