Can You Trust Travel Price Guarantees?

By Heather Reese

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Summary

Whether it's for a hotel, a cruise, or the fare to get you there, many travel sites offer a "best price guarantee," and will "refund you the difference" to match any lower price you can find.

Story Published: Jul 17, 2009 at 5:19 PM PST

Whether it's for a hotel, a cruise, or the fare to get you there, many travel sites offer a "best price guarantee," and will "refund you the difference" to match any lower price you can find. Some sites, such as Delta, will also throw in a travel voucher for up to $100.

But Consumer Reports Money Advisor says, "not so fast." For instance, to collect on the "price guarantee" with Expedia, you have to file your claim within "24 hours" of booking. With American, it's midnight the "same day," so even if the price drops just a couple of days later, you're out of luck.

Orbitz gives you more time but will refund money only if another customer subsequently books the same flight or hotel on Orbitz at a lower price.

The travel experts Consumer Reports spoke to say that because of all the restrictions, relatively few people actually get a refund. But don't be discouraged, because there are ways to save on travel.

Consumer Reports says check out sites such as Airfarewatchdog.com and Kayak for the best prices. Hotwire and Yapta track prices and alert you if the hotel or fare you want goes down.

A word of warning: Consumer Reports says don't assume a "package deal" is really a deal at all. First check out individual prices on flights, hotels, and ground transportation. It's sometimes cheaper to buy à la carte.