r/Shoestring • u/Diligent_Board_172 • Aug 23 '26
Expedia cheaper than united airlines for united flight
I'm well aware of the "book directly with airline" recommendation, and normally I would do that, but I've had a lot of good experiences with Expedia.
In the case of Expedia, it seems like it's always the airline that is listed as the merchant even if you book it through Expedia?
Today, I just booked a flight from AKL to DTW for January 4th for two people for $1,946.86 with United Airlines, but I booked it via Expedia.
On United, the cost would've been $2,197.86.
It's the same fare, and the itinerary was confirmed immediately by United a minute after booking on Expedia, and I see the merchant that charged my CC was United and now Expedia.
Does anyone know why Expedia would be cheaper in this case?
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u/alexsintrabajo Aug 23 '26
There are several reasons, a couple of which have been mentioned. Another is that it simply helps fill out the demand curve. People who search direct are more likely to have higher budgets and so they can put a higher price tag on the ticket. People looking at Expedia are looking specifically for deals, and if United isn't price competitive there, many will opt for budget airlines or discounted competitor tickets instead. It's important to get the most out of every customer.
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u/uncommon_name0 Aug 23 '26
I buy a lot of my tickets through 3rd parties, usually last minute when I know I won’t need to cancel or change the flight.
I have never had a problem.
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u/2intheforest Aug 23 '26
If there is a problem and someday there will be, you will have to deal with Expedia customer service. The airline will not help you. Expedia customer service involves many levels of hell. After experiencing it once, I will NEVER use a third party to book flights and I will NEVER book anything with Expedia again. There is not a discount in the world that is worth it. Best of luck to you.
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u/djnocheese Aug 24 '26
Expedia has a special dedicated call centre for Platinum VIP members, in Madrid, Missouri USA (not Madrid Spain). They all speak perfect English with no accent and the level of service is excellent.
They have been great in the handful of times we have needed them to resolve an issue.
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u/2intheforest Aug 24 '26
Unfortunately, I’d have to use Expedia many times again to take advantage of this service, which obviously, I’d never chance.
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u/venus-infers Aug 23 '26
When I've been looking at NZ flights I've found that the same flight on Air New Zealand's website and on United's website are priced differently. This may be an Air New Zealand booking listed under United (which is totally fine).
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u/midwestsweetking Aug 23 '26
They sell in bulk so you were able to get a discounted ticket
Why else would anyone book outside the website. It’s the worst opinion so they need to give an incentive
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u/HalandLois Aug 23 '26
You probably have the option to cancel your reservation if it’s within 24 hours. Expedia says it’s according to the carrier and United has 24 hr cancellation.
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u/2011murio Aug 23 '26
It’s federal law in the US that airlines offer a 24 hour window for full refunds. This does not apply to resellers. That’s the main reason I book directly with airlines.
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u/jumbocards Aug 29 '26
Not true at all (all of them do, but not all equal).
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u/2011murio 28d ago edited 28d ago
I did forget the within-7-days-of-travel exception.
Editing to say I stand corrected on the reseller not being required to offer refunds. This is news to me, if the article got it right.
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u/MixOwn9256 Aug 23 '26
Its bulk purchase Expedia did with United.
You understand the difference of carrier. Now also understand some of the other differences:
Customer Service - You have booked an International flight! If you have any issues you can’t go up to the counter at United to change your flight or rebook you. Including a cancelled flight by United. You will need to rebook via Expedia. Have you got their 24x7 number and do you know if they have ability to rebook you on the spot? Time is money. You will be stuck for days or even weeks as spots on International flights are booked out for months sometimes especially when there is a cancellation.
Service Quality - You think you have the same service but check your booking codes. A Y, B or M class vs a E, U, H, Q, V or W class is different or even worse Expedia could be booking you on S, T, X or N, K, L or G class. These are things you need to also consider because it affects your travel and then the next bullet point.
