One-Way vs. Round-Trip Flights: Which Should You Book?

A question that often comes up during Points Consulting calls is whether it’s better to book one-way or round-trip flights. Of course, it differs with each individual situation, but there are some general principles to go by.

In many cases, booking one-way flights offers greater flexibility and customization. This isn’t always the case, though, and you’ll want to think about the cost, routing rules, cancellation fees, and the use of vouchers when making a decision to book a one-way or round-trip booking.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of booking one-way and round-trip flights.

Generally Speaking, Book One-Ways

For my personal bookings, and in most cases during consulting calls, I almost always book one-way flights. Sure, it adds another booking reference to keep track of, but I find that it works best for me.

One of the reasons why I book one-way flights is that my travels don’t tend to be simple and linear. For example, for an upcoming trip to Australia this fall, I have the following flights booked:

• Toronto to Brisbane via Vancouver (Aeroplan)
• Gold Coast to Sydney (Virgin Australia)
• Sydney to Canberra (Virgin Australia)
• Canberra to Hobart via Melbourne (Avios)
• Hobart to Melbourne (Avios)
• Albury to Sydney (Qantas)
• Sydney to Victoria (Aeroplan)

In total, I have a mix of one-way bookings with two different loyalty programs and the rest with cash booked directly with the airlines. 

I was able to score deals using eUpgrades on both of my long-haul flights, and since I’ll be coming from The Travel Summit in Toronto and returning to my home on Vancouver Island, it made more sense for me to book two one-way flights.

Within Australia, I plan to visit with friends and family in a few different places, so booking a variety of one-way flights will allow me to maximize my time in each destination during a shorter trip. 

If I need to change or cancel any of my points bookings, having them booked as two one-ways will allow me to avoid repricing the entire round-trip, which could result in a massive increase in Aeroplan points under dynamic pricing. This way, I can keep one of the bargains that I found, without having to worry about losing it to repricing.

Even if your travel tends to be less dynamic than a trip like the above, I still would argue that one-ways…