Travel expert reveals mistake people make when booking flights

October 18, 2023

Don’t try to wing it.

Credit card points expert Jess Bohorquez, known as @PointsByJ on TikTok, is revealing a plane and simple hack to save money when booking flights.

“This is my myth-busting tip of the day,” the Chicago content creator says in a TikTok posted Monday that has taken off with more than 8,000 views.

“I think this tip challenges what we’ve traditionally been taught, so I’m excited to help people find better deals on their flights,” Bohorquez told the Post.

In the 35-second clip, Bohorquez explained that her friend recently shared her struggle to book flights with points.

“If you want to find more reasonably priced flights, especially for point redemptions, search for each leg of the flight as a one-way.”

“This is the part where she turned a light bulb on for me,” Bohorquez continued. “She said, ‘I feel like I was always taught to search round-trip.’ “

Choosing a one-way flight allows more flexibility to fly a different airline in each direction and a wider range of flight times to select.

Bohorquez advises against booking round-trip flights unless it’s a good deal.

Avid vacationers flocked to the comments section of Bohorquez’s video.

“[One-ways] give you more flexibility when changing or canceling return leg after you have flown the first,” one person noted.

“I ONLY search for one-way flights because searching for round trip award flights is horrible on most airline websites,” a second emphasized.

“I usually find it’s the same or cheaper to book [round-trip], BUT I always check two one ways bc sometimes it’s better even in $,” confessed another.

Bohorquez replied, “Yes!! Totally depends on the flight, always good to check both.”

Travelers looking to save some dough might consider booking less-desirable days to fly.

Scott Keyes, founder of Going (previously Scott’s Cheap Flights), a subscriber-based travel aggregator, suggests flying on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday.

Those are not always the cheapest days to fly, he admits, but “more often than not” they are.