Buying, booking, changing, and canceling flights — practical guides to get the best fare and avoid fees.
If your flight was cancelled, you can absolutely book a replacement using airline miles or points—but the smarter move is often to get a cash refund on ...
Read →United Basic Economy is a valid ticket that gets you from A to B, but it strips out nearly everything you'd expect to control on a normal fare: you can'...
Read →If you fly a few times a year within the US, get TSA PreCheck ($77.95 for five years). If you also travel internationally, get Global Entry ($120 for fi...
Read →Buy a refundable ticket when your travel dates are genuinely uncertain and the price gap is under roughly 30-40% of the base fare. For most people, a st...
Read →Get to the airport gate or ticket counter of your airline as fast as possible and ask to be put on the next available flight. If you missed your flight ...
Read →Flight insurance is worth it when you've prepaid a lot of money for a trip you might have to cancel for a covered reason—usually a nonrefundable trip co...
Read →Book your pet's spot the moment you buy your own ticket. US airlines cap the number of animals allowed per flight, and once that limit is hit, you're ou...
Read →The single biggest fee-saver most people don't use: the 24-hour rule. If you booked directly with a US airline at least seven days before departure, fed...
Read →If you care about what happens when a flight gets cancelled, delayed, or overbooked, book directly with the airline. When something goes wrong, the airl...
Read →For domestic US flights, book about 1 to 3 months before departure, and aim to buy on a weekday rather than a weekend. For international trips, push tha...
Read →Buy Main Cabin if you need a carry-on bag, want to pick your seat in advance, or think you might change your plans. Buy Basic Economy only if you're tra...
Read →The fastest way to skip a seat fee is to wait: on Delta, United, and American, you can decline to pay for a seat at booking and let the airline assign y...
Read →If you booked a flight to, from, or within the United States and your booking is at least seven days before departure, you can cancel within 24 hours of...
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