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booking on third party travel sites
Just a tip.
Sometime ago I booked flights for my wife and myself with Flight Centre ( www.travelthere.com) An $8 credit card fee was charged.We decided to change our travel plans so we requested a credit. FC told me that I would have to approach the airline ( Virgin Blue) for this. I approached VB who happily gave me a credit less $60 fee, no problem with that. They also charged me a credit fee of $8 to do this..ouch that hurts, being charged a credit card fee twice. I phoned them both as it appeared to be an automatic process and that some sense would prevail after I spoke to someone. No no, both parties were unbending and both decided that the credit card fee was justified. Surely these companies have a business arrangement between themselves. I really have no complaint as it was in their terms and conditions but it just seemed wrong.Ok So i have learnt, I will only book directly with the airline in the future, the $8 overcharge is not a lot of money however I thought it was worth a few calls to argue the point. Bye bye FC. -- http://community.webshots.com/user/surfoz Remove NOSPAM to reply. |
#2
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"Jeff" wrote in message ... Just a tip. Sometime ago I booked flights for my wife and myself with Flight Centre ( www.travelthere.com) An $8 credit card fee was charged.We decided to change our travel plans so we requested a credit. FC told me that I would have to approach the airline ( Virgin Blue) for this. I approached VB who happily gave me a credit less $60 fee, no problem with that. They also charged me a credit fee of $8 to do this..ouch that hurts, being charged a credit card fee twice. I phoned them both as it appeared to be an automatic process and that some sense would prevail after I spoke to someone. No no, both parties were unbending and both decided that the credit card fee was justified. Surely these companies have a business arrangement between themselves. I really have no complaint as it was in their terms and conditions but it just seemed wrong.Ok So i have learnt, I will only book directly with the airline in the future, the $8 overcharge is not a lot of money however I thought it was worth a few calls to argue the point. Bye bye FC. -- http://community.webshots.com/user/surfoz Remove NOSPAM to reply. I sympathise with your problem and with a low cost airline it is usually better to book direct with the airline but be aware that with the majors consolidators often provide a far better deal than booking direct. Keith |
#3
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"Keith W" wrote in message ... "Jeff" wrote in message ... Just a tip. Sometime ago I booked flights for my wife and myself with Flight Centre ( www.travelthere.com) An $8 credit card fee was charged.We decided to change our travel plans so we requested a credit. FC told me that I would have to approach the airline ( Virgin Blue) for this. I approached VB who happily gave me a credit less $60 fee, no problem with that. They also charged me a credit fee of $8 to do this..ouch that hurts, being charged a credit card fee twice. I phoned them both as it appeared to be an automatic process and that some sense would prevail after I spoke to someone. No no, both parties were unbending and both decided that the credit card fee was justified. Surely these companies have a business arrangement between themselves. I really have no complaint as it was in their terms and conditions but it just seemed wrong.Ok So i have learnt, I will only book directly with the airline in the future, the $8 overcharge is not a lot of money however I thought it was worth a few calls to argue the point. Bye bye FC. -- http://community.webshots.com/user/surfoz Remove NOSPAM to reply. I sympathise with your problem and with a low cost airline it is usually better to book direct with the airline but be aware that with the majors consolidators often provide a far better deal than booking direct. Keith Keith I don't believe that is the case. From my research online airlines are the same price as the majors. regards jeff |
#4
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"Jeff" wrote in message ... I sympathise with your problem and with a low cost airline it is usually better to book direct with the airline but be aware that with the majors consolidators often provide a far better deal than booking direct. Keith Keith I don't believe that is the case. From my research online airlines are the same price as the majors. Who mentioned the majors ? Next Saturday I will be flying business class to Canada on Air Canada at a price thats around 25% lower than the best deal I could get with AC direct, and believe me I checked. That ticket was booked through a major UK consolidator who has got me similar deals in the past LHR-SYD via Emirates and Gulf Air I specified 'consolidators' as they buy tickets from the airlines at a price considerably below the bst value those same airlines offer through their web sites. These deals usually require booking well in advance and are typically fairly inflexible but for the leisure traveller can provide excellent value for money. Keith |
#5
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"Keith W" wrote in message ... "Jeff" wrote in message ... I sympathise with your problem and with a low cost airline it is usually better to book direct with the airline but be aware that with the majors consolidators often provide a far better deal than booking direct. Keith Keith I don't believe that is the case. From my research online airlines are the same price as the majors. Who mentioned the majors ? Next Saturday I will be flying business class to Canada on Air Canada at a price thats around 25% lower than the best deal I could get with AC direct, and believe me I checked. That ticket was booked through a major UK consolidator who has got me similar deals in the past LHR-SYD via Emirates and Gulf Air I specified 'consolidators' as they buy tickets from the airlines at a price considerably below the bst value those same airlines offer through their web sites. These deals usually require booking well in advance and are typically fairly inflexible but for the leisure traveller can provide excellent value for money. Keith I see, how do I get to research these 'consolidators'? Regards Jeff |
#6
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"Jeff" wrote in message ... I specified 'consolidators' as they buy tickets from the airlines at a price considerably below the bst value those same airlines offer through their web sites. These deals usually require booking well in advance and are typically fairly inflexible but for the leisure traveller can provide excellent value for money. Keith I see, how do I get to research these 'consolidators'? Regards Jeff A good starting point is a google search for airline consolidators australia In the UK I mostly use Trailfinders who have an Australian branch. They never have the best deals on the web site so call them. They are particlarly good for first and business class travel. http://www.trailfinders.com.au/index.htm A company I havent dealt with but have heard of is Cyber Air Broker http://www.airdiscounter.com/ and http://www.flightcentre.com.au/ The usual rules about dealing only with ASFA/IATA bonded agents still applies of course, there are LOTS of sharks out there. Keith |
#7
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"Keith W" wrote in message ... "Jeff" wrote in message ... I specified 'consolidators' as they buy tickets from the airlines at a price considerably below the bst value those same airlines offer through their web sites. These deals usually require booking well in advance and are typically fairly inflexible but for the leisure traveller can provide excellent value for money. Keith I see, how do I get to research these 'consolidators'? Regards Jeff A good starting point is a google search for airline consolidators australia In the UK I mostly use Trailfinders who have an Australian branch. They never have the best deals on the web site so call them. They are particlarly good for first and business class travel. http://www.trailfinders.com.au/index.htm A company I havent dealt with but have heard of is Cyber Air Broker http://www.airdiscounter.com/ and http://www.flightcentre.com.au/ The usual rules about dealing only with ASFA/IATA bonded agents still applies of course, there are LOTS of sharks out there. Keith thanks for the tip! |
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