Waffling on plane ticket

You are only maybe 6 weeks or so from departure, just bite the bullet and buy, Do not look at the seating chart and think that lots of tickets are still available, there are many seats not assigned for tickets sold until the week of departure, the chart is just allowing you to pick a seat, not that they are all empty/unsold. Chances are prices will go up to capitalize on last minute buyers.

Once you buy, do not look or check, make your move and stick with it. You then relax and focus on other aspects of your trip. The stress is not worth a potential $100 or $200 that likely will not materialize.

If you truly have little flexibility in dates, then it's down to how much of a gambler you are. If it were me, the cost of waiting (not getting a ticket, or potentially spending a lot more) to save maybe $150 or $200 is not worth it. But I live on the west coast and getting a $646 round trip ticket to Amsterdam would be a miracle (the going "low" rate is is $900 for direct flight).

Exactly when are you going, and can you fly from Philadelphia? I just did a sample search o Google Flights, you ca get Phlly Amsterdam for mid-$300s, using Tuesdays as your travel day. I also saw flights for lower $500s for DC-AMS on Tuesdays.

It is extremely unlikely any of these will go any lower at this point in time.

Just a personal note but this is one of the reasons I use an agent. She's been in the biz for decades, knows how everything works, knows all the tricks, and gets me the best fares available. They may not be as low as consumers can find by mining the discount sites but my flights are booked way in advance and I enjoy the certainty that if anything changes she'll fix it or if anything goes wrong on the trip, I can call her company's reps and they'll work out the best solutions.

Since your dates are not flexible just get the tickets for the dates you want. No one can predict what prices will do in the future. I think airlines price a limited number of seats at the lower price to entice buyers. This site might give you a clue as to what fare prices were this past year: https://www.faredetective.com/farehistory/flights-from-Washington_DC-WAS-to-Amsterdam-AMS.html

I'm with the general consensus though a cheaper flight is likely to be had with Aer Lingus, but this involves a change in Dublin.

Thanks to all who weighed in and convinced me to buy. Done! I feel better now and will quickly unsubscribe from all my airfare notifications for this trip.

I do what Bogiesan does only I got straight to the airline direct, bypassing any commission, usually get the best rates available and full protection. Travel agents have become obsolete since the internet, there is nothing they can do that any of us can't. There aren't any 'insider' secrets or techniques, no-one can forsee change fares or when airline sales are released. I tend to book a year out and never check prices again however these tickets are usually in the sales and good deals can be found.

I think you did right to go ahead and purchase your tickets. Especially since your dates aren’t flexible. Well done! Now you don’t have to think about it any more and can enjoy the rest of your planning.

Bravo. You booked.

That part of the trip is done.

Now you can focus on your packing list, wish list and taking care of things here before you Feb departure.

Have a great trip!!!

You don't mention how long you are staying, but as tight as I am, I try to think in terms of % of trip cost, not $. And I have screwed up enough to also think - What would I pay now for what I want? after I screwed up, of course?

Have fun!

RE POST ABOVE: Travel agents have become obsolete since the internet, there is nothing they can do that any of us can't.

Not trying to start a debate or digress from the original post, however, the above statement is not exactly true.
They can and they DO have ways to do things with airline tickets (and other arrangements) that are not available to consumers. I do some of my own air bookings directly with airlines for simple trips but there have been a few trips (in recent years) where my faithful experienced travel agent has saved the day. Just sayin'....

NickB, you make some good points. This trip is only for a week and I will be staying with my daughter and son-in-law, so airfare is quite a large fraction of the trip cost. On the other hand, I will certainly be taking them out for some excellent meals at restaurants they can’t afford on their own; a couple of those meals will probably balance out any possible savings I might gain. And of course the danger is that the fare would go up while I was waiting for it to go down, and then I’d really kick myself!

Very happy to learn that you didn’t waffle too much longer on airfare. Unless you have a crystal ball, if you see an airfare that works for you, take it especially if the trip is coming up soon!

Kathleen, sounds like you made an informed decision. Timing is everything. Most of our flights out of SeaTac are about twice that round trip. Enjoy wonderful Amsterdam!