Europe String

I think Orbitz was the first online travel site I ever booked through, years and years ago, but recently it has been frustrating me. Not quite enough to keep me away when their fares pop up as the lowest on Kayak or Sidestep, though. I usually end up booking plane tickets through Orbitz at least a few times a year, but I have a real love/hate relationship with the site.

Things I like about Orbitz:

• They’ve been around for a while and are well-established, so I can feel safer about giving my money to them than to a new fly-by-night travel website.
• Sometimes they really do offer great fares that I can’t find anywhere else online. For example, I just bought tickets to Amsterdam from Orbitz, because the Orbitz price was $100 less than the next cheapest option displayed by Kayak. That’s a big savings!

Things I hate about Orbitz:

• If you don’t add a frequent flyer number when you make your purchase, you have to wait and do it at the airport when you fly. One more thing I have to remember on the day of travel…
• They are very sneaky about trying to add in a 30-something dollar ‘trip insurance’ to your trip. Vigilantly check your billing total each and every page during the purchase process!
• Sometimes I am offered a great price all the way through the point when I click ‘buy now’… and then suddenly the price gets re-calculated and the same tickets are no longer a good deal at all. Big waste of my time.

What has your experience with Orbitz been? Do you ever use the site?

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