Trevellers is bringing a new format of travel newsletter. Let me know what else you are curious about by commenting, replying or tweet us.
Today's Tip: 7 Tips to Avoid OTA Scams
I’m sure you have heard of the online travel agencies (OTA), when you search for your flights and hotels. They are agencies like Travelgenio, Travel2Be, Tripmonster, and Schiphol Tickets.
Just a note: these online travel agencies are SCAMS. Here are ways to avoid being cheated.
7 Get Smart Tips
Do not buy anything from an online travel agent like Travelgenio, Travel2Be, Tripmonster, and Schiphol Tickets. Their pricing seem low, but you will lose more money in the long run. It’s cheaper and easier to book directly with the airlines. Trust me, I have made the mistake before.
Use credit card to pay. You can request chargeback from your credit card company and you get protection from your card.
Book directly. If you accidentally spell your name wrongly like “Elizabeth” instead of “Elisabeth”, you can edit directly with the airlines. With OTA, good luck spending hours in the phones, talking to the idiots on the other side. And paying 50€ for the “admin fee”.
Clear your cookies. Use incognito window to find your flights. I use flights.google.com to look for the routes, then book directly with the airlines by going to specificairlines.com and find the prices.
After check everything, log in to your frequent flyer account. Otherwise, the prices might increase when you search for flights and your account is logged in.
Book directly at the airlines website, with your credit card. Some credit cards, like AMEX, have travel discounts, but it’s cheaper to book on the airlines website than on AMEX travel platform.
Do not book your hotel on the airline website. Why: remember how these OTA idiots lose your air tickets booking or forget to add extra baggage into the booking? Yeah. Same thing will happen for your car and hotel. I use Booking because it is automated, and very little human transaction. I never had an error with Booking.com. With cars, I book directly on the website too.
Application to your life
As airlines are (1) undergoing some restructuring and bankruptcy and (2) there are plenty of cancellations moving forward, it's important to know how to protect yourself. Simply booking directly and using your credit card can save you plenty of hassle, when something bad happens.