Never book through Travelocity!!!

[Quartermistress]

Just had to post this here because I'm so frustrated right now!

I booked a flight through Travelocity a couple of days ago for my upcoming trip to Disney, and today I saw that the price went down from what I had paid. I called AirTran to ask about getting the credit for the difference, and they said I had to call Travelocity. When I called Travelocity, the person I spoke to said that their policy is to only make price changes within 24 hours of booking. It's my understanding that AirTran will credit the difference regardless of how much time has passed since the original booking. Had I known this, I would have gone straight to AirTran, since the price was exactly the same on both sites. I did try to research the price change policy before I booked, but I didn't find anything stating that you had to book directly through the airline to get the credit for the difference.

I hope this helps someone in the future to avoid making the same mistake! No more Travelocity!

 

[Diegosmom]

You might be able to get it on the website. I know southwest (who owns airtram) you just have to enter confirmation number online and request the credit. You then have the credit attached to tha number and you enter under payment for future trip (within a year of first booking). Since southwest owns aiirtram I would think it wwould be similar.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You have now discovered why it is better to book your flight directly with the airline. If something goes wrong when you book with the airline, it's much easier to deal with them yourself.

 

[goofy4tink]

Already been said, but I'll say it again....book directly through the airline. That way, if there is an issue..any issue... you can deal with them. If you book through a third party...Expedia, Travelocity, etc.....they don't much care about helping you out. And that puts you in a really bad position. They won't work with the airlines, and the airlines won't work with them.
The other thing to note is that not all airlines will give you a credit if flights go down. It's really a good idea to just plan on paying what you paid. Much easier in the long run vs watching to see if fares go down and then trying to get a credit.

 

[WeLuvTink!]

I too learned this tough lesson last summer when I bought our Airtran tickets thru Disney (cheaper than thru Airtran directly for my flights). When Airtran dropped their prices, Airtran wouldn't issue me a credit and said I bought thru a travel agency (Disney) and would have to talk with them. No go thru Disney. In the end, I could have bought directly from Airtran for about the same price I paid Disney.

Buying directly from the airline was the lesson I learned. Also makes it much easier to pay for seats, luggage, etc. on the airline's website.

 

[dudspizza]

I am one more who says buy directly with the airline. I have used Expedia twice with no issues and currently have a reservation thru Orbitz because the same flight was $200 cheaper through them. I wanted to change the current seats I "requested" and luckily Frontier changed them for me with the stipulation that they normally don't do that for tickets purchased through a third party.

It is always better to book directly with the airline, unless the price is quite a bit better.

Duds

 

[bumbershoot]

You might be able to get it on the website. I know southwest (who owns airtram) you just have to enter confirmation number online and request the credit. You then have the credit attached to tha number and you enter under payment for future trip (within a year of first booking). Since southwest owns aiirtram I would think it wwould be similar.

All of that goes away when you use a travel agency, like Disney or like Travelocity.

Travelocity has their *own* price guarantee process. Therefore, they don't participate in the processes of the airlines.

There's nothing inherently wrong with Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. You just have to read and know what you're getting into. I've booked hotel and air through places like that before and I have been perfectly content, because I know the cancelation guidelines ahead of time AND I never EVER check the airline websites for price changes, ONLY checking the travel agency website, because that is all that counts, once I've booked through a TA like that.