Flights question for experienced global travellers

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This is a bit of a two-parter but here we go:

I'm looking to visit a friend in the Netherlands in January (after the holiday rush though) but am having issue with flight pricing. Basically, I can afford the discount fares that are currently being offered for that time, but am unsure of my return date. I found out both airlines' rules were the same in that I would be charged a 250 USD change fee on top of whatever the difference in fare would be for the new date I would be going with, and I would need to contact the airline of the change as soon as I know of the new date and before the original booked return date arrives. I was also told that the new fare could be anything, that it depended on how many people were flying on the date in question and how far in advance I book the new flight.

I will have about 2k USD to spend on the full trip. If my friend lets me stay at his place (I would give him something for it), I would be able to afford to stay much longer than if I had to stay in a hotel every day (I found ~360 USD/week in a single non-shared room in Amsterdam). In addition, I have a feeling that the later date I choose for re-booking the return flight, the better deal I will get (so I probably should pick something at least 3 weeks in the future as opposed to a sooner date).

So is this likely to work out? Does anyone here have experience doing non-concrete non-set-in-stone travel? I was told by family to just buy the full-fare refundable tickets but they cost about 1400 USD each way (even if I got the cheapest round-trip and tossed the return in favour of buying a one-way for the journey back, it will still cost too much: 2200-ish).

Can't you ask your friend now whether you can stay with him or not so you have a better idea of how long you can stay?

One thing you can check into is buying the cheapest (usually non-refundable) fare for a round-trip flight with set departure/return dates. Just try to approximate as best you can as to how long you think you will actually be abroad.

Let's say you do then have to extend your trip but are now stuck with the return date. What I would do is see how much a one-way flight would cost just by itself.

If you think about it, the $250 change fee plus the price difference the airline will have you pay might be more than what you would pay if you just buy a brand new one-way ticket home through a brand new booking. If this turns out to be a better deal, just don't show up at the airport for your first set date home.

What I would do right now is check online for the cheapest round-trip flights that fall as close to your dates as possible, then check other dates for one-way fares for later dates and see which work out better... paying the $250 plus difference or making a new booking when the time comes.

Good luck.

Oh yes. I must add that you are, of course, subject to the whims of the airlines when the time comes.

And do not buy full fare refundable tickets if you're on a budget. The convenience alone is not worth it. That money can be spent for more fun things in the Netherlands.

Unless of course you're Bill Gates, but you wouldn't be posting this.

Why not just buy your outgoing ticket and then look for fares coming back (Skyscanner is useful)? Also, if you're flying from Amsterdam, perhaps you could try some other airports? Düsseldorf perhaps?