How you can prepare for this year’s busy holiday travel season
Experts are predicting a busy holiday travel season. Here’s what to know about buying your plane tickets.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
With the weather finally starting to cool down, the holiday season is on the horizon and will be here before we know it. Soon enough, the pumpkin spice lattes will transition to peppermint mochas, and it will be time to take advantage of those year-end sales.
If you plan on mailing your gifts this year, starting early will save you the headache of last-minute shopping and spending extra for rushed shipping.
However, if you are down to the wire, you can make sure your gifts still arrive in time by following the recommended holiday shipping deadlines for your chosen delivery service.
Here is an easy breakdown of the FedEx, UPS and U.S. Postal Service deadlines for delivery by Dec. 25.
FedEx holiday shipping deadlines
These are FedEx’s recommended last days to ship within the U.S. For international shipment dates, see the full guide.
- FedEx Freight Economy, FedEx Ground Economy: Dec. 8
- All other FedEx Freight and FedEx Ground: Dec. 14
- FedEx Express Saver, FedEx 3Day Freight: Dec. 20
- FedEx 2Day Freight, 2Day and 2Day AM: Dec. 21
- FedEx 1Day Freight, FO, PO, SO, Extra Hours: Dec. 22
- FedEx Same Day: Dec. 23
FedEx news:FedEx Express and pilots union file for federal mediation in contract negotiations
FedEx Cares:Delivering joy: FedEx assembles more than 19,000 care packages for US troops
UPS holiday shipping deadlines
These are UPS’ recommended last days to ship within the U.S. For international shipment dates, see the full guide.
- UPS 3 Day Select: Dec. 19
- UPS 2nd Day Air: Dec. 21
- UPS Next Day Air: Dec. 22
- UPS Ground: varies, calculate online at ups.com/ctc
Ford’s BlueOval City:Ford’s BlueOval City: 3 key things to watch as $5.6 billion project progresses
Downtown Memphis hotels:As Grand Hyatt moves forward, how many more hotel rooms can Downtown support?
US Postal Service holiday shipping deadlines
These are the U.S. Postal Service’s recommended last day to ship within the U.S. For international shipment dates, see the full guide.
- USPS Retail Ground (Alaska only): Dec. 2
- USPS Retail Ground, First-Class Mail: Dec. 17
- Priority Mail: Dec. 19
- Priority Mail Express (Alaska and Hawaii): Dec. 21
- Priority Mail Express (contiguous U.S.): Dec. 23
Niki Scheinberg is the FedEx and logistics reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at [email protected].
