Do you remember the last time you booked a flight? If so, how did you feel booking it? If your last experience was anything like the flight I booked yesterday to El Paso, it was terrible. Almost as terrible as filing taxes, mandatory HR trainings, or receiving GenAi marketing materials. Why are these things so unnecessarily complicated and stressful?

Prior to The Sky Key, I didn’t know any of what I’m about to share with you. It’s only because we see so many flights that I now know this. So, hopefully these three tips can help next time you book your flight!

1. Do not buy a basic economy ticket. For several reasons:

• These seats are uncomfortable
• You lose all your benefits if the price drops after booking your ticket. If you book a ticket other than basic-economy, you can usually get a credit from the airline if the price of your ticket goes down after you book it.

2. Use it or lose it. What am I talking about? Booking flights with points/miles. If you have points/miles to use, use them, because the airlines are constantly inflating their value away. But we suggest you avoid going down the points/miles rabbit hole in the first place because playing this game is like playing against the house. And what do we all know about the house? They always win. Who is the house I’m referring to? Airlines, banks and credit card companies with armies of math and psychology PhDs. Instead of trying to beat these people at their own game, play a different game with better odds. How you may ask? Book your flights using money. We HIGHLY recommend booking flights with money because when the price drops you can more easily get value back for future use. Not points. Not money and points. Book your next flight using money!

3. Wait to buy that seat upgrade. We see this all the time. Customers buy a ticket and then immediately upgrade their seat. Next time you book your ticket, wait, take a deep breath, and then repeat this mantra three times: “Wait to buy that seat upgrade”… Why is buying a seat upgrade right away bad? For many reasons (see our more in-depth blog about this), but primarily because it corners you. If you book a ticket with a seat upgrade, you can’t benefit if the price drops after booking your ticket. If you are going to upgrade your seat, we recommend waiting until a few weeks prior to when your flight takes off.

If you have any questions about booking your next flight and how to maximize your savings, please reach out to us using the chat icon (in the bottom right of your screen) or emailing support@theskykey.com. We love your questions and are always happy to help.

Best,
Billy

Co-founder @The Sky Key