Originally Posted by remyontheroad

This is good advice, but I frequently book 9+ pax and I'll add a couple of side thoughts....

1) If you're trying to book 9 tix and there are not 9 available in a certain fare bucket, it will price the whole group up to the next fare up that has 9 available. This may not be an issue this far out, but (to simplify - and maybe closer to flight date) you'll often find 3 tickets left at one price, 5 at the next price and 9 at the next. Not sure what you can see on an Expertflyer free account vs paid, but it's worth looking into. Savings could be more than the cost of seat assignments.

2)Once bought, I'd wait until closer in to separate out your rez, as equipment or schedule changes, or other things could cause people to lose seat assignments and once split you may have trouble getting them back.