How late can I wait to schedule my flight

[navoni]

Dealing with two sick family members.  (Not covid.)  Tentative plans to fly from Oakland to San Diego on Aug. 5th. two passengers. I know business travel  is refundable...which is okay....but almost $100.00 more than wanna get away!  How long can I wait, how long can I delay,  before making my reservation?  Any way to know when, or if, the flight I want is selling out????  

[dfwskier]

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@navoni wrote:

Dealing with two sick family members.  (Not covid.)  Tentative plans to fly from Oakland to San Diego on Aug. 5th. two passengers. I know business travel  is refundable...which is okay....but almost $100.00 more than wanna get away!  How long can I wait, how long can I delay,  before making my reservation? 

There is no answer to your question. It depends on the  time of the  of year, other traveler demand., etc.If you are talking about a WAGA fare, remember that the closer you get to departure date, the greater the likelihood that the WAGA fare will increase in cost or disappear  entirely. WAGA fares are completely refundable if cancelled within 24 hours of purchase. So I guess you could buy a WAGA fare, and then wait until 23 hours later to decide whether or not you want to cancel it.

Any way to know when, or if, the flight I want is selling out????  

Southwest lets you book a max of 8 people on one reservation. So you could periodically check by trying to book a reservation for 8 people, and not follow up with an actual  purchase. The system will tell you whether or not AT LEAST 8 seats are available. If not you can check again for 4 people, etc. 

[DancingDavidE]

You can also book with points if you have that many which are refunded to your account if you cancel the flight.

The WGA+ new fare offers a benefit that if you are buying the ticket for the other person and the flight is canceled you can get the travel funds into your name.

Do you fly enough to use travel funds reliably? Then book it now and if you cancel you still get a year from the date of purchase to use the travel funds on another flight.

Or spring for the BS or Anytime fares which are refundable up to 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Think of it as "no questions asked" travel insurance. 

[bec102896]

Assuming seats are available you can book a flight online up to 1 hour before flight time on domestic flights but I wouldn’t wait that long to book if you know you will fly in the next year you can book now and if you don’t need to fly cancel up to 10min prior to the flight and you will have a credit for a for flight within a year of when you booked. You could also book the WGA+ Fare and those funds would be transferable should someone else want to use the funds on another flight 

you could also book Business Select and it would be refundable if you need to cancel b(remember business select isn’t a business class like you find on Delta) 

[FlyWithLUV]

Theoretically, you can book on Southwest.com up to 1 hour before your flight is scheduled to depart. Those aren’t when the prices are the best though.

If you know you’re going to fly out that day, I would book an Anytime fare today on the flight you have your eyes set on. The Anytime fare can be cancelled and refunded to your original method of payment up to 10 minutes before departure.

The good thing is, if you check the prices on Southwest.com every day, and you see a lower price than the one you paid for the Anytime fare, click Change Flight on your reservation and you’ll actually have the fare difference refunded to you between the price you paid and the new cheaper price. This refund can also go to your original method of payment. (unless you are paying using a Southwest Gift Card or travel credit)

So booking today allows you to secure your spot on the flight while also giving you the flexibility to cancel and get a full refund (only with Anytime and Business Select fares). You also don’t have to worry about paying extra since you can get the fare difference back if that price drops.