I DID IT!!!!! I bought airfare on the internet!!!!!

[airhead]

Now I know for most of you here that's no big whoop,but for me,
its a wicked big deal!!!!
WOW!!!!!!



airhead(calm down...)

 

[Jestocost]

Congrats!

You're on your way to learning how useless most (emphasis on most!) travel agents really are. Take control of your travel and never give it away!

 

[hercamore]

Cool, (when you've calmed down)

think about printing out your own boarding passes!

herc.

 

[inkkognito]

Congratulations on joining the club!!!
I can't remember the last time we booked air via an agent or even via phone with an airline. We LOVE being able to find the lowest fares and choose our own seats from the chart.
And I'm with Herc...online check-in is the best (although if you're flying ATA, you never know whether they'll give away your seats!).
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[SeaSpray]

How do you all get lower fares via the internet?? We're going on a Disney cruise/WDW trip next summer so I had been keeping an eye on the airfare, once we had the exact dates. Once those dates opened, and once I had checked the prices on every web site I could think of and find, I saw that the airline's own web site had the lowest prices. So....I called them and booked over the phone. Doing so, I got the same exact airfare as I would've gotten had I booked online, AND I got to choose from the same seats that I would've had to choose from online. Am I doing something wrong here?? I didn't see any difference whatsoever in booking online VS booking on the phone. Was/Is there a way to get better airfare, than doing what I did?? Thanks! I'd love to know!!

 

[inkkognito]

SeaSpray,
A lot of times you can get the same fare via the phone, but sometimes there are "internet only" fares. Often it's just $10 or $20 cheaper than online, but we travel a lot so that adds up for us. We've found this to be true on both ATA and American.
Also, I like to see what seats are available before I choose and I usually take a window and an aisle. On the phone they are reluctant to give me that...they want one of us to sit in the middle.
And last of all, at least with ATA, when you make your ressie online, you can log in and check it later. They like to move their flight times around by a few minutes (and sometimes half an hour for the one evening flight we take), so it's handy to be able to look it up.
And lastly, we belong to their frequent flyer program, so I know our numbers are being entered with no chance of error when I do it myself. And we check and redeem our miles online (they have a great program where you get a free companion ticket, with no blackout dates, after flying three times).
I usually use Orbitz as my search engine and then go to the airline's own site to book. Orbitz charges a fee for airline tickets, but not for rental cars, so I've booked Thrifty through them.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[GoldenOldie]

And many of the airlines give you a bonus of 1,000 frequent flyer miles when you book through their web site.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by GoldenOldie
And many of the airlines give you a bonus of 1,000 frequent flyer miles when you book through their web site.

We have been booking on-line for all of our airline tx the last 4 years with no problems at all. Printing boarding passes(from home) make it really convienent also.

 

[goofy4tink]

I was really nervous about booking on-line too. But, I bit the bullet and did it for our trip in August. And for our trip last week, I actually printed out our boarding passes too. I was quite impressed with myself. Welcome to the computer age!!

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks for explaining all that, Barb! We've used Delta the last couple of times, as well as for the flight I just booked, and they don't charge more to book via the phone VS online, and they let me choose my own seats. I did pull up the seating chart online and had it in front of me when I called to book. Delta also lets you check your flights online, whether you've booked online, or over the phone. We belong to their frequent flyer program, so I don't know if I can do this because of that reason, or if they let everyone check their flights online. If this weren't the case, and if I didn't have the same choices and convenience as I would online, then I'd definitely book the flights myself online. I guess it all depends on the airline.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by airhead
Now I know for most of you here that's no big whoop,but for me,
its a wicked big deal!!!!
WOW!!!!!!



airhead(calm down...)

