Holiday mailing dates released for USPS, UPS and FedEx

The Postal Service expects to deliver more than 15 billion pieces of mail this holiday season and 850 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. That's up 10 percent from last year so think early if you want your packages and cards to arrive on time.

Tips

There is no longer a "busiest day" for holiday shipping. Instead, the Postal Service's busiest time is now two weeks before Christmas. Starting the week of Dec. 11, customer traffic is expected to increase, with the week of Dec. 18 - 24 predicted to be the busiest mailing, shipping, and delivery week. During this week, nearly 3 billion pieces of First Class Mail, including greeting cards, will be processed and delivered. The Postal Service also expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages per week during these two weeks.

Dates

USPS

The Postal Service will expand its Sunday delivery operations in locations with high package volumes after Thanksgiving, beginning on Nov. 26. The Postal Service already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities and anticipates delivering more than six million packages on Sundays this December. Mail carriers will also deliver packages on Christmas Day in select locations. Here are the 2017 holiday season recommended Postal Service mailing and shipping deadlines: Dec. 11 APO/FPO/DPO Priority Mail & First Class Mail Dec. 14 USPS Retail Ground Dec. 15 Hawaii to Mainland Priority Mail & First-Class Mail Dec. 16 APO/FPO/DPO USPS Priority Mail Express Dec. 16 First Class Packages (up to 15.99 ounces) Dec. 19 First Class Mail (including greeting cards) Dec. 20 Priority Mail Dec. 20 Hawaii to Mainland Priority Mail Express Dec. 20 Alaska to Mainland Priority Mail & First-Class Mail Dec. 21 Alaska to Mainland Priority Mail Express Dec. 22 Priority Mail Express Amazon

Amazon has posted its 2017 holiday ordering deadlines. If you want your packages to arrive in time for Christmas, the last day to order is: Dec. 15, with free shipping Dec. 18, with standard shipping (free for Amazon Prime members) Dec. 22, with for two-day shipping (free for Amazon Prime members) Dec. 23, with one-day shipping (available in some cities but free for Prime members) Dec. 24, with same-day delivery (9:30 a.m. local time or earlier, available in some cities but free for Prime members) Dec. 24, two-hour delivery (9:45 p.m. local time or earlier in select cities. Free and exclusive for Prime members via Prime Now.) Find more deadlines on Amazon's website. FedEx Here are your last days to ship with FedExExpress, FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery so your shipments arrive on or before Monday, Dec. 25: Because Christmas Eve falls on Sunday this year, the company has made some changes the week of Christmas: FedEx Express and FedEx Ground will not be delivering on Sunday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve) or Monday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day). FedEx Office locations will close by 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve). Last Days to Ship: These FedEx Express services will deliver on Saturday, Dec. 23: FedEx First Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, and FedEx 2Day. A $16 Saturday delivery fee will apply per package. FedEx Ground will not deliver on Saturday, Dec. 23. Check out the FedEx Ground Service Maps to determine the day-definite transit time of FedEx Ground shipments. With FedEx SameDay service and some expedited services, you can ship on Christmas Day. FedEx SameDay is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for most urgent shipments. You can find the delivery time and FedEx delivery choices for your U.S. and international shipments by using the Get Rates & Transit Times application at fedex.com. UPS

Here are the UPS deadlines to ship to make sure your packages arrive by Thanksgiving and Christmas: Thanksgiving Delivery Tuesday, Nov. 21: Normal pickup and delivery service. All UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered on Friday, Nov. 24. Wednesday, Nov. 22: Normal pickup and delivery service. All UPS Next Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered on Friday, Nov. 24. UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered on Monday, Nov. 27 (except those processed and labeled for delivery on Saturday, Nov. 25). Thursday, Nov. 23, Thanksgiving Day (UPS Holiday) No UPS pickup or delivery service. UPS Express Critical service available. Friday, Nov. 24: Normal pickup and delivery service in all areas. Saturday, Nov. 25: Delivery of UPS Worldwide Express, UPS Next Day Air and UPS 2nd Day Air packages processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery. Pickup service available for UPS Air and international Air packages for regular Saturday pickup customers. UPS On-Call Pickup service is available to all customers for UPS Air and international Air packages. Pickup and delivery of UPS Ground on Saturday packages will be available in many metro area ZIP codes. Christmas Delivery

Monday, Dec. 18: Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship UPS 3 Day Select service for delivery before Christmas Day with delivery on Friday, Dec. 22. Tuesday, Dec. 19: Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS 3 Day Select shipments picked up today will be scheduled for delivery on Tuesday, Dec. 26. Wednesday, Dec. 20: Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship UPS 2nd Day Air packages for delivery before Christmas Day (delivery on Friday, Dec. 22). Thursday, Dec. 21: Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS 2nd Day Air service is available for delivery before Christmas Day (delivery on Saturday, Dec. 23). Packages must be processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery, which is not available to all ZIP codes. All UPS Next Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered on Friday, Dec. 22. Friday, Dec. 22: Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship UPS Next Day Air packages to be delivered before Christmas Day (delivery on Saturday, Dec. 23). Packages must be processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery, which is not available to all ZIP codes. Saturday, Dec. 23: Delivery of UPS Worldwide Express, UPS Next Day Air and UPS 2nd Day Air packages processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery. Pickup and delivery of UPS Ground on Saturday packages will be available in many metro area ZIP codes. Sunday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve: No UPS pickup or delivery service. UPS Express Critical service available. Monday, Dec. 25, Christmas (UPS Holiday): No UPS pickup or delivery service. UPS Express Critical service available. Tuesday, Dec. 26: Normal pickup and delivery service resumes. UPS 3 Day Select packages picked up today will be delivered on Friday, Dec. 29.