The next time you book a flight, keep these 6 strategies in mind so you can save more money than anyone else.

1. Book directly through the airline

This means buying your flight on the airline’s website (e.g., aa.com, alaska.com, delta.com, southwest.com, or united.com).

Avoid using online travel agencies like Skyscanner, Kayak, Booking.com, etc. That’s not to say online travel agency websites are worthless- they can be really helpful when searching for a flight… But once you find the flight you want to book, book it directly through the actual airline’s website.

Benefits of booking directly through the airline:

• Your flight is easier to change/cancel
• You build up your loyalty and status with the airline and can unlock things like free seat upgrades, and free checked bags
• You become eligible to save money after you book your flight (see point 6)

This advice also applies to platforms like the Capital One and American Express Travel Portals as well. We strongly encourage you to avoid booking through these platforms.

Read this guide if you’d like to learn more about why it’s better to book directly through the airline and not through an online travel agency.

2. Say “no” to basic economy

While the low fare might be enticing, we suggest you avoid booking basic economy tickets for the following reasons:

• You will likely end up in a middle seat because you can’t pick your seat ahead of time
• If you need to change/cancel your flight, you will lose the full amount of money you paid for it with
• You become ineligible to save money after you book your flight (see point 6)

If you still want to book basic economy, read this guide so you at least know our $57 rule. In short, if the basic economy ticket is within $57 of the next best class, book the next best class. For example, if the basic economy ticket is $100 and the main ticket is $130, book the main ticket. This works because you can get money back if the price of your main ticket drops after booking and based on our data, $57 is what you are expected to save on each non-basic economy flight (see point 6 for more info).

Following our $57 rule every time you fly will allow you to: 1) get the luxuries of the nicer fare while 2) paying the same price as basic economy.

3. Know when to use money vs. miles/points

Use this rule to easily know:

1. Divide the miles price by 100
2. Find the price of the same flight in money
3. Divide the amount from step 2 by the amount from step 1
4. Ask yourself “is the amount from step 3 less than 2.0”?
   • If yes – book using money
   • If no – book using miles

For example, is a flight selling for 50,000 miles a good deal?

1. 50,000 / 100 = 500
2. Say you find the same flight in money selling for $850
3. 850 / 500 = 1.7
4. 1.7 < 2.0

Because 1.7 is indeed less than 2.0, you should book this flight using money. In other words, 50,000 miles is a bad deal!

If you want to learn more about this strategy, see this guide or this video tutorial so you can effectively use miles/points on your next flight.

4. Don’t book using a mix of money and miles/points

Always pay for your flight entirely with 1) money, or entirely with 2) miles/points.

Avoid using a combination of money and miles/points because:

• You get a bad redemption rate. Airlines will assign you a fixed value of 1 cent per mile/point. A good value is typically 1.2-1.3 cents per mile/point
• You become ineligible to save money after booking (see point 6)

5. Wait to buy seat upgrades

Seat upgrade prices usually come down as you get closer to your flight’s departure. So you should wait at least two weeks before your flight to buy a seat upgrade. If you would like to learn more, read this guide about seat upgrades.

6. Use Sky Key to always secure the lowest fare

Most flyers don’t know this, but you can save money after you book your flight. If the price of your flight drops, you can get money, miles/points, or travel credit back as a refund.

The easiest/safest way to do this is with Sky Key. After you book your flight, upload your ticket to Sky Key. If the price of your flight drops, Sky Key will automatically get you savings while keeping you on the same flight and in the same seats.

– Billy Bund. Co-Founder @ Sky Key