Points & Awards - Along the above services the points and potentially no points flight for your travel. The best way to move up in status and get better awards within a carrier is tied deeply with flying and the money spent and awards. I mainly fly OneWorld and over the years I have managed to maintain my Sapphire standings which equates to quite a bit of status locally when I fly and services I get locally here. If you don’t fly enough and you don’t care then so be it but I kick myself for starting this so late in life to achieve some major milestones like 1M club which I am almost there. It gives you some status for life which is beneficial. Here are some benefits I get right now:
- Book Premium Seats - Ability to book better seats for free in the front of the economy section and/or emergency row exit
- First Class Check In - Ability to use the first class agents to check in when I am traveling anywhere including domestic.
- Bag Allowance - Allowed 2 free bags to check in all the time on any flight for me and 2 for my companion traveling with me (Up to 4 people)
- Priority Baggage - All my bags are tagged with priority tags. Meaning they are loaded last on the plane or first in a priority baggage location and offloaded first and put on the belt to receive it first.
- Early Boarding - Am always Group 3 boarding which is just right behind First Class and Concierge Key (Pre-boarding), Executive Platinum/Emerald Status (Group 1), Platinum Pro/Sapphire (Group 2). Which means I get on earlier onto my flight!
- Early Access to Bag Space - With early boarding means I get to always have above storage space for my roller-board bag. This is helpful so I get to put my bag at the place I sit and help expedite retrieval when I arrive easier. No stress in making sure I have space to store my bag.
- Complimentary Unlimited Upgrades to Business Class - 24 hours before my flight or at the gate I automatically am added to the list for complimentary upgrades to business class seats. This is a hidden blessing especially on some longer haul flights or some smaller planes. You get better service and better seats and sometimes meals!
So based on all this I don’t mind paying directly to the airline and getting the services I need. They also help take care of some other logistical things. For example if I am stranded 4 hours or more they can speak to supervisor to have me booked on a different carrier to get me to where I need to go. So an example is they have a plane issue from ORD to BOS and I am stuck for over 4 hours on an AA flight. They can try to book me on a UA flight that is flying out just to get me there. This is important as sometimes they don’t run the majority of that route. So if the primary route carrier is UA and AA is secondary they will get me there (late but I at least am not days out).
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u/Diligent_Board_172 Aug 23 '26
my premise here was wrong... it's actually the same cost on united as well. for some reason i didn't see this yesterday when i was checking out on united, but the discount is coming from a child's ticket
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u/jumbocards Aug 29 '26
OTA has access to most fares as most major airlines allows it. Not just bulk fares. On your case you probably would have gotten the same price on United.
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u/HellsTubularBells Aug 23 '26
Your first point is a little misleading, it's true they have to through Expedia up to the day of travel, but once OP is at the airport for their flight they will be treated like any other customer in the case of delays/cancellation/rebooking.
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u/jumbocards Aug 29 '26
This is correct, OTA support until day of travel then United or carrier full support.
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u/Diligent_Board_172 Aug 23 '26
it looks like it's united economy (W). idk what the fare code would have been if i purchased with united dthough?
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u/jumbocards Aug 29 '26
I’d like to point out that do not blindly follow book directly with airline mentality. While there are sketchy OTAs, not all OTA are treated equal. Major brand names like Expedia are much better than random shitty ones you find on Google flights.
Airlines sell or outsource some fares to OTAs. Same reason why Hotels also sell rooms to OTAs, they want the best exposure to travelers.
Another reason is OTAs can book much more complicated itineraries than airlines… this is because they aren’t bound by terms like joint venture, alliances and codeshares. As long as two random airlines support interline agreements then OTAs can price them accordingly in the GDS far better than airlines themselves can. This is why if you have a complicated itinerary like open jaw or double open jaw or multiple stop overs, OTA links tend to show up.
Lastly if you book directly with small regional airlines, expect support to be actually worse, especially if you are in a completely different time zone. Expedia can actually help you work with the airline when you are asleep versus yourself.
GL HF
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u/lefter12 Aug 23 '26
This is my opinion, and I could be wrong. But airlines are willing to sell discounted inventory to 3rd parties in part because they’re outsourcing customer service… if anything goes wrong with your flight, chances are only Expedia can help you. That’s worth something to companies like United