The eternal struggle...

I just think that a lot of brain damage is done trying to save that last quarter. Seven hundred is not bad. How much more do you think you could save? 50$, 100$. if you wait. You are not going to save four or five hundred by waiting. Pull the switch now and move on. There are many other ways to save a hundred or two. This is not one of them.

There are only so many of those cheaper tickets available. The closer the trip gets, or the cheaper seats sell out, the more expensive the flights will get. Ensure the ticket is the cabin you want, basic economy, regular economy, premium economy, etc. as each fare class has specific conditions and benefits.

The British Airways sales I’ve seen are buy now and travel through XX. I don’t recall sales with travel by fares that far out. Other sales have hotel included with the airfare, but again, not that far out.

Get what you want/need when you can, and move on. No need to beat yourself up because you didn't get a ticket for the price of a fancy cup of coffee. This is like becoming a speculator in foreign currency transactions - too much of the game is unpredictable and random, no matter how smart or diligent or patient you are (a lot of it boils down to plain old luck). You might save some money here or there, but there's no guarantee that prices won't be higher the next time you look.

I booked some tickets a month or two ago for a trip in Fall of 2026. The flights I needed are on Aegean Airlines. Aegean is currently running a "black Friday sale." I checked prices last night, during the sale. The tickets I booked were about 2/3 of the "sale" price I saw last night for the exact same flights.

That said, you CAN get some deals. But you have to be realistic and accept that you win some you lose some, and the House almost always wins in the end.

David in Seattle, so true so true. The house always wins!

I could have sworn when I looked at tickets a couple months ago they were more like $1100 each. So this seems like a substantial savings. I may go for it! And then never look back.

I try to decide on my "buy price" then not look again after I purchase. But I have been looking at possible trips this last week or two and seeing amazing deals for next fall. It's been hard to not buy any tickets .

If you are a member of AARP, check their website because it offers a discount on British Airways tickets.

From my regional airport, I have a pretty good idea of what is a decent price. So, when we see a drop into that range (typically about 6 months out) we grab it.

Since Covid, I like it, with Delta, that you can rebook with no fees. So if the price drops, we rebook, take the difference as a credit. That takes a lot of the "What if?" and indecisiveness out of the equation.

We are also pretty flexible, so can take advantage of different days of departure/return, and even shift our trip a few weeks to get a cheaper ticket.

One thing we don't really do is check every airport. We do have some hubs, but 3-4 hours away, just never seen prices that make up for the drive, parking, likely a night in a hotel.

I bought airline tickets in July for next April. I got refundable ones because I really wasn't sure, at first, if we were going to make this trip (we are!). I have tracked the flight on Google ever since and they have never gone lower than I got in July and are currently quite a bit higher. Just one person's experience.

Pull the switch now and move on

This is what I've learned works best for me, and yes, it is a "good" problem to have.

I don't know about BA, but haven't U.S. carriers been waiving change and cancellation fees, even for international flights?

(except for the lowest basic restricted fares with no seat assignments etc)

For the last 4 years I have found a sweet spot appeared about 2/3 the way through February for American and BA, only lasts a few days. They code share, AA flies to Lisbon direct from Philadelphia, among others. And AA basic seats run around $15, whereas BA purchased seats are up around $90 (IIRC, I refuse to pay BA for them)

That is a great price. You probably got a deal where you have to pay extra for aisle or window seats.

I usually buy airline tickets 9-10 months prior to the trip. Also, we are in our late 70s and I pay a little extra for a direct flight from the US to city in Europe that we want to start our visit. Also, we usually do Delta, since it provides TV screens, while American doesn't.

The neverending spiral of "what if next month is better". I suffer from the same