2017 holiday shipping: Important deadline dates you need to know
Picture: flyingsaab / Flickr
Avoid extra holiday stress by shipping your holiday gifts before these deadlines.
Santa's helpers at post offices and shipping centers will be working diligently to ensure the timely arrival of your holiday gifts. But they need your help too!
The last thing you want is for your holiday gifts to arrive after the holidays-- don't be that person. And since Christmas lands on a Monday this year, you want to make sure you plan out the best times for the arrival of your packages.
Check out these important deadline dates from various couriers.
U.S. Postal Service
Dec. 14 - Last day to send packages via Retail Ground
Dec. 19 - Last day to send packages via First-Class Mail
Dec. 20 - Last day to send packages via Priority Mail
Dec. 22 - Last day to send packages via Priority Mail Express Service
Keep in mind, there are different deadline dates if you're shipping to Alaska, Hawaii or overseas. The U.S. Postal Service lists the important dates on their website.
FedEx
If you’re shipping with FedEx, you’ll want to have packages ready to go by:
Dec. 11 - Last day to send via FedEx SmartPost
Dec. 15 - Last day to send via FedEx Ground
Dec. 18 - Last day to send via FedEx Home Delivery
Dec. 19 - Last day to send via FedEx Express Saver
Dec. 20 - Last day to send via FedEx 2Day and FedEx 2Day A.M.
Dec. 21 - Last day to send via FedEx Standard Overnight, Priority Overnight and First Overnight.
Note, that packages delivered on December 23 will incur a $16 per-package Saturday delivery fee.
International shipping and more details can be found on FedEx's website.
UPS
Dec. 18 - Last day for UPS 3 Day Select
Dec. 20 - Last day for UPS 2nd Day Air (excludes Saturday delivery)
Dec. 21 - Last day for UPS 2nd Day Air (if Saturday delivery is available; Saturday delivery isn’t available in all ZIP codes)
Dec. 22 - Last day for UPS Next Day Air (with Saturday delivery)
Dec. 24 - Last day for UPS Express Critical
Dec. 25 - Last day for UPS Express Critical
Their website outlines more details and has a section to help you calculate delivery cost depending on date and method you choose to ship.
Amazon
Dec. 15 - Free shipping
Dec. 18 - Standard shipping, free for Amazon Prime members
Dec. 22 - Two-day shipping, free for Amazon Prime members
Dec. 23 - One-day shipping, available in select cities and free for Prime members
Dec. 24 - Same-day delivery, available in select cities and free for Prime members
Dec. 24 - Two-hour delivery, available in select cities and free for Prime members via Prime Now
For more details you can visit Amazon's customer page.