ESTA - how far in advance of trip would you book?
 

My ESTA's are due for renewal but not sure whether to renew them now or wait until nearer to our trip so that the 2 years window could be maximised in case we do another trip. What is a sensible amount of lead time do I need?

I would tend to do it at least 6 months in advance. That’s how long I think would be safe to allow for a visa should there be any issues.

My personal opinion is to do them before you commit any serious money to a holiday that's not recoverable in the unlikely event that your application is refused. Secondly as sha9 suggests maybe 6 months in advance in case there's a refusal needing to apply for a visa.

The chance of refusal is so slight as maybe not measurable but over all my years on here since they were introduced I have seen it happen.

Once by a massive software fail at SFB but more commonly by applicant's carelessness.

We've had live ESTAs since they were introduced and honestly wouldn't risk losing a holiday for trying to optimise lots of uses out of a £10 document.

Mick

I do it when we book our flights which was back in September last year for August this year. We don't go every year so would need to do it each time anyway.

I keep mine active all the time even if I haven't got a trip planned! just incase those 6 numbers come up!

Our thoughts exactly. We're lucky enough to go twice a year anyway most years ;). Don't do the lottery now but we do have premium bonds and I'd hate to think we couldn't book and go next week if we won £1m because of a lapsed ESTA.

Mick

Before you pay out any non refundable money

I would never book a holiday without an esta in place for my dates.

I did my first one before I booked my flight just in case.

After lots of people have asked the question and lots of debates around it, people have got good at summarising. This is a good summary, especially in the description of the chance of refusal for someone normal. The other posts back it up nicely.

Maximising the chances of a "free" trip is something which seems a good idea, but in my mind when you look properly isn't. If you get your ESTA 6 months ahead of your planned trip, you give yourself time to get a VISA if you need one, and you still have 18 months when you get back to use it again if all goes normally. If you did ESTA last minute, that 18 months extends to maybe 23 months, but if you do need a visa, you haven't got time to sort one. Whilst the odds of needing a VISA are indeed very small, the consequence is catastrophic. You are risking the first holiday for the possibility of saving a tenner should you decide to go between 18-23 months after you get back. To me not worth it, like lumping your house on a strong odds on favourite so you can win next to nothing.