Is Expedia Trustworthy? Here’s Our Full Review

Expedia is a well-known online travel agency and third-party booking platform that allows users to book flights, hotel accommodations, and rental cars from various companies. However, the platform has received mixed reviews online, leaving some travelers wondering whether it is worth their time.

It’s no news that third-party travel booking sites are gaining immense popularity among avid travelers in the past few years. Whether it’s the accessibility of digital bookings or the cheap price offerings, online bookings now comprise one of the largest shares of the tourism industry revenue.

One of the main benefits of using Expedia is the convenience of booking all your travel arrangements in one place. The platform also often offers competitive prices and has the Best Price Guarantee for its flights, promising to refund the difference if you find a cheaper flight elsewhere.

Additionally, Expedia offers a wide range of options for car rentals from various companies, making it easy to find the best deal. However, some users have reported issues with Expedia customer service and difficulty canceling or changing bookings, leading to negative reviews. Whether Expedia is worth your time as a booking platform will ultimately depend on your experience and traveler priorities.

What’s better than visiting the destination of your dreams at the lowest price possible while confirming the booking through your fingertips? One of the most popular platforms in this regard has to be Expedia. 

Even with competitive giants like Booking.com and TripAdvisor, it has made a name for itself. However, you will find both praise and horror stories about the website through customer reviews when you search online. So, is booking through Expedia legit? Read this article to find out if Expedia is trustworthy to plan your next vacation. 

What is Expedia? 

Expedia is a third-party travel booking service founded by Microsoft in 2001. The company has many partners and subsidiaries that allow it to facilitate cheap bookings for its users. 

It started out as a modest flight booking service and slowly grew into a full-fledged online vacation planning portal. Today, it is one of the most high-rated sites on Trustpilot and Better Business Bureau.

You can find everything you need to book for your vacation, including flights, hotels, and even car rentals at your destination. Besides that, you can customize your search by entering different preferences and exceptional facilities. 

How to Use Expedia

The impeccable ease of use attracts avid vacationers to sites like Expedia. All you have to do is log into the website and start the booking process. The landing page design is highly intuitive. You’ll find a search bar right in front of you where you can specify your location, destination, and travel date. After that, click the search button to get the cheapest flights available. 

Similarly, you can navigate to dedicated search pages for hotels, car rentals, and complete vacation packages according to your preference. If you wish to personalize your search, you can click the filter icon and include additional facilities like extra baggage or complimentary breakfast in case of accommodation. 

Once you choose the flight or hotel you want to book, the website will give you a booking link for further confirmation.  The best part is the transparency provided by the platform. Before you book, check out verified guest reviews or go through high-resolution images to finalize your decision. 

However, if you have been through Expedia reviews before, you probably know that it has been accused of pressure-selling techniques in the last few years. Nevertheless, the company has responded to criticism and agreed to conduct business with more transparent offerings and transactions. 

But is Expedia a trustworthy site for frequent travelers and family vacationers? Read on to find out.

See Related: Best Websites for Cheap Flights and Hotels

Who is Expedia for? 

Before I get on with the discussion to conclude whether Expedia is trustworthy, you should know whether it fits you. Mainly, the website aims to make travel booking easy for users. So, if you’re a frequent vacationer traveling to exotic destinations with family or a businessman traveling for work, Expedia can make life significantly more accessible.

Besides the cheap listings, Expedia has a reward program and beneficial coupons, which you can collect over time and receive amazing discounts. 

If you plan to travel more than twice a year and stay loyal to the site, Expedia is certainly for you. Besides, Expedia is one of a few travel websites that let users pay in multiple currencies, even Bitcoin.

To make payments even more accessible, Expedia provides personalized credit cards to frequent users that don’t charge transaction fees. 

Ultimately, Expedia is an excellent option for frequent travelers and vacationers. It is possible to get a good deal even if you’re planning a one-time trip, but in this case, you’ll have to conduct thorough research across the internet to ensure you’re getting the best price. 

