Mistakes during your flight booking journey can lead to wasted time and unnecessary expenses. As the flight booking process becomes more complicated, knowing these 3 common mistakes will hopefully save you a lot of money and time.

Mistake #1: Booking Basic Economy Tickets

When you book a basic economy ticket you:

• Get an uncomfortable seat
• Lose money when you have to change/cancel your ticket
• Aren’t eligible for flight credits/refunds when your ticket price drops after booking

If you know this already and are still sold on booking a basic economy ticket, let me share something you might not know: if a basic economy ticket is within $50 of the next best option, say the economy ticket, you are better off booking the economy ticket. Why? Because you can get money back when the price of your economy ticket drops. Let’s walk through an example to see why you’re better off booking the economy ticket:

• You get invited to a wedding in Chicago
• You go to the United Airlines website and search for flights to Chicago on September 26th
• You see the economy ticket selling for $325 and the basic economy ticket selling for $300
• Your first thought is “sweet, I’ll buy the cheaper $300 basic economy ticket to save money”
• However, you remember that Sky Key said to look at the price difference between economy and basic economy ($325 – $300 = $25)
• $25 is less than $50 so per Sky Key’s rule, you decide to book the economy ticket
• You put your economy ticket on Sky Key and two weeks later Sky Key saves you $120

What’s the end result of this? You:

• Booked the much nicer/more flexible economy ticket
• You paid less than the basic economy ticket

In other words, you got the best of both worlds. We see this happen at Sky Key on a daily basis. Just remember, if the price of the economy and basic economy tickets are within $50 of each other, book economy, put your ticket on Sky Key, and save money when the price of your economy ticket drops!

Mistake #2: Booking Flights With Miles and Money

This is an absolutely CRITICAL mistake to avoid. How does this look in practice?

• You get invited to a wedding in Chicago
• You go to the United Airlines website and search for flights to Chicago on September 26th
• You select show price in “Money + Miles”
• You book your flight using $100 of money + 4000 of your miles

Why is this bad?

• You got a terrible conversion rate on your miles (airlines convert your miles/points at 100 miles/points = $1 = 100 when you book flights using a combination of money and miles. A good rate is 200. So you are essentially losing twice as many points compared to booking your flight with just miles/points).
• You can’t benefit if the price of your ticket price drops. If you log into your United Account two weeks later and see the same ticket is now selling for $50 of money and 2000 miles, you can’t get the difference back. You are locked into your original payment amount

At Sky Key, we recommend booking flights using all money or all miles/points… Not both.

Mistake #3: Buying Seat Upgrades Too Far Out From Your Departure Date

Everyone likes flying in a nicer seat, right? You might, but your wallet doesn’t always.

Here’s a pro tip: the cost to upgrade your seat usually comes down as you get closer to your departure date. If you buy a seat upgrade too early, you usually overpay for the seat upgrade.

Luckily, this mistake is really easy to avoid- at Sky Key, we recommend waiting to purchase your seat upgrade until you’re two weeks away from your flight’s departure.

Maximizing Your Flight Savings Starts With Sky Key

Saving money on your flights isn’t easy. Flight prices constantly change and airlines use clever tactics to get you to spend more. Sky Key helps maximize your flight savings with little effort required from you. Simply create an account, upload your ticket and Sky Key will go to work for you. If your ticket price drops, Sky Key will automatically get you money/points/travel credits back.

– Billy Bund. Co-Founder @ Sky Key