Originally Posted by
btonkid12345
The penny (or less) on the dollar these third party sites provide in exchange for using them is completely not worth 1 phone call you have to make to them for changes and cancellations.
Having said that, I did find a West Coast-Japan fare on Priceline (published side, not opaque) that had the exact same flights, fare class, everything - even the same fare basis, which displayed when you loaded the fare rules) a few years back.
I filed a claim via Delta’s low fare guarantee. They refunded my card the difference between their fare and the fare PL had, and also provided the $100 certificate that comes with the terms of the guarantee.
But every other time, the fares have been identical, for the exact same itinerary and booking classes.
Yes, there have been “special fares” on Expedia, but these are a different fare basis, class, or have different restrictions in the fare rules, which make them not comparable.
So many people on FT report horror stories with changes/cancellations on Expedia and other OTAs, but I'm a rather experienced traveler, have booked mostly on Expedia for decades, and have never had a serious issue. I truly don't understand the fear of using OTAs, but maybe I've just been blissfully lucky. I mean, I understand in theory why having an extra layer of bureaucracy to go through could be a negative, but in practice when my flight has been cancelled at the last minute or I've needed to make changes or whatever, Expedia has been fine. In one specific instance I remember, several years ago I was supposed to fly to MEX on AA, but my flight got cancelled the night before due to a blizzard. I got Expedia on the phone, they helped me book a new set of flights on another carrier (AC) for the next day, and they cancelled the initial reservation for me as well. All in all, quite easy.
I once saved about $50 buying a ticket on Expedia versus directly on the airline's website - UA on their EWR-Belfast route (RIP). Exact same flights, fare class, everything. I still don't understand why the fare was cheaper with Expedia, but I certainly wasn't unhappy.