1. Transferring points before the seat is confirmed
This is the big one. Membership Rewards, and most flexible currencies, become airline miles the moment you transfer, and the transfer runs one direction only. There is no transfer back. People see a transfer bonus or a points balance and move the points first, planning to find a flight after. Then the seat they wanted isn't there, and they're stuck holding miles in a program they may not be able to use.
The order never changes: find the trip, confirm the award seat is bookable on your dates, then transfer the exact number of points that booking needs. A bonus is a discount on a flight you've already decided to take, never a reason to take it.
2. Misreading the date on an overnight flight
The single most expensive small mistake. Long-haul flights cross midnight and several time zones, so the day you board is often not the day you land, and sometimes not even the date you think you're departing. A seat released for "the 14th" might depart late on the 14th and arrive on the 16th local time. Travellers book the wrong calendar day, miss the flight, and lose the award and the taxes with it.
Before you confirm, read the full itinerary slowly: departure date and local time, arrival date with its plus-one or plus-two day marker, and every connection in between. On a rare premium seat there is no second chance if you board on the wrong day.
3. Forgetting taxes, fees, and carrier surcharges
An award flight is never truly free. Every ticket carries taxes and fees in cash, and some airlines pile carrier surcharges on top. The difference between partners is enormous. Booked through Aeroplan, a Lufthansa or Austrian business class seat can carry hundreds of dollars in surcharges, while the same points on ANA or EVA Air carry none at all.
Two redemptions with an identical points price can be very different deals once the cash cost lands. Always check the total out-of-pocket before you commit the points, and when surcharges are high, look for a partner on the same route that doesn't charge them.
"Free flight" is a figure of speech. The honest question is always: how many points, and how many dollars?
4. Paying for seat selection you already have
Seat fees confuse almost everyone. On most premium-cabin award tickets, choosing your seat is included; you do not need to pay extra. In economy, whether seat selection is free depends on the fare brand and your status. The mistake goes both ways: people pay seat fees they don't owe in business class, or they're surprised by a fee on a basic economy award.
Know the cabin and fare brand before you reach the seat-map screen. If a fee appears on a business class award, stop and check, because it usually shouldn't be there.
5. Assuming every aircraft has the best seat
The seats that make a route famous, ANA's The Room, EVA's Royal Laurel, Qatar's Qsuite, only fly on specific aircraft. The same flight number on a different plane can mean an older, narrower business cabin, or a different layout entirely. Book the route expecting the headline product and you can end up in something far more ordinary.
Check the aircraft type for your exact date and the seat map that goes with it. Airlines swap aircraft, so confirm again closer to departure if the specific seat is the reason you're flying.
6. Waiting too long, or not knowing the booking window
Award space follows a rhythm. Saver seats usually open around 355 days before departure, and a second wave often appears close to departure when airlines dump unsold inventory. The stretch in the middle is frequently dry. Travellers who assume they can "book it later" find the premium cabins gone, because those go first and fast.
For a specific premium-cabin trip, search the moment the calendar opens, and set alerts so you hear about space the instant it appears. Flexibility on dates and a willingness to book quickly is worth more than any single tactic.
7. Cashing points in for the lowest-value option
Statement credits, gift cards, and merchandise are the quiet way to waste points. They convert at a fixed, low rate, often around one cent per point or less, while the same points spent on travel can return two, three, or more times the value. The redemption feels easy, which is exactly why it's so common.
Before redeeming for anything that isn't travel, work out the cents-per-point you're getting and compare it against what a flight would return. If the points are worth far more in the air, that's where they belong.
The seven at a glance
| Mistake | The fix |
|---|---|
| Transferring before confirming space | Confirm the seat first, then transfer exactly what's needed |
| Misreading an overnight date | Read departure and arrival dates, time zones, and +1/+2 markers |
| Ignoring taxes and surcharges | Check total cash cost; pick surcharge-free partners |
| Paying unneeded seat fees | Know your cabin and fare brand before the seat map |
| Assuming the best aircraft | Confirm the aircraft type and seat map for your date |
| Missing the booking window | Search at ~355 days and last-minute; set alerts |
| Low-value redemptions | Calculate cents-per-point; keep points for travel |
One more, quietly costly: letting points lapse. Aeroplan points expire after 18 months without any earning or redeeming activity. A single small transaction resets the clock, so an inactive balance is the easiest loss of all to prevent.
None of these mistakes require expertise to avoid. They require slowing down at the moment of booking and knowing what to look at. That's the whole game: the points are the easy part, the booking is where trips are won or lost.
Related: Is this award worth booking? · Should you wait for a transfer bonus? · Points expiry by program · What Is CPP?