GBAstar

Hello flyertalk community,

I am new to the forums and I am not a very savvy traveler. I came here and created an account to look for information and advice regarding the delta.com "Best Fare Guarantee" policy and general refund/cancellation policies for Delta flights.

I am looking to take my kid brother and his friend to Orlando, FL for a week. I have a skymiles account through Delta as well as a Delta Skymiles AMEX Credit Card so I would prefer to book through them directly.

When I did a mockup of our itinerary the roundtrip cost was about $250 per ticket directly through delta. If I try and book the EXACT same itinerary (same flights and connections) through Priceline.com it comes out to about $186 per ticket.

This is an advertised fare through priceline.com; its was NOT a hidden fare (i.e. name your own price or express deal).

Delta has a price match guarantee policy that reads:

https://www.delta.com/content/www...antee.html


My questions are 1) are advertised fares through priceline price match eligible under the "Best Fare Guarantee" policy AND 2) if I booked through delta.com would I be able to cancel my reservation if they denied the price match request? They state that you will receive a response to your request within 24 hours of submitting it.

My very basic understanding is that refundable fare or not, you have 24 hours (or is it one day?) to cancel an airline reservation with no penalty. Is this correct?

Also, if I'm booking three tickets, would it be in my best interest to book each ticker individually and try to get a price match (i.e. price match + $100 credit) on each booking/ticket? Or would they consider it all under the same travel itinerary umbrella?

My fears are that booking this way may change the price/availability algorithm (assuming price is a function of available seats) and by the time I got to the third ticket it may be more expensive then the first and/or second.

Anyways, I wasn't sure if anyone knew the answer to these questions. I e-mailed delta through their website but I'm not sure how long they'll take to respond and I'd like to book the tickets ASAP


Thanks for the assistance and patience

WhiskeyBravo

I've never heard of a single experience of someone being given the price match.

If the cheaper fare is really the same to you benefits wise, then book it because it's the same and cheaper. If you get the price match guarantee then it's gravy. Otherwise, don't play this game.

Bowgie

1. Delta's pricematch 'guarantee' is a marketing ploy. No one in the history of FT has ever heard of anyone successfully getting one. Don't waste your time on it.

2. Pricing inventory is instantly dynamic. It is not possible to game it with simultaneous bookings.

3. The likely reason Priceline is cheaper is that of your three tickets, not all are available at the cheapest price. Priceline is smart enough to sell you one or two of the cheap tickets combined with one not-so-cheap. Delta sells all three at the same (higher) price. By the way, this scenario doesn't meet the terms and conditions of Delta's price match -- the bookings are not the same fare class.

4. The way to get around this is to do trial bookings on Delta of one, two, and three people and note on which number the price changes. Then do two separate bookings on Delta.com

5. Priceline and other online travel agencies are very hard to work with if something goes wrong and have to rebook. As long as the cost difference is small or none, always book direct with the airline.

6. You have 24 hours on Delta.com to cancel and get a full refund. In some cases, depending on your timezone, it might stretch out as far as 48 hours, but you can't depend on that.

xliioper

The same "booking/fare class" part is the important part that catches most people. This does not simply mean the same class of service (coach or business), but the exact same booking class as well. The following are the typical fare class codes for lower priced coach tickets -- L,U,T,X,V,E. There are a number of other fare classes for coach besides these as well.

Justin026

I do remember in the early days of the "price match" (I think this was Delta's corporate price match and not the "industry" price match later brokered by the government). There was a running battle with Delta on matching AIrTran's nonstop fares to Atlanta, which included a lively thread on FT. I did get some fare adjustments over the phone.

With modern "dynamic" (meaning non-transparent) pricing I don't see how you'd ever win a fare match argument.

Also, each airline's refund policy must be checked. Delta allows no-hassle refunds anytime the day after booking. Some other carriers will allow a 24 hour refund, but only when the ticket was purchased 7 days in advance. Far less attractive for a last minute traveller, one important reason for DL loyalty.

btonkid12345

Hello fellow FTers! Long time reader and fan, finally registered to participate in the fun.

Some notes of my experience of having 1 BFG honored (against Priceline):
*the link to the "fare rules" that Priceline displays on the final booking pages usually has the entire delta fare basis in the link. I was able to confirm with the DM line that not only did the fare class match, but so did the fare basis. I put that detail in the text of the claim form and even quoted the exact fare basis for them.
*risk free applies. The claim was replied to well within the 24 hour expectation they set.
*was not treated any differently by reservations or airport agents on the BFG ticket. No mention if it besides a DM agent saying that team had left a note in the reservation explaining why they adjusted the fare. Even received an op up, so the flying experience of a BFG ticket is no different (as expected).

Moral of the story: make sure your fare buckets match, book on delta.com ASAP (phone bookings are ineligible), and fill out the BFG form and keep your fingers crossed.