How do you plan to buy your plane ticket for when your Visa is in hand?

[JFox762 18]

Just curious what other people are planning. 

Obviously we've all been waiting a long time to be reunited with our loved ones. Flights from Asia, to the US can be very expensive if it is a next day flight type deal. 

I'm wondering what people here recommend as far as flying someone out. Based on our timeline, and other comparable timelines, it *MIGHT* be possible my wife might have her interview by the end of November. Maybe sooner. As I understand it, ... if everything goes well, the Visa is in hand within a week of the interview. 

I decided to look into how much flights from BKK to LAX are... with only a week of advanced booking and the price wasn't as astronomical as I was expecting. I was expecting to have to book in advance for at least a month out. Just wondering what other people are doing to keep flight costs down, and advanced booking time down at the same time. 

Sorry if this wasn't the right subforum. Didnt know where it belongs

[Boiler 43,437]

Do not buy a ticket until you have visa in hand.

[TM92 527]

28 minutes ago, JFox762 said:

I decided to look into how much flights from BKK to LAX are... with only a week of advanced booking and the price wasn't as astronomical as I was expecting.

Also, check if roundtrip is cheaper; sometimes its cheaper:

Here is a video that explains why sometimes roundtrip is way cheaper than one-way:

 

[Unlockable 7,306]

57 minutes ago, JFox762 said:

Just curious what other people are planning. 

Obviously we've all been waiting a long time to be reunited with our loved ones. Flights from Asia, to the US can be very expensive if it is a next day flight type deal. 

I'm wondering what people here recommend as far as flying someone out. Based on our timeline, and other comparable timelines, it *MIGHT* be possible my wife might have her interview by the end of November. Maybe sooner. As I understand it, ... if everything goes well, the Visa is in hand within a week of the interview. 

I decided to look into how much flights from BKK to LAX are... with only a week of advanced booking and the price wasn't as astronomical as I was expecting. I was expecting to have to book in advance for at least a month out. Just wondering what other people are doing to keep flight costs down, and advanced booking time down at the same time. 

Sorry if this wasn't the right subforum. Didnt know where it belongs

Easy. Don't buy next day or same week flight tickets.

 

The visa will be valid for a few months. No need to rush. I know, I know... you miss your sweetheart and want to be together ASAP. But a couple more weeks is not going to kill you.

 

Have her fly out a month after visa is in her hands. This gives her enough time to tie up things in her country and say her goodbyes.

[lierre 224]

1 hour ago, JFox762 said:

Just curious what other people are planning. 

Obviously we've all been waiting a long time to be reunited with our loved ones. Flights from Asia, to the US can be very expensive if it is a next day flight type deal. 

I'm wondering what people here recommend as far as flying someone out. Based on our timeline, and other comparable timelines, it *MIGHT* be possible my wife might have her interview by the end of November. Maybe sooner. As I understand it, ... if everything goes well, the Visa is in hand within a week of the interview. 

I decided to look into how much flights from BKK to LAX are... with only a week of advanced booking and the price wasn't as astronomical as I was expecting. I was expecting to have to book in advance for at least a month out. Just wondering what other people are doing to keep flight costs down, and advanced booking time down at the same time. 

Sorry if this wasn't the right subforum. Didnt know where it belongs

I would opt to buy a ticket that's at least a month out if I were you. Just to be on the safe side.

 

Also, for some reason, flight prices drop a little on Thursdays. Just check it out and compare. 

[mtempelaar 190]

On 10/23/2018 at 11:18 PM, JFox762 said:

Just curious what other people are planning. 

Obviously we've all been waiting a long time to be reunited with our loved ones. Flights from Asia, to the US can be very expensive if it is a next day flight type deal. 

I'm wondering what people here recommend as far as flying someone out. Based on our timeline, and other comparable timelines, it *MIGHT* be possible my wife might have her interview by the end of November. Maybe sooner. As I understand it, ... if everything goes well, the Visa is in hand within a week of the interview. 

I decided to look into how much flights from BKK to LAX are... with only a week of advanced booking and the price wasn't as astronomical as I was expecting. I was expecting to have to book in advance for at least a month out. Just wondering what other people are doing to keep flight costs down, and advanced booking time down at the same time. 

Sorry if this wasn't the right subforum. Didnt know where it belongs

My husband and I made certain assumptions and booked a flight for 1 week after interview and I booked it as soon as he got his interview date (knowing I would pay the change fee if something went wrong).   I don't recommend that path.  We had a paperwork issue once the visa arrived and we were unable to remedy before he got on the plane.   We didn't know if he would be admitted at POE due to mis-spelling of his name on the front of the envelope.

 

If I had to do it again, I'd wait for the visa and ensure it was right, then book a flight.

 

As far as the flight costs are concerned, general tips:

• If you are planning on  your wife continuing on from LAX to PHX  (which is where your profile lists as location), you are talking about the holiday season, so flight prices will start going up as people book their travel and seat availability goes down
• Flight prices are seasonal and tend downward on Tuesdays, Wednesdays . (which day depends on the airlines and promotions they are doing).  Thursday are a crapshoot - some airlines drop prices, but many actually raise them
• Mid-week flights are often cheaper than weekends.
• Try using a non-US search engine for flights.   In some cases we found that the exact same flights cost  a lot less when booking from outside the US.  
• Round trips often cost less than one way.   With the right flights, once in the US you can cancel the return flights and *maybe* get a refund or credit towards future travel.  No guarantee on that that.  That's airline and fare specific.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,079]

23 hours ago, mtempelaar said:

• If you are planning on  your wife continuing on from LAX to PHX  (which is where your profile lists as location), you are talking about the holiday season, so flight prices will start going up as people book their travel and seat availability goes down
• ...
• Round trips often cost less than one way.   With the right flights, once in the US you can cancel the return flights and *maybe* get a refund or credit towards future travel.  No guarantee on that that.  That's airline and fare specific.

Though at least right now, for most of November and December (except right around Christmas and Thanksgiving), you can get a one-way ticket from LAX to PHX on Southwest for less than $100 and they've got 7 flights a day. Normally changing airlines is kind of a pain, but she'd need to change terminals and re-check her bags regardless.

[JFox762 18]

On 10/26/2018 at 7:40 AM, mtempelaar said:

My husband and I made certain assumptions and booked a flight for 1 week after interview and I booked it as soon as he got his interview date (knowing I would pay the change fee if something went wrong).   I don't recommend that path.  We had a paperwork issue once the visa arrived and we were unable to remedy before he got on the plane.   We didn't know if he would be admitted at POE due to mis-spelling of his name on the front of the envelope.

 

If I had to do it again, I'd wait for the visa and ensure it was right, then book a flight.

 

As far as the flight costs are concerned, general tips:

• If you are planning on  your wife continuing on from LAX to PHX  (which is where your profile lists as location), you are talking about the holiday season, so flight prices will start going up as people book their travel and seat availability goes down
•  Flight prices are seasonal and tend downward on Tuesdays, Wednesdays . (which day depends on the airlines and promotions they are doing).  Thursday are a crapshoot - some airlines drop prices, but many actually raise them
• Mid-week flights are often cheaper than weekends.
•  Try using a non-US search engine for flights.   In some cases we found that the exact same flights cost  a lot less when booking from outside the US.  
•  Round trips often cost less than one way.   With the right flights, once in the US you can cancel the return flights and *maybe* get a refund or credit towards future travel.  No guarantee on that that.  That's airline and fare specific.

I have a VPN. Perhaps I should try purchasing it from the Thailand VPN Server?

What Search Engines would you recommend?