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Playing the flight pricing game...

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by fenway68, Feb 20, 2016.

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  1. fenway68

    fenway68 VIP Whale

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    a. any tips or tricks?
    b. how long to you watch flights before you book?
    c. do you pay for itinerary or look for cheapest way to get out there

    I am willing to pay for a better itinerary and Non-stops (coming from the east coast) so I can maximize my trip without killing myself, but I also don't want to "wait it out" only to see prices rise...right now the flights I like have about 1/2 the seats still open, but prices are still 612 RT; thats the most I have paid for LV flights..

    Trip not until 8 weeks from now.
     
  2. Sheil813

    Sheil813 High-Roller

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    I am finding the same thing. Coming from Florida. All flights are 35% more than ever before.
     
  3. NewOrleansSlimm

    NewOrleansSlimm VIP Whale

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    I booked my friend for our march trip, CET booked my girl and I already. so it was close to $500 before I used some gift cards...as i checked after booking it went up and up and up...few months went by and some other friends booked and said southwest had big price drops, sure enough I looked today and rebooked my friend and got a $73 credit
     
  4. ButterflyMtn

    ButterflyMtn High-Roller

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    I usually start watching the flights when we decide when we are going to go. Usually will book my flight on a Tues/Wed/Thurs nights...flights can be more expensive if booked on the weekends and have seen them drop dramatically mid-week. I never book more than 6-8 weeks out...best pricing seems to be around the 6wk mark for me.
     
  5. cphllps

    cphllps High-Roller

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    I bought our May airfare in November on SW when I checked one day and it was cheaper than last year. Check every time I see a mention of a sale and nothing cheaper has come up. Buying airfare is the first gambling of the vacation.
     
  6. nyr2

    nyr2 Tourist

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    I have to say this is the best airfare I ever scored RT 2 ppl on Virgin out of JFK non-stop for April $468 (bought in Nov).
    very happy!! :thumbsup:
     
  7. johnvic

    johnvic VIP Whale

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    I'm don't know about all airlines but if you buy a ticket on JetBlue and he price drops then they will honor the new price.
     
  8. fenway68

    fenway68 VIP Whale

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    Which itinerary? That is a decent Virgin JFK price. Just wish they didn't do away with the afternoon nonstop return!!

    Loved the 930a nonstop out and the 130p nonstop return.
     
  9. fenway68

    fenway68 VIP Whale

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    Now I will have to check Delta's policy. If I find something I will let you know.
     
  10. nyr2

    nyr2 Tourist

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    Leave 9:05am - return 10pm. awesome price, never had it below $650. for 2 before. :eek:
     
  11. Wall St Nole

    Wall St Nole Low-Roller

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    There was a large study done over a million or so flights a couple years back. The sweet spot is 47 days. Of course this from a ton of data so just keep that in mine. Also if you book and your rates drop most airline will give you some type of credit towards a future flight if you call and ask about it.
     
  12. wigwam_salesman

    wigwam_salesman VIP Whale

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    If you know you are going at a busy time with limited number of flights then book as soon as you can.

    If you're flying a route with an abundance of carriers and flights then bout 8 weeks out is the sweet spot.

    You can occasionally get a bargain if you leave it to the very last minute but I've been burned once when doing this.

    Tuesday-Thursday are usually the cheapest days to fly as most tourists and business passengers fly at the weekends and Monday or Friday.

    Don't book on a weekend because they put the prices up. Book on a Wednesday. Sounds like a myth, but do some spot checks on skyscanner to see this in the real world.

    Try and fly with the same airline, the more loyal you are, the better deals you will be offered. For example, I get free upgrades on virgin Atlantic because of my airmiles.
     
  13. NewOrleansSlimm

    NewOrleansSlimm VIP Whale

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    southwest does this, if the price goes down within 24hours of booking, you get a cash back refund...after 24 hours if the price drops you just rebook the flight, as I done today for my friend.. I got a $73 credit which is good to go toward a flight for 1 year, if it drops again, rebook and it adds to your credit
     
  14. NewOrleansSlimm

    NewOrleansSlimm VIP Whale

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    if your fine with wednesday trips yep its cheap, but i found a sweet spot for cheap flights leaving thursday morning and coming back monday afternoon...its usually $100+ if you come back on sunday as opposed to monday
     
  15. wigwam_salesman

    wigwam_salesman VIP Whale

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    I don't think I explained myself very well. I mean that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are usually the cheapest days to fly. It's not a perfect science though and if you fly on a Monday night it's likely to have less business travelers.

    Either way, what is a sweet spot for you isn't automatically indicative of any other routes so I was trying to generalize as much as possible.
     
  16. weluvvegas

    weluvvegas Casino Countess

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    The last 2 times flying out of dfw flights were cheapest if you flew Tues, Wed or Sat and book about 8 weeks out. Most recent our flight was only $87rt pp. I find that it's lowest to fly dfw to las in the spring Feb to May. Once summer starts, prices hike. Last year our spring break flights were only $126 each
     
  17. EastCoastVegasFan!

    EastCoastVegasFan! VIP Whale

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    Southwest as soon as they open is the best time!
     
    July 19th - July 24th
  18. RockyBalboa

    RockyBalboa Front Line Winner

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    I start checking as soon as I've decided I want to make a trip

    Like all of us here I go to Vegas enough that I know what the fares normally are so if the initial search falls close to what I've historically paid then I'll book right away. Other times I'll wait it out and check in once or twice a day.

    For my trip next month I started checking in January and they were high. I waited them out and they didn't drop. This is on United out of Houston. This is a hub city for United so I'm sort of beholden to them because other airlines all connect from here. I investigated flying American or Delta and connecting in DFW, PHX or SLC but they were equal to United's non-stop.

    So I decided to check doing a connection on United via LAX and it was about $350 cheaper than the non-stop. So for the first time ever I will be connecting during a trip to Vegas (still flying non-stop on the way home though).

    United never really tailored their fares to Vegas to coincide with big events but this year I noticed they did. When I originally looked at going SB weekend they were way high. And I'm going for MM and they were high compared to the weeks before and after MM.

    Previously I'd pay $600-700 for non-stop in first. For SB and MM the non-stops for first were $900-1100. Connecting through LAX got me a fare of $650.
     
  19. Sheil813

    Sheil813 High-Roller

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    I am booked for the EDC weekend :thumbsdown: not on purpose, going to WSOP - my airfare has gone up by $200 in the past two weeks. I am still waiting on booking, hoping they go down...
     
  20. weluvvegas

    weluvvegas Casino Countess

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    What is EDC and when is it?
     
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