Orbitz Travel

[pitzerwm]

IMO you should skip using Orbitz. I booked a trip to Paraguay and they didn't bother to tell me that I needed a visa to visit Paraguay. Lucky, I found out that I needed one 2 days before I left.

First, they charged me $30 just for talking to me, then $250 for them to change the ticket, plus the fee that the airline charged to change the ticket. In the end, I laid out more than $1000 to get to Paraguay.

When I called to ask about the $30 that showed up on my CC bill extra, I am talking to someone in India or worse. There is a Federal law that requires them to transfer you to an American rep. if you ask for it. Guess what, they don't do it and don't care.

If at all possible use someone else.

 

[rph9168]

There is also a problem when you book a rental car. I had to change my travel plans to push things a week back. Since I booked on Orbitz I could not change the reservation and had to pay for it even though it was not used. I now always book car rentals, room reservation and and flights direct (usually at the same or less price than Orbitz).

 

[Whale of a Wash]

I like booking direct for hotels and cars. Both will let you change plans or cancel without fees up to the last 24 hrs, unless a special deal where they make you pay in advance. I look flights up on kayak sometimes to see which airline is cheaper. I think the absolute best deals for flying is when you can book a multi-city. The second leg city is not much to add on. Ex: from fargo to vegas and back to ica is about $450. But i looked at adding on a leg to jacksonville and price went to $618, not bad for a cross country flight.

 

[Indiana Wash]

IMO you should skip using Orbitz. I booked a trip to Paraguay and they didn't bother to tell me that I needed a visa to visit Paraguay. Lucky, I found out that I needed one 2 days before I left.

First, they charged me $30 just for talking to me, then $250 for them to change the ticket, plus the fee that the airline charged to change the ticket. In the end, I laid out more than $1000 to get to Paraguay.

When I called to ask about the $30 that showed up on my CC bill extra, I am talking to someone in India or worse. There is a Federal law that requires them to transfer you to an American rep. if you ask for it. Guess what, they don't do it and don't care.

If at all possible use someone else.

Really??? You are upset because they didn't tell you that you need a passport to travel out of the country? That would be like forgetting to tell you that you have to have positive ID to get through security or that you are expected to wear a shirt and shoes. Sorry, but IMHO that was not their fault.

I do like the idea of being required to be transferred to an American rep. I spoke to one in India yesterday and today. I hate it. "OK, let me ask you your name...OK, you said your name is .... and I am confirming that your name is..." Actually that happened to me. I had even filled out a form online which the rep was reading. Finally, I said, yes, I filled out the form correctly, I know my name and address. Please stop asking me to confirm all of those things, you called me.

However, I do not believe that any such federal law exists. If you have a cite, please let me know.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Visa is needed for some countries.
A passport is mandatory if you will visit almost any country.
Two different things.

 

[pitzerwm]

Indiana, you missed an important small fact. It wasn't the passport. Its a visa to visit that country. The US messes with many country's travelers that want to come to this country as a tourist. So some of them mess back. Paraguay, Brazil, China to name a few. If you fly into Argentina you will pay a $140 visa fee, only Americans pay this. Thees are usually good for 10 years, however Vietnam's is only good for one visit, and China's is only good for 1 year.

As for the law, I heard it on 60 minutes or something like that. Once, I asked to be transferred and was put on hold. I went to the casino and when I came back in 6 hours, the music was still playing.

 

[Indiana Wash]

Indiana, you missed an important small fact. It wasn't the passport. Its a visa to visit that country. The US messes with many country's travelers that want to come to this country as a tourist. So some of them mess back. Paraguay, Brazil, China to name a few. If you fly into Argentina you will pay a $140 visa fee, only Americans pay this. Thees are usually good for 10 years, however Vietnam's is only good for one visit, and China's is only good for 1 year.

As for the law, I heard it on 60 minutes or something like that. Once, I asked to be transferred and was put on hold. I went to the casino and when I came back in 6 hours, the music was still playing.

My bad!!!! I completely misread the OP. For some reason, I read passport. Argentina is very difficult to get a student visa for.

I checked on snopes and it said that the US call option is false. One Senator promised to introduce legislation putting a $0.25 tariff on exported calls but never did. I really cannot stand the foreign call centers. It isn't the people, it is the script that they all use. You do not need to repeat the same thing 3 times to confirm. I know how to spell my name and address, thank you. If I confirm it once, that should be enough.

 

[MEP001]

I do like the idea of being required to be transferred to an American rep. I spoke to one in India yesterday and today. I hate it. "OK, let me ask you your name...OK, you said your name is .... and I am confirming that your name is..." Actually that happened to me. I had even filled out a form online which the rep was reading. Finally, I said, yes, I filled out the form correctly, I know my name and address. Please stop asking me to confirm all of those things, you called me.

This is no joke; I called tech help for AOL some years back. The guy I got said (in a light Indian accent about like Raj from Big Bang Theory) "Hello, my name is Hachmedhaguttoralsoundwhatever, but you can call me Dave."

 

[Greg Pack]

So do you guys have another travel site recommendation?

 

[pitzerwm]

I was using Expedia, without problems, then I booked a trip to China, had to cancel it, got the credit (talked to Delta, you have 1 year to use it plus another $250).

When I tried to use the credit through Expedia, they said that I had to use it on Delta, BUT could only use it for another trip to China. That was the end of using Expedia.

So far, I have not found that going to the airlines is cheaper. Like hotels, I think that the airlines give these people some seats and they put together the trip. When I was going to South America, the normal total time is 24 hours, some of the options were 50+ hours to get there. 10-12-13 hour layovers. This one I looked at left WA went to Chicago,5 hour layover, then flew to LA, 12 hour layover, flew to NY, 13 hour layover, then flew to South America. The thing was you didn't save any money taking that choice.

 

[PaulLovesJamie]

I usually use expedia unless its a flight that I take regularly.
Booking direct has not saved me $, but it seems that I get treated better at the hotel & car rental counter. Could be coincidence though.

Booking thru expedia has been convenient when I had weather delay issues - having them "work on it" at the same time that I'm talking to customer service has made things move quicker.

Had to cancel a business trip once due to a sudden 2AM craving for a root canal. One call to expedia & they handled everything, that was handy. no fees except from the airline.

 

[Washmechanic]

I used Orbitz to book an extended hotel stay in Mi.two years ago. While there I asked at the front desk about weekly rates. It was $100/wk cheaper to book directly. I called Orbitz and they said " the rate I got was their lowest rate, not the hotels rate." The next two trips, I called the hotel and booked directly, won't use Orbitz again.

 

[Indiana Wash]

I guess it is kind of the difference between buying a ticket and hiring a travel agent. If you buy a ticket, you get a ticket. If you hire a travel agent, you are hiring a service. I have hired travel agents who would have been no better than buying a ticket.