Key Features of Expedia

If the above section makes you want to try Expedia, you’ll want to know if Expedia is trustworthy for flights and if Expedia is good for hotel reservations. In this section, I have evaluated each travel product the website provides to help you make an informed decision. 

Expedia Flights

Expedia is most commonly used and well-known for its flight booking options. Mainly because the website has a massive database of flights to hundreds of destinations worldwide, you can get the cheapest flight reservation with your choice of facilities within a few clicks. 

Another attractive aspect of Expedia flight bookings is the Price Match Guarantee. This means the platform ensures that you get the lowest price for the flight of your choice and get refunded in the case of fluctuations. 

But is Expedia legit for flights when it comes to price guarantees? You see, you will have to pay an upcharge of anywhere from $5-$30 for every ticket if you opt for the Price Match Guarantee. 

On the plus side, you can claim the fluctuations in your itinerary up until six hours before your flight. This way, whenever the price of your booked itinerary goes down, you will get refunded through Expedia for the price difference. It’s a risk because prices may not go down or higher, but you can benefit from the website if they drop considerably. 

Expedia Hotels

Attributing its immense popularity, Expedia has tens of thousands of hotel partners across the world. Besides that, the website lets property owners list their properties as accommodation, like VRBO. 

All combined, these options make up around 28,000 available accommodations on Expedia. With the many options available, it is easy to wonder if Expedia is trustworthy while booking your accommodation. However, legit guest reviews are the most reliable aspect of Expedia hotel bookings. 

Along with the complete details and pictures of each option, you can check the experiences of verified guests who have stayed there before you. This way, you can judge the accommodation and see if the price is worth it. 

Similarly, if you are an upgraded member of the Expedia community, the website gives you the Best Price Guarantee for hotels. This means you will receive a $50 compensation from the website if you find the same hotel room for a lower price within 24 hours of booking. 

Expedia Car Rentals

Now that you have been through the flight and hotel booking options, it is time to discuss if Expedia car rental is legit.

First of all, the car rental service on Expedia is only available for US citizens. If you plan to travel domestically, you can book a car directly with reputable car rental companies to take you around your destination from the website before you land. 

Like hotel and flight booking services, Expedia car rental offers many choices. You can choose anything from compact vehicles to full-size luxurious rides, convertibles, and even vans as your rental car. 

You must specify your pick-up and drop-off options with your contact details and book a ride for your next vacation. Once you land at your destination, you can pick up your ride (or in some cases, have it delivered) and drive off to see famous landmarks or settle into your lodgings according to your preference. 

Expedia Vacation Packages

Expedia also offers vacation packages. These packages typically include round-trip airfare and hotel rooms and often include additional features such as a rental car, activities, and travel insurance.

Expedia offers various packages to destinations worldwide, allowing travelers to easily plan and book their dream vacation. Packages can be customized to fit the specific needs and preferences of the traveler, including the type of transportation, duration of stay, and budget.

Expedia also offers a Best Price Guarantee, ensuring travelers receive the best deal on their vacation package. By booking a vacation package with Expedia, travelers can save time and money while still experiencing all the excitement and adventure of a dream vacation.

Expedia Rewards Program

If you become a frequent user of Expedia, the website rewards you with statuses and points, which you can convert into discounts on further bookings. The question is, is Expedia trustworthy enough to provide beneficial loyalty programs? 

Its rewards program is arranged into three levels, blue, silver, and gold. These statuses will get you special treatment, such as extra drinks or lounge privileges on your flights and in your hotels, and award you points for every booking. 

Similarly, you can earn points and upgrade your status by purchasing specific accommodations, flights, and vacation packages. After that, you can use your points to get direct discounts or purchase coupons during your flight or hotel stay. 

However, you will have to spend thousands on the website to earn hundreds of rewards, so the program might seem insignificant to infrequent travelers. 

See Related: HotelTonight Review

Pros of Expedia

Now that you have a clear idea about the various aspects of Expedia, you probably know whether it is worth your trust or not. To give you a clear picture, I have listed down its main benefits at a glance. 

