I made a rookie travel mistake that nearly cost me $4,000 — here's how I fixed it

I've been a travel journalist for over a decade, and I'm here to let you know that even we pros make rookie mistakes.In fact, at the end of the summer, I made such an elementary-level travel error that it derailed a trip I spent months planning — and nearly cost me thousands of dollars to fix. Luckily, points and miles came in and saved the day, and I'm telling my tale as part of TPG's weekly reader mistake series to help make sure you don't make the same simple error.What happenedMy sin? When I booked a flight from Dallas to Fiji, I forgot that I was crossing the International Date Line.Here's the short of it: For over a year, I was planning a whirlwind trip to Australia with my mom. After months of tracking flights I could book with points and miles across a range of programs, I stumbled on 80,000-mile tickets from Dallas to Sydney via Fiji in Fiji Airways' swanky new business-class product through American Airlines. After mulling it over, we decided that instead of just connecting, we'd extend our layover and spend three days exploring a beautiful country we hadn't visited. Better yet, we booked three nights at the super popular Likuliku Lagoon Resort.HAMILTON LUND/LIKULIKU LAGO...