PSA: Always double check your flight booking confirmation emails

I booked a budget flight to Chicago for $78 on a discount airline last month. Got what I thought was the confirmation and showed up at the gate 2 hours early. Turned out the email was just a reservation hold, not a confirmed ticket. I spent 45 minutes on hold with customer service while my flight was boarding. They charged me $35 extra to actually confirm it at the counter. Has anyone else had this issue with those cheap booking sites?

2 comments

2 Comments

thea_chen15h agoMost Upvoted

That "reservation hold" trick got me too last spring with a $65 fare to Dallas. I thought I was being so clever scoring a cheap ticket, but turns out I had just reserved the right to maybe pay for it later. Now I triple check every confirmation email like it's a billing statement.

thomas_johnson15h ago

and the worst part is they design those emails to look exactly like a real confirmation. i had the same thing happen with a $49 fare to Nashville last year, and now i just straight up call the airline after booking to make sure the money actually left my account. like, look for the charge on your credit card before you even close the booking site. also, try booking directly on the airline's app instead of those third party sites, it saved me a headache last time even if the fare was a few bucks more.