@Lindar10 wrote:
Hi,
I'm trying to get a good deal on a flight for 12/28/17-1/4/18 and everything I read online says to do it 8-12 weeks out but when I look at the Southwest website the good prices for the Wanna Get Away deals are sold out. Will there be other deals coming up or am I just out of luck? I really want to travel Southwest but am thinking about going with another airline that has a decent price now because it looks like all SW deals are gone.
The holidays are very busy times for air travel, so I wouldn't expect WGA fares to come back, although it is remotely possible.
In general, the "sweet spot" for Southwest fares during non-peak travel times is 8-10 weeks out. Fares are high when the schedule is first release, tend to drop at about 3 months out, and then get increasingly higher as departure approaches. (Doesn't apply to major holiday travel periods.)
That said, Southwest's revenue management system changes fare prices very frequently, so it pays to check often. Many of the adjustments seem to make no sense, and it's possible to find good fares last minute.
In your situation, you could book a refundable fare now and then cancel/rebook should a WGA fare show up later. (Actually, you would first book the new fare and then immediately cancel the refundable one, to ensure you get the WGA fare. And you'll want to never make any changes to the refundable fare since that would cause you to lose refundability.) You'd get a full refund of the refundable fare, although that can take some time and your cash would be tied up for a while.
