Can I wait a few days to book?

[L_MareeB]

Ok, I probably know what the AFF folks will say but I’m asking anyway

To book my preferred itinerary, I have to book through the call centre (VA). When I called them this morning, I was pleasantly surprised that the price they quoted me was actually cheaper than if I booked the two flight segments separately through the VA website/app.

I’d have loved to book then and there because the agent was fantastic and the price good. But I want this flight in my next credit card statement period and, annoyingly, it hasn’t ticked over yet. It’s usually 2/3 of the month, but the bank just confirmed that it won’t tick over until Monday.

The fare prices have remained fairly stable online for the past week. It went up a bit but within a reasonable margin.

A. Can I expect the prices to remain fairly stable over the next few days (booking for August)?
B. Can I expect the online fare price relative to the phone fare price to remain relatively similar?

I know this is a “how long is a piece of string” question but would appreciate your thoughts all the same.

 

[Forg]

I guess a start would be … are the prices you got a special, or standard pricing? And any way of knowing how many seats are still available at those prices?

 

[AIRwin]

I also try to time my credit card payment for flights and it usually appears as pending on my account for a few days before it is posted so it should be safe to book now?

 

[drron]

The most important thing is when is the flight you want to take. If in 12 months and school holidays then a bit more risk though should be OK for a revenue ticket.

 

[L_MareeB]

I guess a start would be … are the prices you got a special, or standard pricing? And any way of knowing how many seats are still available at those prices?

It’s basically the lowest available economy fare. No way of knowing how many seats are still available at that price, but 8 months out I’m not that worried.

 

[L_MareeB]

I also try to time my credit card payment for flights and it usually appears as pending on my account for a few days before it is posted so it should be safe to book now?

It usually takes a few days to clear. I’ll use the bank chat and see if it would post to Monday’s statement if it hadn’t cleared yet. Good thinking, thanks.

Post automatically merged: Saturday at 5:56 PM

The most important thing is when is the flight you want to take. If in 12 months and school holidays then a bit more risk though should be OK for a revenue ticket.

It’s August. So school holidays here but obviously late summer in the northern hemisphere, where in headed. Right now the flights back to Aus are cheaper than the ones heading out.

 

[L_MareeB]

So, interesting. I decided to bite the bullet and book. I called. Flights are now nearly $400 more than they were this morning. They’re still exactly the same on the website. I checked before and after the call. He basically said that the website hasn’t caught up yet. I’m tempted to call again just to see if I get another price from someone else. If I don’t, I’ll call again tomorrow and see if the price is miraculously cheaper in the morning.

If the prices do go up significantly online overnight, it’s my sign just book with Singapore instead.