That is WONDERFUL!!!!! I knew you could do it. Easy, wasn't it?
People who are owned or were owned by Dobies can do ANYTHING.
I am very proud of you, truly, I am.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by SeaSpray
How do you all get lower fares via the internet?? We're going on a Disney cruise/WDW trip next summer so I had been keeping an eye on the airfare, once we had the exact dates. Once those dates opened, and once I had checked the prices on every web site I could think of and find, I saw that the airline's own web site had the lowest prices. So....I called them and booked over the phone. Doing so, I got the same exact airfare as I would've gotten had I booked online, AND I got to choose from the same seats that I would've had to choose from online. Am I doing something wrong here?? I didn't see any difference whatsoever in booking online VS booking on the phone. Was/Is there a way to get better airfare, than doing what I did?? Thanks! I'd love to know!!

As stated before, sometimes there is no difference, sometimes there are internet only fares. And....then, there are people like me who DETEST phones and LOVE doing stuff on the internet, much faster, no being put on hold, none of those incipid prompts on phones (press 1 for this, press 2 for that UGH), etc. and, then there are the bonus miles. I love the INTERNET, I love ATM banking, I love online banking, I prefer that to interaction with humans. Much faster and if I make an error, I have the person to blame:ME. LOL

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by SeaSpray
Thanks for explaining all that, Barb! We've used Delta the last couple of times, as well as for the flight I just booked, and they don't charge more to book via the phone VS online, and they let me choose my own seats. I did pull up the seating chart online and had it in front of me when I called to book. Delta also lets you check your flights online, whether you've booked online, or over the phone. We belong to their frequent flyer program, so I don't know if I can do this because of that reason, or if they let everyone check their flights online. If this weren't the case, and if I didn't have the same choices and convenience as I would online, then I'd definitely book the flights myself online. I guess it all depends on the airline.

If memory serves, you have to be a FF to book on the internet, so, anyone that books on line can check their flights online. I am a FF with Delta and it stores all my important info and it just makes it so much easier. And, sometimes Delta has internet only fares that you cannot get via the phone agents. I now fly SWA and like them because I can change my mind all I want and never incur a change charge. The only charge I would incur is if the price went up and if it goes down, they will hold that as a credit for a year from the original reservation. However, Delta is my second choice.

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks for that extra info, Gail! If Delta had any "web only" fares for my dates, would they show up automatically when I entered my travel dates, or would I need to enter my Delta FF #?? I did check all the online booking sites, as well as Delta's own site, to check for prices, before I booked. I'm hoping that I did indeed get the best fare for my dates and times.
Thanks again!

P.S. I'd rather not have to pay a fee to change our tickets either, but now they're charging $25, instead of the $50 they used to charge. I'm in the middle of trying to talk DH into staying one more day at WDW after our cruise, so if he says "yes", it'll cost us $100 in fees (there are 4 of us). If it was $200 ($50 per person) I wouldn't consider it, but I'll pay the $100 fee for an extra day! LOL

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by SeaSpray
Thanks for that extra info, Gail! If Delta had any "web only" fares for my dates, would they show up automatically when I entered my travel dates, or would I need to enter my Delta FF #?? I did check all the online booking sites, as well as Delta's own site, to check for prices, before I booked. I'm hoping that I did indeed get the best fare for my dates and times.
Thanks again!

P.S. I'd rather not have to pay a fee to change our tickets either, but now they're charging $25, instead of the $50 they used to charge. I'm in the middle of trying to talk DH into staying one more day at WDW after our cruise, so if he says "yes", it'll cost us $100 in fees (there are 4 of us). If it was $200 ($50 per person) I wouldn't consider it, but I'll pay the $100 fee for an extra day! LOL

I always log in with my FF account and the internet specials (when available) do just show up. I also signed up for their newsletter/notification for special fares. It is on the web page when you sign in with your FF account.

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
I always log in with my FF account and the internet specials (when available) do just show up. I also signed up for their newsletter/notification for special fares. It is on the web page when you sign in with your FF account.

Thanks again, Gail I do get their emails and fare notifications, so I think I probably do have the best fare I can get, at the moment. I booked rather far out, our trip isn't until next August.