Airlines are tricky bastards, using all kinds of underhanded tricks to separate us from our money. They think we're too stupid to realize we've been hoodwinked, and most of the time we are. But that ends today!
We combed this Quora thread to identify the most common flight booking mistakes, along with tips for avoiding them in the future.
1. You didn't track prices.
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Airline prices can change up to three times A DAY. The only way to truly get the best deal is to watch them bob and weave for a minute. Sign up to newsletters and deal alerts from your favorite airlines to find out about sales in advance. But don't trust them to tell you everything. You should also sign up for third-party price alerts for your itinerary at sites like Kayak and AirfareWatchdog.
2. You booked at the wrong time of day.
"The cheaper airlines, like Southwest and JetBlue, list their new sales early on Tuesday mornings," writes Brooke Sayward of World of Wanderlust. "By mid-afternoon, the bigger airlines like American and United will have lowered their prices to match competitors." The same is also true about the days you fly. "If you are willing to fly midweek, you can save money, as airlines can't afford empty seats on flights and lower fares to encourage off-peak booking," Thrillist reports.
3. You flew direct.
"Once upon a time, a round-trip ticket into and out of the same city was the cheapest—only!—way to go. Not anymore. Sometimes, flying into one city and out of another will yield better prices," MyDomaine reports. This is also the case for round-trip tickets in general. "Two one-way tickets may in fact be cheaper than a full round-trip ticket, so don’t forget to check just to see."
4. You didn't think about your comfort.
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"Do you really want to save a few pounds but have to spend hours sitting around in airports buying coffee that eats into your savings? Is it worth your while to spend hours searching for THE cheapest fare when you could have paid a little more and used that time more effectively. My primary 'hack' is to promise myself to pick a flight that will be safe, reasonably comfortable, I can afford and at a time that is convenient," writes Quora user Graham Harrison.
5. You didn't clear your browser cache before searching.
One way airlines prevent you from comparison shopping, according to André Elmoznino Laufer, spokesperson for SaferVPN, is by looking up your unique IP address in addition to storing cookies in your internet browser. By doing this, they can tie you to your searches, and adjust results accordingly. So before you start searching for a ticket, clear your cache, and consider using a VPN together with your browser's private mode to prevent airlines from tracking your searches.
6. You chose a later flight over an earlier one.
"If you can take an earlier flight or a later one, take the earlier one," writes Quora user Dan Birchall. "If there's some sort of problem, the airline can move you to the later one. And, if you show up for the early flight and it's oversold, the airline will probably ask for volunteers to take the later flight - and those volunteers will typically get at least a certificate worth a couple hundred dollars toward a future flight."
7. You booked too early (or too late).
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After crunching the numbers on over five MILLION flights, online search engine CheapAir concluded that buying a domestic ticket approximately 47 days prior to takeoff is the best way to score the cheapest fare. Any earlier or later, and you'll end up paying more. The ONLY exception to this rule is holiday travel, which should be booked as soon as possible and will never be cheap.
8. You weren't flexible.
When possible, "plan your trip around flight specials," writes Quora user Shandos Cleaver, who also happens to run the website Travelnuity.com. "Say you want to go somewhere for a week in October, check what flight specials you can get for the period to places you're interested, then book them and plan the rest of the trip."
9. You didn't hide your location.
"Plane tickets can be cheaper depending on where you buy them or, even better, where you appear to buy them from," writes Erica Ho for Map Happy. According to Ho, fudging your location is as simple as using the airline's regional website (or masking your IP address to make it look like you live there) to buy your ticket in the foreign currency. More deets on that here.
10. You booked as a group.
"Even if you’re booking for the entire family, be sure to do a separate search for the flights set to one person first. Many airlines hike up prices when you’re buying several seats at once," reports My Domaine.
11. You paid cancellation fees.
This is a no-brainer, but it's something that many travelers don't think to do. If you missed the cancellation window for your hotel, restaurant, or car booking but can still change the reservation date free of charge, move your reservation back by several weeks or months. Then call back to cancel with a different representative. Sneaky? Sure. But it works, and you'll never get stuck with a lousy cancellation fee again," writes Udayakumar.
12. You used your debit card.
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Paying with your debit card earns you nothing, while paying with a credit card that has a travel reward program can earn you discounts on a future trip. Assuming you can be trusted with a credit card, of course. "With the right card, not only can frequent fliers accumulate miles and points they can redeem for travel, they can also enjoy perks such as free checked bags, priority boarding and signup bonuses," reports NerdWallet.
13. You didn't capture your frequent flyer miles.
Even if you don't fly frequently, there's no reason not to earn miles for the money that you're spending. Sign up for the rewards program of every airline that you fly, especially if they never expire. And, as LifeHacker points out, "Flying and using credit cards aren't the only ways to get airline miles. In fact, you can gain miles by shopping, eating out, and more."
14. You paid with US dollars.
"If you’re booking international flights, purchase them in the local currency. (Flights in converted rates are reliably more expensive.) Do this by selecting the native country as your location in the upper right-hand corner of the airline websites," reports My Domaine.
15. You didn't try a website that can think of all these things for you.
"We built flight hacks into a search engine by breaking up airline alliances, connecting unconnected flights, splitting return flights into multistops and applying a smart area search," writes Nikolas Langes, co-founder of TripDelta. In addition, you always get all the standard flight search results at competitive prices." Smart flight search engines like Skyscanner and ITX Flight Matrix are highly recommended as well.
Alright. Now you're armed with all the knowledge you need to thwart the airlines who want to screw you over. So what are you waiting for? Bon voyage!
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