This is more of an anti-hack, don’t do what I did. The flight to visit my family is usually $400-600 (which sucks). Saw a ticket for $424 and instead of buying, procrastinated. It could hit the 300s maybe right? I’ll wait.
Went to check a week later and it was now $746. Still had to confirm the dates worked for them at this point so still didn’t buy. Checked the next day and it became $912 for a 3-hr nonstop flight . Was 2 seconds from calling my parents that I wasn’t coming to visit anymore. By some miracle just as I was about to call, I saw if I moved my dates over 2 days it would go back down to $640. All the dates around it were minimally $850 still. Booked that immediately. And let’s go back to the procrastination part; I bought this ticket yesterday for a flight this Thursday, now moved to Saturday:weary:.
So please everyone, don’t do what I did. When you know the price range of a place you go often, just buy it when it’s decent. Don’t wait for some imaginary deal that’s not coming.
Side note: I only ever use incognito browsers and different sites up until the moment I buy so they don’t use my cache to inflate the prices. I just procrastinated into oblivion.
Update: I’m an avid traveler. I know most of the tricks and best times to buy and all the search sites and how to track flight prices. My parents even retired and became travel agents for the perks since they travel a lot too. But for visiting my parents, it’s often random, sudden, last minute. At the time I saw the 424 I wasn’t mentally prepared to buy. It was a casual search on if I was even going. Just so happened to be the best price then too. This is more of a ‘don’t procrastinate’ lesson.
My approach is simple – buy when I feel like it’s a decent price and don’t worry about whether it’s the absolute minimum price. If I feel like it’s a good deal, it’s good enough.
Drue said:
My approach is simple – buy when I feel like it’s a decent price and don’t worry about whether it’s the absolute minimum price. If I feel like it’s a good deal, it’s good enough.
I usually do this too but I just didn’t and idk why
@Oakley
Most of the time that gut instinct will serve you well. I always listen to it rather than beat myself up about something I have no control over.
Drue said:
My approach is simple – buy when I feel like it’s a decent price and don’t worry about whether it’s the absolute minimum price. If I feel like it’s a good deal, it’s good enough.
1000%
A lot of people are unaware of how much fully flexible fares, especially on long-haul could be…
You could be looking at $1000 return thinking it’s “outrageous” not realizing that walk-up economy fares could be several multiples of that if you lose the game of chicken.
I used to fly the exact same long-haul route on the exact same airline on the almost exact same dates each year (for Xmas but always flying back on New Year’s Day) and even after 10yrs I wasn’t sure how much I’d pay, even though I’d flown the same route on the same airline probably 100x on other occasions in that same timeframe…
Airline pricing is deliberately incredibly tricky to anticipate.
Drue said:
My approach is simple – buy when I feel like it’s a decent price and don’t worry about whether it’s the absolute minimum price. If I feel like it’s a good deal, it’s good enough.
Trying to anticipate for the lowest ticket price is like trying to time the stock market and go in at the lowest. It never works. Just buy it when you think it’s a decent price. In terms of border timing, usually 6+ months for international travel and 3+ months for domestic. There’s really no secret to it.
Drue said:
My approach is simple – buy when I feel like it’s a decent price and don’t worry about whether it’s the absolute minimum price. If I feel like it’s a good deal, it’s good enough.
This is the only way to do it for trips you absolutely want to make. The key part is that if you aren’t willing to not go, doing all that waiting just risks not being able to go.
I live by this rule. If the price is under what I budgeted for it, I am booking it. I do this with hotels also. I did this last year with a flight to LA and checked on it 5 months later and it was cheaper. I only fly Delta so I canceled the ticket, got the credit and repurchased the ticket, same flight and same seat. With the money left over from the credit, I used it towards my April trip.
@Vern
I was going to mention this. I didn’t know if it was standard practice on Delta or not. Had to travel specific dates - fare was over $500 from MSP to MCO. A few weeks later, I noticed the fare dropped by ~$150. I chatted with Delta, and it took them all of 30 seconds to issue credit for future flights.
@Vern
Yep, this is now a lot more possible. Basically, with the no change fee/no cancellation fee (for eCredit) policies that many US airlines implemented during Covid (outside of Basic Economy tickets), it’s possible to book and then rebook (and get some credit) if the price drops.
It’s not always zero risk - for many airlines, this means either canceling and rebooking (cancel, get eCredit, rebook for less, have remaining credit available), or changing itinerary dates/times and then back. If for some reason the lower price one saw happened to be phantom space at that price, or that fare bucket disappears during the process, you can end up in an unfortunate situation. Ideal is when you can get that credit by just chatting with an agent.
But even when one has to do it more manually (cancel/rebook, etc), it’s often a great option, as long as one is diligent - ticket is eligible for full credit for canceling, new price is actually available on the airline’s site (go as far as possible with a dummy booking), etc.
My general rule is, if the price is about what I’ve budgeted - close enough, book it.
You’ll drive yourself crazy if you act like a day trader and attempt to wait out the market for the best deal. If the deal seems good, do it. Spare yourself the aggravation.
Tegan said:
The cache driving the price up is a dumb myth that’s perpetuated by people that don’t understand pricing mechanisms or how GDSs work.
I totally agree. While some travel websites and aggregators may show different prices based on location (via IP tracking) or user identification/ behavior (if logged into an account), the idea that clearing cookies or using incognito mode will significantly lower airline ticket prices is not true.
the idea that clearing cookies or using incognito mode will significantly lower airline ticket prices is not true.
Because incognito mode doesn’t change your IP nor your browser fingerprint.
Also some airlines like Wingo will do it based on a single person’s demand ie if you don’t book correctly the price will go up temporarily. I hate Wingo never trying to fly with them again.
Oof, classic FOMO-induced panic buy. Glad you salvaged it, though. Next time, snag that $424 fare when you see it. Think of it this way: that extra $200+ you almost spent could’ve been two more nights in a nice hotel, or a LOT of pasta. Check out Google Flights to track prices – it’s pretty handy.
. Was 2 seconds from calling my parents that I wasn’t coming to visit anymore. By some miracle just as I was about to call, I saw if I moved my dates over 2 days it would go back down to $640. All the dates around it were minimally $850 still. Booked that immediately. And let’s go back to the procrastination part; I bought this ticket yesterday for a flight this Thursday, now moved to Saturday:weary:.