I flew United's 'basic economy' and discovered a huge problem with the ticket

United Airlines began rolling out its basic-economy ticket — which has a number of limitations such as a no-carry-on-bag policy — in early 2017.
In May 2017 I purchased a one-way ticket on United's basic-economy tier.
During the purchasing and travel process I learned an important lesson about paying attention to pricing and budgeting when it comes to airfare.

Less than a month after the highly publicized incident of a United Airlines passenger being dragged off an overbooked flight, I needed to purchase a return airline ticket from Austin, Texas, to New York City.

As I was on a tight travel budget, I was on the hunt for the most affordable ticket with the shortest travel time. Since getting to and from Austin can involve layovers on nondirect flights from New York, I was enticed by the nonstop flights scheduled from Newark International Airport, in nearby New Jersey, an airport that happens to be one of United's big hubs.

After searching my go-to airlines — Southwest, on which I flew out to Austin from Newark, and American — I begrudgingly went to the website of United, an airline I hadn't flown since 2014.

I found a reasonable nonstop direct flight for $188 on United's basic-economy ticket tier. I thought I had just won the lottery — until the email confirmations for my purchase came.

While United's policy and pricing around which flights offer basic-economy tickets has since been adjusted — making sure you know what you're purchasing and considering all aspects of your travel is an important step when purchasing airline tickets.

I didn't realize it at the time, but the price I found was for a basic-economy ticket — a new tier of ticketing United began rolling out in early 2017. Something like the prompt below appeared as I checked out, but in a rush to get my ticket, I foolishly didn't pay attention. At this point in my purchase, I had a chance to upgrade to economy for $20.

After I purchased my ticket, United sent me three emails, which I thought was excessive, and, in all honesty, figured was a reaction to the incident in April 2017 when 69-year-old David Dao was forcibly removed from an overbooked flight. "They really want to be sure I know that I don't have an assigned seat," I thought.

By the second email, I realized what I had done. My basic-economy ticket had several restrictions, including not being able to bring a carry-on suitcase. I would be forced to check the carry-on I always take with me on trips for $25, meaning I would pay $5 more than if I had upgraded to the economy ticket.

By the third email, I felt as if United was rubbing salt in the wound. Basic-economy tickets aren't covered by its "24-Hour Flexible Booking Policy" — I could either cancel the ticket in the next 24 hours and get a full refund or stick with my choice. At this point, I didn't want to risk losing my seat if the flight was full.