Best time to book a flight

[KyleAndrea 1]

Based on your experience, would it be better to buy a ticket a month ahead or last minute? Which can be cheaper? What airlines do you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

[wilfon 30]

Based on your experience, would it be better to buy a ticket a month ahead or last minute? Which can be cheaper? What airlines do you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

This is a tricky one. If you can do it months in advance, I would go that route. I just went to the Philippines on 6/29/12 and was tracking the prices for about a month in advance, the closer it got to the date I wanted to fly the prices were gradually going up. I would check all the websites at different times of the day, everyday, travelocity, priceline, the various airlines themselves and so forth. One night about two weeks before i wanted to fly, I woke up at midnight and decided to check the prices and found the best price that I have ever found. It was on travelocity, so for my experience i would also check around midnight. Maybe i got lucky, but i paid 1,700 round trip with one stop each way. Even after i purchased my ticket I kept checking to see if i truly got a good deal and i determined that i did. The cost of the flight from the same website was over 3,000 on the date I flew out. So my suggestion is to check early, everyday and at all times. Watch out for some websites like last minute air, cheap tickets etc. Good luck, I hope i was able to help a little.

[Que Saudade 284]

I have tried my best to figure this out. This is what I have learned from my past experiences of traveling overseas and more than 6 trips to Brazil last year.

If oil prices are dropping, tickets go down also but there is lag time.

Booking way ahead saves money (more than 2 months)

Waiting until the last minute can bite you in the butt if the flight you are wanting has limited amounts of service. Airlines tend to overbook flights now for some reason unknown to me. Keep an eye on how many seats are left.

If the flight is filling up fast, airlines tend to raise the prices because demand is there.

The amount of money saved is not worth the peace of mind knowing you get the dates you want. However, if you are flexible with dates you don't have to worry about this as much.

Use a site such as Orbitz etc... to compare prices of airlines. If you know a good travel agent, ask them to see what they say.

The main point is that there is no set answer. I have seen them go up, I have seen them go down. It is sort of like gambling, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

I do know that choosing days of the week can change the price. Tuesdays are cheap travel days. Weekends are more expensive. Flights earlier in the morning are cheaper as people don't like to get to the airport really early. Also, late at night seems to be cheaper also.

Sorry I rambled a little, but this is what I have found over the last several years.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Que Saudade

[abner137 48]

I've always had my best luck with last minute, the last time I went to the Phils I booked the day before and was cheaper than a two month ahead price....I've had great luck with ASAP Tickets.

Travelocity and Expedia are good main stream companies and I just was checking out this site posted the other day by DavenRoxy....Reliable Travel at first glance it seems to have decent one way prices, I haven't checked it out thoroughly yet.

When it comes to flying do lots of research and read all the fine prints.......

[Que Saudade 284]

If you are looking to fly your fiance here to USA, it is cheaper to book round trip than one way. You can do that, but it has been advised by many here that once your fiance is here, that you cancel the return portion of the trip.

[KyleAndrea 1]

I've always had my best luck with last minute, the last time I went to the Phils I booked the day before and was cheaper than a two month ahead price....I've had great luck with ASAP Tickets.

Travelocity and Expedia are good main stream companies and I just was checking out this site posted the other day by DavenRoxy....Reliable Travel at first glance it seems to have decent one way prices, I haven't checked it out thoroughly yet.

When it comes to flying do lots of research and read all the fine prints.......

Thanks! I checked out asaptickets.com but I'm a little confused. Can the booking only be done by phone or Skype? Is the price displayed on the left the best price? Sorry the website's interface looks so different from others I'm used to. >,<

And thanks, everyone, for your tips. I've really taken them to heart. My US fiance is going to Manila (my hometown) for our engagement party, and then we will fly to Singapore (my current residence) for my interview so we are really careful with the money. We could have done without him coming here but I would really need his presence during the interview as I've been denied multiple times from a tourist visa and I just have a phobia just entering the USEM.

Anyway, I've been rambling. Just so stressed. Thanks again.

[Que Saudade 284]

Anyway, I've been rambling. Just so stressed. Thanks again.

We are all guilty of this. Good luck and try to remain calm. I know how the nerves can be.!

[Grant PDX 183]

I've always had good success booking early if I can. I booked my flight 2+ months ago for a trip in 2 weeks. My price from Portland to Manila was $914. I just checked Orbitz now and it's $1,350. asaptickets.com is $1,250, I just called them. I bought on Orbitz.

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, things can vary so widely. But for me, I've always bought early and then watched prices and have never really seen prices go down, but I do look in advance for a couple of weeks and try to gauge it. I look at multiple websites, then when I see a good price I jump on it.

By the way, the Reliable Travel thing? I look at those prices and they seem pretty awesome. I didn't call them to confirm anything, but the pricing is very attractive. I may use them for vacations or if I bring someone to the US eventually.

[actob99 156]

Make sure you're looking at the final price as all websites/airlines are different on what taxes and charges you will pay. Also, travel to Asia has been very heavy over the last year and doesn't appear to be slowing up. Prices will reflect that.. But I guess when you're flying halfway across the earth at over 500 mph in a metal tube, it might cost a little bit..

[akihon 129]

start watching ticket prices three months out from the date you're planning to fly. Airlines only start to play the price game on relevant tickets within three months of the flight date

I've gotten some of the best deals during this time.

[KyleAndrea 1]

Ok. Thanks everyone for your patience explaining things to me. We can't make an early booking as of now because we have to wait until we are sure NVC has sent in our petition to the USEM. As soon as we find out, I'm gonna resign and go to Manila to fix my papers.

So far, Delta Airlines sounds good coz it's the fastest and has only one stop. It also looks like it's cheaper and faster if he flies to Manila instead of Singapore.

Btw, is there a reason why asaptickets seems cheaper than others? Is there a catch?

[KyleAndrea 1]

reliabletravel.com sounds good too but Phil Airlines doesn't fly to Detroit. :/

[ChrisB0707 4]

Depends on the month. September and October are cheaper months. November and December will go way up for the holidays. Down again Feb and March. I have been there 6 times and never paid more then 1050 round trip total with tax. I would check with a local travel agent also. They sometimes have access to flights we can't see. Something to keep in mind also when you pay with a credit card the airline will want to see it at check in. Some airlines have first time immigrant discount.

Edited August 6, 2012 by ChrisB0707

[itsmeleila 6]

i have a concern about booking tickets too..my inteview will be on sept5 and i'm planning to fly 2 weeks after..if i book the ticket now it'll only be $900++ whereS if i book my ticket after the interview it'll be as high as $2k ..my concern is if i book now, is a 2week timeframe enough to wait for my visa packet to be delivered? does anyone here knows of where i can book a ticket with a travel insurance that i can change my flight date if visa will be delayed?

[YourHumboldtBud 2]

I purchased my ticket directly from United Airlines website at least 2.5 months ahead and I'm only paying $867 total roundtrip, it's the cheapest fare they have flying to Manila when checked over the next 365 days, what's even crazier is that my flight is a connecting flight from my area here in Northern California using one of those prop planes.

Typical fare from my area to SFO is usally around $400 RT on average, there was NO DIFFERENCE in price if I fly out from from SFO or ACV, I get the Prop Plane flight for FREE!!!!

Purchasing 2.5+ months minimum in advance and buying your ticket at the beginning of the week Sun-Tue as opposed to Wed-Sat has given me the best prices.

I've noticed the United Airlines site will have only a few flights they release at a time with the lowest price, and once they sell out you have to wait for the beginning of the following week in hopes of getting another low price deal.

Any flights scheduled 2 months or less start going up in price the closer they get to the flight date.