Sopwith

I moved my usual January trip to OGG ahead a year, and am now sitting on a WS credit. I’m tempted to book the flights now, but I’m uncertain about the uncertainty. I’m a bit nervous about the pent up demand being released in the next few weeks/months and fares skyrocketing. Appreciate your thoughts - book now or hold on for a bit?

Adam Smith

How are the fares looking compared to what has been available in the past? If they're decent, why wait? If you end up having to cancel, you get a credit, same as you have now. If fares go down, you could cancel for a credit, re-book at the lower price, and retain the excess credit for another trip.

If you're already sitting on WS credit that you would be using to book this trip, there doesn't seem to be much downside to booking now.

Sopwith

Yes, more or less what I was thinking, but there are a bunch of moving parts in play here: fares, schedule (possible cancelation?), border restrictions, quarantine requirements, COVID testing, medical insurance, etc.

But I guess I’ll go for it and hope for the best. Fares are not great for the early flight, but not prohibitive.

Let’s hope some vaccine-resistant variant doesn’t pop up.

Adam Smith

I think you're making this more complicated than it is. You currently have WS credit, which makes this very different from booking with cash.

• If fares go down, cancel and re-book. You have cheaper tickets plus some residual WS credit.
• If flights are cancelled or schedule changes, you can re-book or cancel and go back to WS credit.
• If border restrictions, testing, insurance, etc, are a problem, cancel and get WS credit.

In any scenario, you end up with WS credit, which is what you currently have. There's not much downside.

Sopwith

Yes, you’re right. But right now I’m sitting on credits from two airlines, two resorts and a cruise line.

M60_to_LGA

I would use the credit quickly. If the price looks good to you, grab it.

The covid pandemic is ending. The US is vaccinating quickly, and - more importantly for this discussion - the country has basically decided to move on. Within a month or so, almost all covid restrictions will be pretty much gone, and they're not coming back. So - as you well put it -- a lot of pent-up demand for flights is going to be released quickly, particularly for vacation destinations like yours. Canada will be slower to exit the pandemic, but it won't be more than 2-3 months behind the US, I figure.

No one can really predict what will happen with prices going forward, but as has been stated above, if they drop significantly, you can cancel and rebook at no cost. And, if prices soar, you'll have locked in your trip.

FWIW, I booked a late July trip from NYC to Israel last November (not on WS, obviously - DL) because the fare was absurdly cheap and there's absolutely no penalty for cancellation. So that's my two cents.

Sopwith

Thanks for the responses. I went ahead and booked. Interestingly, car rental rates in HI are skyrocketing - roughly double what I normally pay. Fortunately I was able to roll last year's reservation ahead at the same price (so far).