10 Common Booking Mistakes To Avoid for Your Upcoming Travels

Everyone loves booking vacations. Maui in the winter? Paris in the fall? Yes, please!

What nobody enjoys, however, is spending more money than necessary due to silly booking errors. Especially when these errors could have been avoided.

Don’t Miss Out: Travelers Are Saving 23% on Hotels With Easy Timing Hack

Sign Up Today: Start Growing Your Net Worth With Smarter Tracking

Here are 10 common vacation booking mistakes to avoid at all costs.

1. Booking Airline Tickets Based Solely on the Least Expensive Flight

According to Alexandra Dubakova, chief marketing officer at Freetour.com, a low-cost carrier is not always the cheapest option once you add up all the extra costs. Sure, the flight may only be $75, but once you add the luggage fee, seat choice fee and the cost of two airport meals for your nine-hour layover, are you really saving money? Likely not.

2. Booking the Wrong Airport

It’s all too easy to book San Jose, Costa Rica, when you meant to book San Jose, California. And, if you don’t realize it within 24 hours, you’ll wind up paying twice! (Unfortunately, this happens way too frequently).

3. Booking Non-Refundable Options

Dubakova explained that, while there’s an extra fee for booking a refundable option, that $30 could save you the entire cost of your trip if a family event, bad weather or sickness results in cancellation. Spring for the refundable option.

4. Booking Hotels Based Solely on the Least Expensive Nightly Rate

Is that cheap, $60 hotel outside the city center still the cheapest hotel if you are paying $50 each way to get to and from the airport? That hotel may wind up being more expensive that one conveniently located. Consider the trip as a whole — not the hotel in and of itself.

Further, cheap, poorly maintained hotels can mean bed bugs, which take thousands of dollars to eradicate from your home.

5. Leaving High-Demand Bookings for the Last Minute

Per Jean Bustinza, founder of Viamki, flights, car rentals and hotels can be 25% to 75% more expensive during holidays and peak travel seasons — and even more so once supply has become further limited. Do yourself a favor and book at least six months in advance of popular travel times.

6. Choosing the First Restaurant You See Upon Arrival

After getting off a plane, “you arrive tired, hungry and disoriented and it’s very easy to just pick the closest restaurant,” said Lee Charlton, of Lee Charlton Photography. “Somehow, that first meal often ends up being one of the most expensive — and the worst — of the whole trip.”

This is why Charlton advised researching some restaurants ahead of arriving. This prevents you from getting ripped off while hangry.

7. Booking the Wrong Dates

Sounds obvious, but it happens a lot. You may not think it's worth a second glance, but it's recommended to double-check your dates before checking out online.

8. Paying Single Supplements

Managing director at Solos Holidays, Janie Burt, explained that tour prices per person are often based on shared rooms. But, if you’re traveling alone, the tour may charge you 20% to 30% more for your own room — and this fee doesn’t appear until late in the booking process. So always ask if a tour charges a single supplement. If it does, choose a different tour.

9. Booking in Your Home Currency on a Foreign Airline

When booking tickets on foreign airlines, customers are frequently asked, “would you like to be charged in USD?” Most Americans would say yes because it seems convenient. But, according to Cara Laban of TravelReddi, you should decline. This is because airlines charge an extra 3% to 7% for Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC).

10. Paying With a Credit Card That Charges a Foreign Transaction Fee

Per Laban, certain credit cards charge foreign transaction fees of 3% or more of the total booking. And not only are you paying an additional fee when you swipe your card abroad, you could also be paying the fee during the booking process while physically still at home. This is because your card is charged abroad. Instead, switch to a special travel card or bank account that does not charge foreign transaction fees.

This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.

More From MoneyLion:

• 11 Subtly Genius Things All Wealthy People Do With Their Money — That You Should Do, Too

• I'm a Mechanic: 5 Sports Cars I Would Never Buy and Why They Aren't Worth It

• 5 Costco Furniture Items That Deliver a Big Home Upgrade for Less

• Discover a Smarter Way to Keep Unexpected Expenses From Derailing Your Budget