One of the big questions in travel is if you should buy your plane tickets or hotels direct from the provider or if you should use a third party like Expedia or Skyscanner. Well, you can find great deals on third party websites, but there may be issues if things go awry. That is why we typically buy direct from airlines or hotels for that piece of mind.
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41 Comments
Awesome and informative video
I agree with booking directly with the airline/hotel for the reasons mentioned (issues, refunds, points). Plus one time when I booked with a 3rd party I was involuntarily bumped off a flight. That was pretty much the last time I used 3rd party.
After Covid was slowing down and travel demand began to pick up again, Lufthansa had dismissed so many people they were not able to uphold customer service. In this rare circumstance you were better off had you been through 3rd party. But generally I agree, that searching with 3rd party tools and booking direct is the best option.
maybe it's just the flights or hotels i pick, but i've never seen a difference of more than a few dollars. i look at those few extra dollars as insurance and always book direct. even tours. find the tour co. online and book with them.
could you maybe do a video about getting into Cuba in 2023? thinking of going in March at the end of a South America trip, but it looks like a big PITA. thanks! love the channel.
For me, I simply go for the best and cheapest price out there. Whether it’s direct, 3rd or even 4th party is irrelevant. I think of my pocket.
I have had the exact situation you’ve described happen to me with 3rd party bookings. Over the years I have
Watched your channel and appreciate how practically useful they are, thank you. Great job!
I've had small problem with both booking direct or third party; however, they were managed quite quickly. BUT…that was before 2020. Now, especially with AirB…they're a nightmare to deal with, so I've stopped using them all together.
Now, this entire debacle with SWA. This might be a good topic…can they survive this? I would have to think that the board of directors are already prepping departure packages for more than a few suits as a business-saving move. But even given that, their reputation is…let's just say Spirit rebranded their motto to say, "Hey we may suck, but we're not Southwest!" Is this something SWA can recover from or has this gotten to the point of an uncontrolled spin right into the ground?
If you book through a third party, legally they have up to one year to refund you the money if the flight is cancelled.
i am finding out about the nuisances/frustrations/TRICKS/ and slime of booking vacations….1) I just booked with "UNITED PACKAGES" which i quickly found out was "PRICELINE" – WHICH I AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! …No adjustments…probably no refunds even if deserved…. a) However, my trip is NOT SHOWN ON "PRICELINE" WEBSITE because i booked on "UNITED PACKAGES"…WTFFFFFFFFFF!!!
2) I realized i overpaid for INSURANCE (which i need now forever for health reasons) and fortunately, ALLIANZ seems like a GREAT COMPANY, not only because they refunded me more than i expected last time but they reduced the amount i paid BECAUSE I REALIZED: Why insure the whole package which includes a hotel if u can cancel the hotel usually up until a day or 2 of arrival !!?? PRICELINE DIDNT TELL ME AND I NOTICED THE CHARGE WHICH WAS 50% HIGHER THAN MY OTHER FLORIDA TRIP.
3) "HILTON HONORS" does not give you points when booked through other means…So, if you get a good deal somewhere, they dont give you points which may or may not be "A WASH" (getting free stuff down the line) and an eye-opening policy…I AM SURE THERE IS MORE TO COME BEFORE I GET THERE
well, I agree in most cases, but I have to mention two things…
1/ sometimes the third party resellers are a lot cheaper and it pays off…
2/ whenever you travel with Qatar Aiirway – buy with whoever else offers… they still haven't discovered the miracle of e-mail and you have to call them (to Qatar) in order to manage your flight which is extremely annoying… and some of the agencies really can do miracles for you when you have an issue.. i bought tickets to Nairobi with QA in 2020 and needed to change the dates and after x days trying to reach them, I just sent an e-mail to our Norwegian agency that bought the tickets for us and the changes were done in a matter of hours…
Comments to help
Hey Mark, First time in 30 years had to use a bricks and mortar travel agent, Vietnam Air web site would not accept my credit card to fly PHN to SGN. probably cost me an extra $200 NZD. See you soon cheers M
For hotels I use Booking but all transportation are always direct from them.
With the backwardness of our economy, increment in the price of gas, alarming rates of unemployment.i must confess our country have taken a wrong turns.vividly I don't know how else to carter for my expenses
While I look on flights on google, I always book them via the airline website. Plus it’s easier to change plans if buying from them compare to 3rd party (like Expedia)
I had a huge problem with a flight I booked on E Dreams from Santorini to Athens on Aegean Air. Aegean basically told me to go fish and deal with E Dreams which eas an absolute nightmare. Suffice it to say I never got my money back and I has to eat $500 and change on last minute plane tickets on another flight to Athens. Excellent advice Mark.
I do exactly as WW recommends – shop around using 3rd parties but always book direct. My prefered Airline is United, and I always try to book a direct non-stop flight when I can. However, one exception – I use Costco to book car rentals. I have NOT found a better site for cars than Costco either in the US or in Europe.
For lodging, I almost exclusively use AirBnB or VRBO vs. hotels. The exception is if I need a room near an airport before my flights.
