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Jillian Voege

2016 FedEx Holiday Cutoffs and Deadlines

by Jillian Voege

If FedEx is moving any of your holiday packages this year, then you'll want to know these cutoff dates by heart. Or print this post out and paste it somewhere you can see.

Santa Claus and an elf shipping items at a Fedex office
2016 Mail-by Dates for U.S. Deliveries (for December 25th delivery at the latest)
  • December 12 - FedEx SmartPost (approximately) FedEx SmartPost does not offer day-definite delivery, with transit times typically being 2 to 7 business days in the continental U.S. Confirm shipping estimates with your FedEx account manager.
  • December 16 - FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery (for the lower 48 only) If you're shipping to Alaska or Hawaii using Ground or Home Delivery, the mail-by date is December 14th.
  • December 18 - FedEx Express Saver Saturday delivery is NOT available for FedEx Express Saver.
  • December 21 - FedEx 2Day AM, FedEx 2Day Keep in mind: one additional business day of transit time will be added for any packages shipped with 2Day and 2Day AM on December 19 or 20. Saturday delivery is not available for either 2Day service.
  • December 22 - FedEx Standard Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, FedEx First Overnight You can enable Saturday delivery for First Overnight and Priority Overnight packages, meaning you can ship on December 23rd (a Friday) for a December 24th (a Saturday) delivery. There is a $16 Saturday delivery fee that will apply to each package you send using this method. There is no Saturday delivery available for Standard Overnight packages.
  • December 23 - FedEx SameDay City (Standard) Confirm with your account manager that SameDay service is applicable to your shipments.
  • December 25 - FedEx SameDay City (Priority), FedEx SameDay Confirm with your account manager that SameDay service is applicable to your shipments.
Mail-by Dates for U.S. to Canada Deliveries (for December 25th delivery at the latest)
  • December 14 - FedEx International Ground Depending on the destination, transit times can take anywhere from 1-5 business days.
  • December 21 - FedEx International Economy Transit times are usually 5 days using International Economy. Check with your FedEx representative to ensure that packages can be delivered on time to your specific destinations.
  • December 22 - FedEx International Priority, FedEx International First International First is also available to postal codes in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain and Switzerland.
  • December 25 - FedEx International Next Flight Make sure to account for the time it takes to clear customs when using International Next Flight. Contact your FedEx representative for more information on International Next Flight deliveries.
Mail-by Dates for U.S. to Mexico Deliveries (for December 25th delivery at the latest)
  • December 20 - FedEx International Economy Transit times are usually 5 days using International Economy. Check with your FedEx representative to ensure that packages can be delivered on time to your specific destinations.
  • December 21 - FedEx International Priority, FedEx International First International First is also available to postal codes in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain and Switzerland.
  • December 25 - FedEx International Next Flight Make sure to account for the time it takes to clear customs when using International Next Flight. Contact your FedEx representative for more information on International Next Flight deliveries.

For any other international shipments, contact your FedEx representative. Depending on distance between origin and destination, as well as ever-changing customs requirements, it's a good idea to get FedEx to suggest a ship-by date for your specific international shipments.

Feel free to bookmark or print this blog post for your own reference. And remember, FedEx will try their hardest to abide by these mail-by dates, but anything could happen. So as a rule of thumb, add a day or two to your own shipping cutoffs if you plan on using FedEx to fulfill your holiday packages. Good luck!