Low Price Guarantee Loopholes

When booking travel online, you may have seen a “low-price guarantee.” But with all the loopholes involved, these incentives may not be worth much.

The general idea is if you book travel and find a better deal on another Web site within 24 hours, the original site will refund the difference.

You may even get credit for future travel. But for starters, that cheaper alternative has to be available on a U.S.-based Web site, or it’s invalid.

With companies like Travelocity, Expedia and Priceline, the competing price must be available online to the general public.

So you can’t apply a military, retirement, or corporate discount on another site and then expect the refund. Then there’s the “apples-to-apples” rule.

You have to find the same exact flight, not just a similar route; that also applies to the class of room in hotel; or the same type of car through the exact rental company.

If you bought a packaged vacation, say air and hotel, each portion has to match up.

And lastly, the lower rate must be available online when claim your refund. With rates fluctuating throughout the day, that might not be the case.

So—as always—before you give over your credit card thinking you’re protected, take a few minutes to read the fine print.

For more, check out our Best Price Guarantees Can Be Tricky.

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