Does anyone buy airline tickets online?

[ucla_cutie26 0]

Hey guys,

I have a question. Is it safe to buy airline tickets online. My husband and I want to go to Guadalajara, Mexico during Thanksgiving vacation. The best price came from expedia.com. Does anyone have any experience with expedia (or any other search engine) with buying airline tickets?

I am kind of old fashioned and am used to buying tickets thru a ticket agency. But expedia offers me an $80 price difference (times two, one for me and one for my husband, so that's a $160 difference). I am just terrified we may encounter some issues if we buy online.

I will appreciate any and all feedback.

Thanks

[Krikit 1,165]

That's the only way I buy my airline tickets. But I go directly to the airline site. I have never seen a better deal on Expedia. But it's safe, so you're fine.

[Muh and me 18]

I've never bought tickets any other way cept online!

[MissStacey 1]

I always buy my tickets online-I have used Expedia many times and it has always worked out just fine.

[ScottThuy 140]

That's the only way I buy my airline tickets. But I go directly to the airline site. I have never seen a better deal on Expedia. But it's safe, so you're fine.

I use delta or orbitz or expedia or an agent here and shop them against each other... expedia has been best from time to time, but so have the others... online expedia, and orbitz are safe IMO but you need to always shop for the best price..

[ucla_cutie26 0]

I always buy my tickets online-I have used Expedia many times and it has always worked out just fine.

Stacey,

The price that shows on expedia.com is the price I pay? I just want to make sure there are no hidden fees, or extra fees I may be charged at the airport.

[dalegg 143]

I've used expedia. Purchased tickets for someone living in a different state to go to a different country. No problems.

[Niels Bohr 72]

I've used Travelocity, Expedia, Hotel.com, and Orbitz....I check all of them. Sometimes one of them is cheaper than the other. Although, I also check the local travel agents as well. They sometime are cheaper than these online vendors, not all the time.

[ya hayat alby ♥ 0]

I used Expedia, and it sucks. It's all fine if everything goes fine with your flight and all, but if you need to make a change or some mistake happens be prepared to go through hell w/ people who have no idea what they are doing/don't speak english.

[steve 27]

Buying directly from the airline for the exact same flight can often be cheaper than expedia and other sites. Expedia has a great search feature but the actual airline website is often as competetive or better with prices (at least with delta, american, etc).

[Niels Bohr 72]

Buying directly from the airline for the exact same flight can often be cheaper than expedia and other sites. Expedia has a great search feature but the actual airline website is often as competetive or better with prices (at least with delta, american, etc).

Interesting. At Logan if I buy direct they are usually more expensive, but, I'll keep that in mind.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Yes, most of the time when you buy online, you are buying sale, NON REFUNDABLE tickets which are not intended to be changed. They have extortionary change prices and also charge you the difference in fare (which has gone up 99% of the time).

It can be cheap (super super cheap, that's why you're doing it!), but you are in fact making a financial commitment, so keep that in mind when booking.

[meowmeowmeow 1]

i've been buying airline tickets online for the past 6 years and never really had any problems. yes it is safe, just make sure the site is protected (a little padlock on the right bottom corner of the page will usually tell you it's encrypted aka safe).

http://www.tripmania.com

http://www.travelzoo.com

http://www.sidestep.com

http://www.kayak.com

[steve 27]

Buying directly from the airline for the exact same flight can often be cheaper than expedia and other sites. Expedia has a great search feature but the actual airline website is often as competetive or better with prices (at least with delta, american, etc).

Interesting. At Logan if I buy direct they are usually more expensive, but, I'll keep that in mind.

I should be more specific. Direct from the airlines website. Go to travelocity and you will find a fare for delta. Go to delta.com and you can find the same flight(s) for $5 less (the booking commission travelocity was getting or close to it less). This is not always true but in many cases it is. Plus as someone mentioned, working with an airline directly is a lot easier than if you booked through a broker (website) as you have more freedom and "ease" to make changes.

[christeen 966]

I used to work for a travel agent (tours and cruises, not airline tickets) but I had to book literally hundreds of tickets using the web. My suggestion is to go to www.sidestep.com or www.kayak.com first. They do a check of ALL the major ticketing agencies (Expedia, Travelocity, Orbits) plus the airlines and it shows you the best prices on the web right now. They also show you what people taking the same trip have recently paid for comparison.

The cheapest rates are after 12 midnight on Wednesday morning (Tuesday night) EST, this is when agencies holding reservations and seats that are not paid for are released. You can check the airlines as it is true that it is much easier not to have a middle-man, but to be honest, most times, bucket shops like Expedia, Vayama, Travelocity and Cheaptickets offer the best rates, not always so once you find a flight you like on one of the other sites, give a quick check on the airlines website directly. Before you purchase, they must show you the total rate (but beware that they try to push insurance by putting and opt-out check here if you do not want it box). Some wait till you click "choose this flight" before they figure in all the taxes etc...

Today, the airlines no longer pay travel agent comissions, so agencies add anywhere from $25 - 50 per ticket and get the same prices as what is offered on the web. Personally, I like to have control of my trip and dont mind doing it plus, I am the one traveling so I should be the one to choose my flight times, airline etc... I have a vested interest to get everything right!.

Some tips and cautions: All tickets that are AFFORDABLE are pretty much non0refundable. This means you bought it, their yours use them or not, so be sure before you purchase. They do offer usually a 24 hour, oops I made a boo-boo but dont count on it. Triple check names and spellings as this is VITAL now! Changes are usually possible for $250.

Hope that helps. Buying online is one of the BEST ways to plan your trip... Enjoy