Expedia Flights

What is Expedia Flights?

Having debuted in 1996, Expedia was one of the first online travel agencies that paved the way for travelers to cut out the middleman (RIP travel agents). It allowed people to get more hands on, giving them direct access to the array of flight options available and offering several discounts along the way.

From its origins as Microsoft Expedia Travel Services, the company grew exponentially into a conglomerate now known as the Expedia Group. In their 20+ year journey, they’ve expanded into a multitude of travel related brands and tech solutions. Today, you can use Expedia to book hotel rooms, book domestic and international flights, rent cars, reserve excursions and other things to do, buy cruise tickets, and even find money-saving package deals. This review is going to take a more in-depth look at Expedia Flights and the pros and cons of booking flights with Expedia.

Is Expedia trustworthy for flights? Is Expedia a reliable site to book flights?

One of the first things people want to know is if Expedia is reliable or not. For this, we took a look at the company’s ratings and reviews on ConsumerAffairs (rating: 3.7/5) as well as the Better Business Bureau (rating: 1.05/5). Before we delve into the details, it’s important to remember that these sites aren’t limited to only the flight aspect of Expedia and that people also leave ratings and reviews for all the other services that they offer and this definitely affects the end result that you see.

Several of the reviews with glowing commentary are relating to Expedia Flights; for example, consumers feel confident that Expedia will find them the best price airlines offer when looking for flight deals. Also, very few consumers report problems with airlines recognizing flights booked through Expedia (believe me, this is a problem with other online travel companies: many people have shown up at the airport only to be turned away saying their ticket isn’t recognized).

The problem with Expedia Flights lies mostly in making changes or canceling your flight. People have found it difficult to cancel or make changes to their flight plans in several instances; some people can’t make changes to their plans online or through the app, though they should be able to. Others have found that promises of no-cost fees and cancelations do in fact come with some hidden fees sometimes. Problems also include reaching customer service, with many people commenting that wait times to talk to a live agent are three hours and upwards.

My personal experience has always been great, but keep in mind that I’ve never had to change or cancel a flight. I once found a ticket from Washington, D.C. to Sri Lanka for $580 on Expedia when everyone else was offering round-trip tickets for $800 and higher. It wasn’t on unknown airlines with long transit times either; I flew Qatar Airways and only had a two-hour layover in Doha. I’ve used Expedia for tons of domestic flights with no issues too.

All in all, Expedia is a legitimate and trustworthy site to book flights, though their reliability is questionable when it comes to making changes or cancellations. They work with hundreds of airlines around the world and their brand is highly recognized in the industry.

Is it better to book through Expedia or the airline directly? Is Expedia Flights the best website for last minute flight deals?

To answer this question truthfully, I think it depends on the instance. I’ve sometimes found some flights to be cheaper or shorter on Expedia and other times the booking directly with the airline gave me a better offer.

To prove my point, I searched for direct flights from IAD to DOH for the same dates on Expedia and directly on the Qatar Airways website. Using the departure times, I found the same exact non-stop, round-trip flight on both websites. Both ticket prices were exact, coming to $2,489.94, and included the same luggage allowance, additional costs for seat selection, and additional fees for changes or cancellations. The only benefit to using Expedia is that it showed me several other options for the dates and location I chose that were cheaper; yes, I’ll have to use multiple airlines and have one or two layovers, but the end price was $1,317 and they even said there were no fees if I had to change my flight for any reason.

So, really, it depends on what matters most to you. If it’s non-stop flights or a prestigious airline that matters to you, I would go directly with the airline so that you can avoid the hard-to-reach customer service at Expedia in case you have to make a change. If low cost is your biggest focus, I’d opt for Expedia so that you can see all the different ways for you to get from point A to point B.

Is booking through Expedia worth it? What makes Expedia better than other travel booking sites?

Like we just saw with all the IAD – DOH ticket variations, booking through Expedia is definitely worth it if keeping your costs low is important to you. They save you so much time and energy by scanning all of the airline offers available and giving you so many options to choose from.

Whether Expedia is better than other travel booking sites is debatable. The website is very easy to use and has a layout that puts everything within eyesight, so you don’t have to spend ten minutes trying to figure out how to change your departure date. Other features are the basics that you’d come across in any online travel website; the homepage asks for your departure and arrival destinations and your departing and returning date. You can also choose from round-trip, one way, and multi-city flights.

Once you click ‘Search’, the results come up in an easy-to-understand list. On the left, you’ll find an array of filters you can apply to trickle the results down to exactly what you want. Options include flexible change policies, the number of stops, airlines, and departure and arrival time frames. That last filter is super helpful for travelers like me who can’t stand waking up early to go to the airport and prefer afternoon or evening flights.

Can you get scammed on Expedia?

Expedia is a publicly listed company that has gone through numerous acquisitions and growth since it was founded in 1996. To present, the Expedia Group comprises 200+ travel sites and they have relationships with nearly three million properties as well as over 500 airlines, cruise lines, and car rental companies. They are present in over seventy countries and have proven themselves as leaders who paved the way for the online travel industry.

There could be unread fine print which some customers don’t pay attention to and then feel as though they’ve been scammed in certain instances, but legally, you cannot get scammed by Expedia.

Does Expedia have a rewards program?

Yes, they do. Expedia Rewards is a service offered at absolutely no cost. Join the program has many benefits, especially if you’re a frequent flyer. Some of the benefits include an additional 10% discount on hotel bookings and savings on flights, packages, rental cars, and excursion tickets. You’ll also earn Expedia points in addition to airline miles for every trip; these points can be used for discounts or upgrades on future purchases. The more you use their rewards program, the more benefits there are; once you reach VIP status, you can get perks like spa credits and free wifi.

You can also choose to apply for an Expedia Rewards Voyager Credit Card from Citi. There are usually special offers that include an additional 50,000 points for applying and maximized rewards for each purchase.

Does Expedia have a mobile app?

Expedia does have a mobile app that is free to download from the App Store and on Google Play. Using the app gets you up to an additional 30% savings on hotel bookings, 2x points, and in-trip notifications on changes and delays.

How can I reach Expedia customer service?

I was able to reach options for Expedia customer service on both my laptop and on the app. You’re first given the option of working with a virtual agent which can help with problems such as canceling your trip, making changes to your trip, asking about a refund, and anything else you may have concerns over. Finding an email, a phone number, or the option to chat with a live agent is a completely different story. If it wasn’t for Google, I’d probably still be searching for it when I’m 80. I’m sure that these details are hidden somewhere on the website and the app, but Expedia has made it clear that they’d like people to use their virtual agent as much as possible. Google lists (877) 227-7481 as Expedia’s customer service number but there aren’t any available email addresses. I can understand the frustration people may have when trying to reach customer service in a tight situation, such as right before a departing flight.

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If you’ve used Expedia to purchase tickets for past or even upcoming travel plans, let us know how your experience was by voting thumbs up or thumbs down on the upper right hand corner of this page.

David Jones

I am a professional travel writer and travel enthusiast who traveled the world twice, so I am sharing my firsthand knowledge about everything related to travel and spending time abroad.