Ordering Online or Sending Gifts by Mail This Christmas? These Are the Shipping Deadlines You Need to Know

By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer
Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

    Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

    We’re not quite at the wire yet for holiday shopping, but Christmas is fast approaching. And if you’re not careful, you might find yourself in a dilemma when it comes to having that online order delivered in time.

    Your best bet to have things arrive with time to spare is to pay close attention to the shipping deadlines of major online retailers and shipping companies. And, frustratingly, those vary from place to place. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the dates you need to know.

    One note, though: When it comes to shipping there are no real guarantees. Amazon’s next-day delivery often takes a bit longer at this time of year. And one unexpected Arctic blast can disrupt things across the country. While these dates are a good guideline, your odds of a successful shipment increase the earlier you send the package.

    Shipping deadlines for Christmas 2019

    FedEx

    Dec. 9: SmartPost

    Dec. 16: Ground and Home delivery

    Dec. 19: Express Saver

    Dec. 20: FedEx 2 Day

    Dec. 23: FedEx Standard, Priority, and First Overnight

    Dec. 25: FedEx SameDay, FedEx SameDay City Direct, and City Priority

    See other deadlines at FedEx.com

    UPS

    Dec. 13: Select UPS Ground packages

    Dec. 19: UPS 3 Day Select

    Dec. 20: UPS 2nd Day Air

    Dec. 23: UPS Next Day Air

    See other deadlines at UPS.com

    U.S. Postal Service

    Dec. 14: USPS Retail Ground shipments

    Dec. 18: Alaska to continental U.S. First-Class Mail 

    Dec. 19: Hawaii to continental U.S. Priority Mail and First-Class Mail

    Dec. 20: First-Class Mail Service

    Dec. 21: Priority Mail

    Dec. 23: Priority Mail Express

    See other deadlines at the USPS Website.

    Amazon Prime

    The retailer has announced shipping deadlines for Prime members, but has not yet addressed non-Prime customers. Typically, standard shipping for non-prime members is 4-5 days, meaning you’d want to order no later than Dec. 19.

    Dec. 22: Last day for free delivery on tens of million of items.

    Dec. 23: Last day for free one-day delivery on over 10 million items.

    Barnes & Noble

    Dec. 18: Standard shipping

    Dec. 19: Free B&N member shipping; last day for non-member express shipping

    Dec. 23: Expedited shipping

    See other deadlines at the B&N Website

    Belk

    Dec. 12: Shipping to P.O. Box

    Dec. 18: Ground shipping

    Dec. 20 (1 p.m. ET): Second-Day Air

    Dec. 23 (1 p.m. ET): Overnight

    See other deadlines at the Belk website

    L.L. Bean

    Dec. 9: Shipping to P.O. Box

    Dec. 22 (noon ET): Shipping to a street address

    See other deadlines at the L.L. Bean website

    Other retailer shipping deadlines

    While not every retailer has listed its final deadlines for the 2019 holiday season, BlackFriday.com, which extensively tracks retailer actions during this time of year, has an extensive list of expected final days for free and expedited shipping. Here’s a sample of some of the best-known stores.

    Apple

    Dec. 20: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 23: Expedited shipping

    AT&T

    Dec. 17: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 20: Expedited shipping

    Bed Bath & Beyond

    Dec. 17: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 20: Expedited shipping

    Bloomingdale’s

    Dec. 16 (5 p.m. ET): Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 20 (5 p.m. ET): Expedited shipping

    Dillard’s

    Dec. 20: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 21: Expedited shipping

    Disney Store

    Dec. 17: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 20 (10 a.m. PT): Expedited shipping

    Gap

    Dec. 13: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 23: Expedited shipping

    Home Depot

    Dec. 11: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 20: Expedited shipping

    J.C. Penney

    Dec. 17: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 20: Expedited shipping

    Kohl’s

    Dec. 16: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 19: Expedited shipping

    Lowe’s

    Dec. 16: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 20 (noon ET): Expedited shipping

    Old Navy

    Dec. 12: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 23 (3 p.m. ET): Expedited shipping

    Sam’s Club

    Dec. 11: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 20: Expedited shipping

    Shutterfly

    Dec. 10: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 20: Expedited shipping

    Target

    Dec. 20 (12 p.m. local time): Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 21: Expedited shipping

    Walmart

    Dec. 20: Free/standard shipping

    Dec. 23: Expedited shipping

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