Originally Posted by M60_to_LGA

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.