Booking a flight online is as common as sending email. Yet, many of us still get it wrong. Travel Troubleshooter Christopher Elliott notes five online booking mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Wrong name on ticket
2. Booking a ticket on the wrong airline
3. Selecting flights in the wrong order
4. Buying a ticket that’s too restrictive
5. Wrong date

The key to avoiding screw ups is not double-checking, but triple-checking everything before you hit "Purchase."

Sounds pretty basic right? Yes, but did I ever tell you about the time my family nearly spent 27 hours at the Seattle airport because someone didn’t read his cruise dates correctly?

Photo by Ack Ook on Flickr