Unless there is like a $200+ difference I don't use the 3rd party. If you have a tight schedule and travelling with family, try not to book 3rd party, as they don't give out hotels, meals etc. if you got delayed for some reason. When travelling alone and you don't have a time crunch, you can use the 3rd party (cheap options and save). For example The filight got cancelled and they rebooked the next day flight, however they would not give the hotel, as I did not book directly from the airline. But it only happened once on the international flight out of 20 I took, so it does pay off. Also take a close look at the baggage options – Direct booking can give 2 pices of checking luggage 50lbs each, where as booking with 3rd party could have 1 piece of checked luggage. So you need to weigh out these options.
Travelling alone (no time crunch and plenty of connection time / not carrying much baggage) – you can use the 3rd party
Travelling with Family (older kids and no time crunch) – you can save $$$ by booking thru 3rd party options.
I once booked a hotel on Expedia and I ended up needing to cancel… turns out the hotel had already cancelled the booking on me weeks prior and neither they or Expedia let me know. Good thing I didn’t end up going! For that reason I really avoid 3rd party booking sites as much as possible, I don’t trust them.
True that re mileage. Google Flights is great for pricing things out, though. Glad you mentioned that they sometimes have deals. Airline pricing is so tricky!! / Video suggestion: what to do with travel emergencies like losing a passport, getting sick, etc. I guess consulates can help in some cases. Happy 2023 Wolter!!
Make sure you are on the company web site. We thought we were dealing direct with hotel but we were on a clone of the site and paid a nonrefundable service of $150.00. We are working with the credit card company but it's probably going to be an expensive lesion.
I work in a hotel. ALWAYS book direct. It’s easier for both you and me if you have a problem, or want to make a change etc. And don’t get pissy with hotel staff when we can’t help. You made the booking with the third party after all!
I totally agree with booking with direct, but I do look around like you said to find the best deal. Usually I go between direct and chase travel. I had a bad experience with Philippine airlines when the pandemic hit and it took almost a year to get my full refund back of calling back and forth with them. When I dealt with Chase travel and always got my refund back with no problems so far, they even told me upfront it will take this many days and they kept their word so far. I hope they continue to working with people that way because they are my go to if the direct airline is more. I did however had a bad experience with orbitz with a room booked in Venice Italy, still to this day have not got my refund back from them, never got to make the trip due to the pandemic and not able to use the credit therefore that coupon expired also with a hotel in France
I Had to pay $1,600 extra because I made a spelling mistakes on two people in my party! Buy directly from the airlines because they do name corrections for free. Boy did I learn an expensive lesson!
Airline wouldn't match expedia fare
My first international flight ever was to visit my wife's family in China; we booked a round-trip through Expidia and were screwed when our first flight arrived too late for our connecting flight. Turns out if you have to cancel a connecting flight as part of your ticket package, you cancel the return portion for your round trip.
I have been booking with expedia for ever hotels as well as flight. the customer service is superb i dont even have to call them for changes or refunds. an email or chat makes it work. stress free travel
I used Expedia to book a trip to Australia four years ago. On the day of my departure, the plane that was supposed to take me to Dallas blew a tire upon landing. The airline (American) couldn't get the tire changed in time for us to catch our connecting flights in Dallas. I was given a toll free number to call AA. I explained the situation to the agent and gave her the itinerary number. Even though the trip was booked through Expedia, the agent was able to push everything back 24 hours so it all worked out.
Thank you !!!!
Agree with you BUT in SE Asia things are different, esp. with hotels. When traveling SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia) many hotels are three times higher (yikes!) going direct versus 3rd party. That said…your hotel is also going to be just 20 or 30 USD regardless unless you are staying in an exclusive area in Bangkok or some place like that.
I've always ordered my tickets through Travelocity and never had any problems.
I always book directly with my airline
I had a very bad experience booking with Expedia.
I had a very bad experience booking with Expedia.
I always book through a travel agency. Flights and hotel
What I found is when things go wrong, it gets complicated having a middle man involved. Call hotel "You need to talk to Expedia". Call Expedia and they say "Oh you need to call the propety!" Same with rental cars. This comes up a lot when flights are delayed and you show up a day late. Asking for refunds and rescheduling can be huge headache. We got nailed hard by this a week back resulting in hours of phone calls trying to save a vacation.
I was wondering would you go through a travel agent to book whole trip if doing multiple city in Europe planning to go to Spain (Madrid and Barcelona) and they to Italy (Rome and Florence). First time traveler to Europe. Thanks.
I have always booked directly from the airlines.
Not financial advisor, but you can easily sign up for programs linking a frequent flier account so you can start building miles. You cannot do that easily with 3rd parties.
does vacation insurance compensate for the 3rd party risk?
I exactly do what you described. I look on 3rd party website to get an idea as to what airline has the better deal/route for my family then I book directly from the airline for as you said peace of mind if anything goes wrong.
I've had bad experiences booking direct but that was with British Airlines, so… maybe it was that. I normally book with expedia. Usually its fine easy and cheap, but I've had a few problems. I've had a car scheduled to pick me up and take me to airline in Tokyo and it ended up scheduled the day before I arrived, which I didn't notice, and ended up taking a Taxi which ripped me off. There has been a few other small problems, but otherwise its been ok. I just booked via expedia a trip to Batumi in the country of Georgia, and it appear to be much cheaper going via expedia, than direct.