Is Paying Extra with OTA Worth It?

lovafo on 26/12/2024 - 12:11
Last edited 26/12/2024 - 13:10 by 1 other user

Hi all, I'm looking at flights with Fiji Airways from Australia to the US for May next year for my whole family of 5 and I am comparing the costs between booking with an OTA (Aunty Betty is the cheapest right now) vs booking with Fiji Airways directly.

I have read the reviews and also comments on here about these OTAs and I am aware of the risk and hassles when I need to change or cancel the flights. I have personally booked with OTAs in the past a few times and had no issues as I did not have to make any change to the flights.

This time due to the number of people traveling and the costs involved I'm not sure if it's worth paying extra money with the OTAs to buy their cancellation protection or just rely on my travel insurance to cover the costs if that happens.

Currently the price per person with the OTA without cancellation protection is $140 cheaper than with protection.

Same ticket with Fiji Airways directly is $150 more expensive than the OTA price without cancellation protection or $650 more expensive with cancellation protection plus 1 extra bag (which we don't really need).

If we go with no cancellation protection, we can save $750 total for 5 people booking with the OTA than with Fiji Airways and if we have to cancel then we use our travel insurance for that. If we have to change flights I think it costs about $300 pp fee with OTA and $150 pp with Fiji Airways.

What would you do if saving $750 to $3,250 booking with OTA vs Fiji is a factor but not a must have if we already have travel insurance? Would be nice to use that money towards the holiday if it makes little difference when we have to cancel the holiday.

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Comments

  • sumyungguy on 26/12/2024 - 12:14

    Does your cancellation protection cover change of mind?

    • lovafo on 26/12/2024 - 12:32

      we won't change our mind that's for sure, the only times we need to cancel is due to unforeseen circumstances like sickness. I don't believe any travel insurance would cover change of mind anyway

      • sumyungguy on 26/12/2024 - 12:45

        Just making sure you're aware date changes cost $150 plus the fare difference which is usually huge.

  • Downvoter on 26/12/2024 - 12:38

    Ohhh yuck. Book direct with airlines

  • 6079 Smith on 26/12/2024 - 13:04

    I’d be amazed if the cancellation protection covered anything more than Aunt Betty’s own cancellation fee

    If the carrier price is within 5-10% of the OTA I’ll usually book direct for piece of mind

    • lovafo on 26/12/2024 - 14:42

      on their website it says 100% refundable in the listed events

      • 6079 Smith on 26/12/2024 - 15:09
        +1

        What are the events cos the T&Cs I can see seem to imply that they’ll only refund for stuff that’s likely covered by travel insurance

        “Cancellation Protection is valid only with a doctor's certificate sent to us within five working days of cancellation. The doctor's certificate must be completed by a doctor and must bear the name, contact telephone number and stamp of the doctor. A copy of the doctor's identification must be enclosed if no stamp is available. The doctor's certificate must state the examination date, examination results, diagnosis and the fact that you are unable to travel.“

  • Hellfire on 26/12/2024 - 13:32

    Ive used aunt betty a bunch of times and its been fine. One time the airline cancelled one of my flights about 2 weeks out and i had to really push aunt betty to book my on an alternative flight (with the same airline), took 4 or 5 calls but it was sorted in the end.

  • coffeeinmyveins on 26/12/2024 - 14:01

    if it's worth paying extra money with the OTAs to buy their cancellation protection or just rely on my travel insurance to cover the costs if that happens.

    Does your travel insurance cover cancellations? I doubt it.

    You can certainly "double insure" yourself with some of these policies but they aren't all created equal.

    If your own travel insurance covers cancellation then why would you even be asking here what to do? You'd have booked it by now.

    Read the T&Cs and decide.

    • lovafo on 26/12/2024 - 14:39

      yes my travel insurance covers cancellations, it's quite common to have cancellations included unless you choose the very basic cover.

      The reason I'm asking is dealing with the agent/airlines themselves when cancellation or change of flights is required is a direct interaction rather than having to go through the insurer after the event has happened. Having the flights changed or cancelled and refunded by the agent/arlines there and then instead of getting it reimbursed by the insurer is the main difference I'm looking at.

      If it was just me with one ticket I would book with the airlines, but when talking about $750-$3,250 difference for 5 people it's not a the same as $50-$100 especially that could easily cover the general expenses for the whole group during the trip

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