So many of us have experienced situations of not pulling the trigger on flights soon enough only to have the prices go up when we're ready to do so. On some frustrating occasions, I've allowed my holds to lapse, only to have to pay a higher price, sometimes only hours after the lapse. But now I think I just bought a ticket only have the price to increase significantly within minutes. (No, it's not the case of my having purchased the last of the cheaper inventory.)

I'm flying MSY-AMS in J next summer and have been pleasantly surprised by the prices. Notwithstanding traveling in July, which I think is the height of the tourist season, I have been seeing fares in the mid- to high $2,000 range for J seats on AA and BA. Today I pulled the trigger, and for $2,600 was able to book MSY-LHR-AMS on the AA marketed by BA operated flights. I was pretty happy with my purchase, but then realized I should log onto BA.com to see if I can get an even better price using the AARP discount and my BA credit card. But BA was showing prices in excess of $3,100. I then looked back on AA.com, and then double checked on google flights, and am now seeing that the best fares are all in excess of $3,000. And, again, I know from my research that the mid $2,000 fares were available on multiple flights and multiple days, so it's not the case that my purchase resulted in the increase in fares.

In any event, while I wonder if I could have gotten the BA discounts had I acted earlier (and will continue to monitor the situation), I'm pretty please with having scored this price literally within an hour of the increase.

If BA changes its flight schedule between now and then, will AA allow me to change my reservation? Will they allow me to switch to AA operated flights? I'm happy with what I have, but I also wouldn't mind flying MSY-DFW-LHR-AMS or MSY-CLT-JFK-LHR-AMS in order to get better J seats than BA operates ex-MSY and to arrive earlier in AMS.

(On AA's direct flights from the US to AMS, it appears to me that they operate only the 788s with the terrible forward/rearward facing seats. Is that correct? I'd rather fly through LHR than experience those seats again. I don't mind rearward seats, but I mind my seat shaking every time another passenger moves at all.)