We waited until after hurricane season was over to buy plane tickets - did not want to lose 400 bucks in 'change fees' again

Well - between the time that I first looked back in July and when I actually book yesterday, ticket prices from Memphis, TN pretty much doubled....

Ended up using FF miles on American and was able to get exactly what i wanted for 200 K miles plus 168 bucks - but lesson learned

Next year will buy earlier and risk losing the 400 bucks