[Idyllchat] Planning airline ticket purchase – now or later?

[ZBerry at att.net]

There are some web sites which can help determine when the best time to buy might be.  Check these out:
www.farecast.com
www.farecompare.com
www.hotwire.com/tripstarter

Also, Yapta is a program you can download from their website (www.yapta.com) and it will track your flight for you.  That means once you've made your flight reservations, you can "tag" them with Yapta.  What Yapta does is monitor the price of that flight for you and if there is a sale or a lower price, it notifies you via email so you can then talk with the airline about getting back the difference in price.  It saves you wondering if you got the best deal and also saves you constantly checking (if you are prone to doing that).  I recently had tagged a flight from Boston to Dulles and the day I left Yapta let me know what the average prices had been for that flight since the day I booked it.  Turns out I got a great deal.
Airfare Watchdog (www.airfarewatchdog.com) allows you to enter airfares you are interested in and then it monitors those fares for you.  You'll get an email when the fares trend up or down.  They also rate how good a deal they think it is.  
I've always felt that if you can come close to the airfare that you'd pay with Untours, it's a pretty decent deal.
Anyway, hope some of you find this sites helpful.
Christine in Massachusetts



-------------- Original message from Sonny Culverhouse <eac at rev.net>: -------------- 


> Ed, if you haven't done so, why not ask a travel agency (AAA....if 
> you're a member) to get you the best price...and ask them if the 
> price should decrease in the meantime, if you'll enjoy the lower 
> price; this is the way it use to work, and I'm very aware that what 
> was isn't necessarily what is. Who knows, AAA or someone may fool 
> you and find prices better than you found; it's amazing what pros can 
> do when tested; just be sure to let them know that you'll get your 
> own tickets unless they can beat your price, enough. Just a 
> notion....that doesn't cost anymore than time. ...sonny 
> 
> PS: Since there has been so much chat about this subject, and if you 
> try an agency, please let us all know the results. Tks. 
> 
> 
> At 11:45 AM 12/16/2007, Ed Comer wrote: 
> >My wife and I have reserved an UnTour to Meiringen, Switzerland for 
> >two weeks in September/October, 2008. In planning the airfare my 
> >past experience with UnTours and other travel services is that their 
> >round trip airfare from the Southeastern United States to Europe 
> >averages in the $800-$950 neighborhood. I plan on obtaining my own 
> >air travel so that I will have better control over the route and airline, etc. 
> > 
> >My dilemma is when to make the purchase. I can purchase tickets 
> >today from Asheville, NC or Greenville, SC to Zurich via Atlanta 
> >(oddly Atlanta to Zurich costs more than using it as a stop) for 
> >$919 including all taxes and fees. This price is, in my opinion, 
> >comparable to what UnTours would charge me if I purchased the 
> >airfare from them. I am satisfied with this price, carrier and route 
> >but what I cannot decide is if should wait to closer to the travel 
> >date, hoping for a sale while simultaneously risking a price 
> >increase. Consequentially, I am currently sitting on the fence. I 
> >would love to read the opinions of others. 
> > 
> >_______________________________________________ 
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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