Book Direct or with a 3rd Party like Expedia?

One of the big questions in travel is if you should buy your plane tickets or hotels direct from the provider or if you should use a third party like Expedia or Skyscanner. Well, you can find great deals on third party websites, but there may be issues if things go awry. That is why we typically buy direct from airlines or hotels for that piece of mind.
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[TripHacksDC]

Oh boy I could go on for an hour on this topic 😂 Always book direct! Airfare, hotels, tours, everything. Thanks for educating, Mark!

[phillipbranch]

I used Expedia to book a trip to Australia four years ago. On the day of my departure, the plane that was supposed to take me to Dallas blew a tire upon landing. The airline (American) couldn't get the tire changed in time for us to catch our connecting flights in Dallas. I was given a toll free number to call AA. I explained the situation to the agent and gave her the itinerary number. Even though the trip was booked through Expedia, the agent was able to push everything back 24 hours so it all worked out.

[sunsetatshabooms]

Direct. No matter how fun, there is always a little stress with travelling. I just feel like booking 3rd party, you're upping the amount of stress and chances for there to be a problem. I want the least amount of problems possible for my trip. Sometimes problems happen but I don't want to set the scene for problems.

[carolync]

Totally agree. Search on sites but ALWAYS book direct.

[jerryschippasr]

I have had the exact situation you’ve described happen to me with 3rd party bookings. Over the years I have
Watched your channel and appreciate how practically useful they are, thank you. Great job!

[taybak]

Hi Mr. Wolters, I recently saw your videos on Strasbourg, Colmar, Normandy and really enjoyed the jovial vibe, wealth of useful info and the great photography. I love Europe and your videos on Europe are some of the best! Now I've watched this video and am glad I did, because I mostly booked from 3rd parties, but will now book direct from airlines. Thank you!

[jamieedquid]

Hey man great videos. I just discovered your page yesterday while trying to get tips for Lisbon.
I’m from LA and when I travel in the continental US, I book direct.
Traveling to Europe is another story. I usually do multi-cities when I go and it can be a headache searching directly. I’ve been using TripMasters for a few years now and never had a problem. I get my flights, hotels and trains in one search. Happy travels!

[alilalani]

I get Expedia points without being loyal to an airline or hotel. I pay a cheaper rate (decent price, although bottom of the bin is an option), and I get equal points regardless of what chain of hotel / airline I take. Expedia points work with my credit card and work for every trip, so if there’s no Marriott close to my destination, I can book a Hilton and collect the same rewards.

The customer service problem is blown way out of proportion. Airline and hotels are legally obligated to fulfill their contract with you. When you buy from Expedia you still sign a contract with the provider. As for refunds, let your Credit Card company help you.

[PrimeTimeTravelers]

Great help! I hope all these cancellations haven't affected any of your travels! Stay warm!

[slapurmom]

Thank you that was very informative you definitely said some things that I wasn't aware of.

[mikes]

Glad you mentioned hotels too. We booked a Hampton Inn via travelocity or expedia (can’t remember which) and had plumbing issues. We went to front desk to ask for their “if we can’t make it right, we’ll refund that portion of the bill”. They said sorry-no can do.
From then on, we always do air and hotels direct. But use the 3rd parties like you to shop.

[johnneiberger]

I'm the opposite. I always use Expedia and/or Kiwi. Of course, I don't travel as much as Wolter's World does. Not even close! But I love having my entire itinerary in one place, booked by the same third-party, so I have one place to go for customer service issues. I also like that they're so good at dealing with issues that arise. As one example, we had a connecting flight in Kyiv a few years ago that was delayed by 9 hours. Kiwi alerted me to it and contacted me directly to work with scheduling new connecting flights and setting up a hotel room in New York since this changed caused us to miss a connecting flight there. It was great that they handled everything for me and did it flawlessly. It was about as stress-free as it could be.

[spqrbc]

For me, I simply go for the best and cheapest price out there. Whether it’s direct, 3rd or even 4th party is irrelevant. I think of my pocket.

[maril]

Thanks for advice. Getting ready to book and wanted your advice! Thumbs up.

[diegoramos]

Booking directly is always more expensive

[georgiancrossroads]

Thanks Mark. Food for thought. I used Expedia in January for a flight from Tbilisi, Georgia, to Prague in late February. As you know this was a chaotic time for airline bookings. I lost $200 through multiple (3) cancellations and general insanity. And I never could recover this because Air France wasn't even answering their phone. So even if I had booked through Air France I would have lost the money. I am putting this down to the times. Expedia was actually good for finding me an alternative flight home when I had to reroute my trip. I was scheduled for a layover in Kiev on March 6th. I got a feeling 3 days before February 24th that I really should reschedule. I got a Pegasus Airlines flight through Istanbul, packed with Russians fleeing Russia on their way to Tbilisi.

My location makes things odd, especially at that time. I took another flight to Germany through Expedia later in August. Things went smoothly. But due to the airline choices I have in Tbilisi, I am debating how I will book my flight back to Alaska to visit next year. The problem is booking multiple airlines, when there are no airline miles connections between Tbilisi and Paris. But I'm sure it will at least be interesting booking three or four flights to get there. Thanks again.

[atheistweirdo]

I would love to recommend Hopper for keeping track of your flights usually give you a good time when to buy and will give you notification when it's cheap and when it's expensive.

[wendydana]

Agreed! I had the worst experience with Hopper trying to get my money back when covid hit. Month after month trying to get a refund and finally opened a case with the BBB (Better Business Bureau, US) Only then did they give me my money. I learned my lesson and make sure to book direct. As you suggested I use Expedia to search for flights but no longer would book 3rd party.

[dantheman]

Good advice, especially with all the recent flight delays and cancellations. I have booked both ways in the past and never had any issues, 3rd Party is sometimes cheaper for hotel and flight packages….

[stanislas]

Totally agree. I know that sometimes it could be cheaper with a third party, but I always book directly, flights and hotels. 
For airlines miles and any problem that might occur, if you need to change your flight or hotel reservation, ect...