Peter Greenberg: Discounted Flights to Hawaii

By: Peter Greenberg | Source: AARP.org | 2009-07-27

Q: Hello Peter. My husband and myself are planning to go to Honolulu on Dec. 23, 2009, returning Jan. 2, 2010. We will be staying with family, so only need airfare. Do you think fares will go down closer to the date, or should I book now? I found flights for $668 each on Travelocity. Also, if I book now and fares do decline after that, do any airlines refund the difference? Is booking through a travel site different than dealing with airlines directly as far as refunds?

–Myra
Menifee, Calif.

A: In general, it's best to book tickets 45 days in advance for domestic and 60 days in advance for international. But when it comes to holiday travel, throw that advice out the window. You're traveling during the highest peak time in Hawaii, so book the fares as far in advance as you can.

If you still want to roll the dice, then check out:

Yapta.com, which is a valuable resource for just such a query. You can sign up to receive e-mail alerts for when the airfare to your destination of choice drops. If you purchase your ticket and the price continues to drop, Yapta.com will refund you the discrepancy.

Orbitz also guarantees that you have the lowest price possible with its "Price Assurance" program. When you book on Orbitz, the site automatically tracks the flight to see if another Orbitz customer books the same flight or hotel reservation on Orbitz at a lower price. The site tracks your prices until the day you leave, and if the price drops, you receive a refund for the difference.