Tips and advice on booking with expedia

[Dznypal]

Now that our cruise is paid in full I'm looking into airfare I checked on expedia and found RT for the 2 of us from Chicago to Vancouver non stop with good times . I checked the airline s website and the cards were much higher I'm rather leary about booking with a travel website so anyone this way please any reassuring tips and advice would be greatly appreciated thanks all

 

[Alesia]

Tip #1: Don't.

Seriously, it can be a real pain. Call the airline directly and ask them to match the price.

 

[bumbershoot]

The Expedia price might not even be real. For some reason once you get into the booking process the price often changes to match the airline’s price.

 

[Fangorn]

Tip #2 - Really, don't

Steve

 

[rwdavis2]

Again, don't. It is one of the highest complaint about companies on Elliott dot org, a travel/consumer site. If something goes wrong you really won't like it. I have never seen a travel discount on a third party site that makes it worth the risk. I always book with the airline or car rental company.

 

[JimMIA]

I usually check fares on Expedia or similar sites to get a sense of what a good fare is. Then I go to the actual airline site to book flights.

I have never found travel sites to be any cheaper for anything, but I have found that they sometimes have hotel availability when the hotel says they are sold out on both their website and when called.

With flights, I find the fares the same but there is usually a much better selection of flight choices (times, routing, etc) on the airline's site.

Vancouver is a beautiful city! Enjoy your trip.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

I have booked through Expedia in the past. It worked out okay.

Having said that, I now check prices on Expedia and book directly through the airline I wish to use. You, the consumer, will have far more control over your flight and any possible options if a delay/change occurs than if you book through Expedia.

 

[Alesia]

If you search for flights on Google Flights or Kayak, the "book now" link will take you directly to the airline's website. Those are much better options than searching through Expedia and the like.

 

[MikeOhio]

The only time I recommend booking with the travel sites is if you are doing a hotel and flight package. There can be serious savings with the packages as opposed to booking direct with the hotel and airline, especially on international travel.

 

[Dznypal]

thanks so much for all the helpful replies just what everyone mentioned about booking n a travel site is what I was afraid of

so I took the advice from here and booked with the air website it cost less then 100 more then if I would have done expedia but the piece of mind is well worth it


now I just need to book a hotel and car service thanks again

 

[rwdavis2]

thanks so much for all the helpful replies just what everyone mentioned about booking n a travel site is what I was afraid of

so I took the advice from here and booked with the air website it cost less then 100 more then if I would have done expedia but the piece of mind is well worth it


now I just need to book a hotel and car service thanks again

I have booked hotels via third parties, only if the reservation can be cancelled. But I rarely get a better deal. I will admit to booking cars through Costco with Alamo. The time I do so for cars. The reservation can be tracked directly with Alamo after that.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

If you have a frequent flyer number with an airline or an airline credit card, you can sometimes get deals via email for renting cars.

I confess, that I do book hotels via third party sites. I only do this after a lot of research, including checking out the hotel's website and emailing them directly if the third party site's price is that much less. I've never had an issue - yet, knock wood - with a hotel booking done that way.

 

[Alesia]

I book hotels through hotels.com. You can usually cancel up until the day before, and earning free nights is always a good thing.

Booking a hotel through a third-party is a lot less risky.

 

[Soarin4us]

Another “DON’T!” If something goes wrong, the airline claims Expedia is responsible. Expedia blames the airline. You’re stuck.

 

[bumbershoot]

so I took the advice from here and booked with the air website it cost less then 100 more then if I would have done expedia but the piece of mind is well worth it

Did you go 99% through the booking process to see if that lower price “stuck”? If not, it’s unlikely your flights cost more than they would have. Expedia is known to suddenly not have that flight at that initial cost, once you get far enough into the process.