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July 25, 2008

Thinking of doing some traveling? You might want to think about getting your ticket now, even if you know there’s a good chance you’ll change your plans later.

Why?  Because the $100 fee you’ll be charged to make a change is often far less than the increasing air fares you’ll pay if you wait to make your reservation later.

Here’s an example. For comparison, I chose a trip from Portland to New York on United Air Lines—from the first available Thursday in each month and lasting one week:

In this case, if you needed to fly in October, the round trip you’d pay this week is just $590.  If you delayed until September when your plans were firm, you’d pay $224 more, $814. However, if you decide in September to change your trip date to December, you’d pay a change fee of $100, making the total ticket cost only $660.

If you have to cancel your trip, that cancelled ticket is worth a round trip flight. If the new flight costs more than your original, you will have to pay the difference. However, if your new flight costs less, you won’t get a refund. Therefore, it’s best to have paid as little as possible in the first place.

Of course, there may be exceptions to the rule and different airlines may charge different fees for changes.  In general though, even if you have to cancel your trip, it’s still a better deal to buy the ticket as far ahead of time as possible for your earliest possible travel date.