Originally Posted by
ckjmglee
Just booked a few flights within China and although ctrip clearly offers more flights and more discounts, Expedia seems like it's catching up (somewhat)...
I booked two sets of flights on Expedia instead of ctrip as:
- Pricing was similar but Expedia does not have 3% US credit card surcharge
- On one of the flights, I could select seats (who knows if they'll actually show up!
- Expedia allowed me to put in my frequent flyer info (it'll be interesting to see if it shows up too!)
- Expedia also allowed to book my whole family (spouse and three kids) at one time, ctrip forces two different bookings
In the other trips, Expedia wasn't close in terms of flights offered or the discounts offered...
Just a data point for those searching...
There is rarely any point in booking domestic China tickets through non-Chinese agents. The only possible exceptions to this rule are full fare scenarios (which are increasingly common). But, even then, an Expedia reservation ties you to Expedia, which means you're bound to get hosed if/when your flight gets canceled and you need to make a change on the fly.
I use ctrip around half the time, and physical TAs for the other half. In both cases, I keep their phone numbers on hand in case things go awry at the airport. Ctrip is exceptionally good in this capacity, and local TAs also perform admirably... as long as the flight time coincides with their working hours.
But, Expedia -- even if you manage to catch them on the phone -- will invariably attempt to take $50 from you and still fail to get things done in time for you to catch the other flight to your destination that is operating on time.
In closing, I have no problem at all with ctrip's cc service charge; if I buy tickets from them, I earn the right to pester them when I'm at the airport and my flight is delayed for x hours. Given that this is a frequent occurrence, those extra $5 are well spent.