Cheaper Bookings

If you’re asking if Expedia is trustworthy, there is no doubt that it provides cheap booking options. According to Expedia’s claims, you can save around 43% on Expedia bookings compared to conventional travel agents. You can also use the Expedia app to book the cheapest flights or your next hotel room on the platform on the go.

See Related: VisitorsCoverage Review: Is It Legit?

Accessible Payment Plans

The best part is that you don’t have to pay your entire amount while booking. Instead, Expedia lets you pay for your bookings in monthly installments leading up to your vacation. 

This makes it easier for people traveling on a tight budget to plan the vacation of their dreams.

Trip Insurance

Expedia is easily a one-stop shop for all your traveling needs. Apart from flights and accommodation, you can purchase insurance for trip cancellations as an Expedia member and cover your trip. 

Make sure to read the insurance policy carefully before signing up. However, it covers all the essential aspects like flight cancellation, hotel booking protection, car rental insurance, and package protection. 

Most importantly, all insurance plans are covered by Transamerica Casualty Insurance Company, making them reliable. 

Last-Minute Bookings

If you’re a spontaneous traveler who doesn’t like to plan your vacation months, Expedia has the ultimate options for you. You can get the cheapest flight and hotel deals and book them as late as 14 days before your trip. 

Cons of Expedia

On the other hand, there are some drawbacks to using Expedia, which you should know if you’re wondering if Expedia is trustworthy. I have compiled the main turn-offs of the website in this list to give you an honest representation. 

Shady Cancellation Policies

While all other operations on the Expedia website are significantly easy, it is quite difficult to cancel your booking. 

If you cancel your booking within 24 hours of confirmation, you won’t have to pay any fee to the website. However, if you cross the time limit, you will have to pay a cancellation fee if you haven’t purchased insurance from the platform. 

But money isn’t the only concern. Once you cross the 24-hour threshold, you will have to meet hotel or flight cancellation deadlines, and those fees will fall onto you, which is easy to miss even if it is mentioned in the terms beforehand. Be sure to fully understand the terms of any booking you make through Expedia.

Website Ads

While using the Expedia website, a significant turn-off was the insane amount of ads on the platform. These ads add to the hassle of navigating the overcrowded website and make it challenging to tell legit deals from fake ones. 

Inefficient Customer Support

When you’re booking your entire vacation with a single website, you will need one-on-one support. Unfortunately, user reviews show that Expedia customer support responses are pretty delayed. 

Customer Complaints

There are many customer complaints regarding the Expedia user experience on the internet. Luckily, most revolve around lagging customer service rather than problems regarding flight and hotel bookings. 

See Related: Booking.com Review

Is it Safe to Book Through Expedia?

Yes, it is absolutely safe to book through Expedia. Expedia is one of the most trusted travel booking websites out there. Millions of people use Expedia every year to book their flights, hotels, and other travel arrangements, and there have never been any major safety concerns.

Expedia is a massive company with an excellent reputation, so you can rest assured that your booking will be in good hands.

Plus, if you have any problems with your booking, Expedia has a 24/7 customer support team who will be happy to help you. So go ahead and book your next vacation through Expedia – you’ll be in good hands!

How Trustworthy Is Expedia? 

In concluding this discourse, it is time to answer the ultimate question, is Expedia trustworthy? After evaluating all its features and the pros and cons, it is evident that Expedia is trustworthy and, therefore, worth a try. 

But remember, there is a certain amount of risk involved whenever you conduct travel bookings online, rather than directly from the airline, rental car company, or hotel. That is why there are some aspects you should keep in mind while booking hotels and flights through Expedia. 

Firstly, always conduct your due diligence regarding flight details and accommodation sites. Secondly, save your booking confirmation and travel details to claim your refund in case of a mishap. 

And lastly, beware of scam emails and advertisements from such websites. You can use the website safely if you stay clear of the shady aspects. 

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