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Posted by
3 posts

Thank you for the link. They have a high BBB rating but after reading the link you sent I wont be using them.

Posted by
636 posts

I wouldn't be trusting business ratings from the BBB.

Posted by
2744 posts

I simply cannot understand why, with all the information her (and other places) anyone would consider buying airline tickets from other than the airline…

Posted by
2745 posts

The main reason people buy with these brokers is they think they found the cheap airfare fairy (she’s a myth she does not exist)

But since an earlier poster thinks, the Better Business Bureau is not enough to hurt you from booking with the shoddy broker

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tourist-scams/beware-of-asap-tickets

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k13453118-ASAP_Tickets-Air_Travel.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k14508692-ASAPTickets_is_a_scam-Air_Travel.html

Posted by
2743 posts

Companies pay to belong to BBB. It is not independent research. If the company gets enough bad ratings in time BBB will lower the rating. BBB ratings are not to be trusted. But they can be used as a research tool.
After all the complaints about ticket vendors here and elsewhere, buy only direct, from the airline. If you use a ticket vendor know what your getting and that you may not have recourse.
EDIT: remember my travel agent in 2017? She had a AAA BBB rating. Until she stole a lot of people’s money and went to jail.

Posted by
6788 posts

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to our life its highest beauty and joy.

But There Is NO Cheap Airfare Fairy. NONE.

There are, however, plenty of self-serving scammers, fraudsters, charlatans, liars, cheats, spammers (is that redundant?) and slick-looking websites that prey upon those who are desperate to try and save a few bucks or euros on a flight. So why do people continue to believe in the Cheap Airfare Fairy?

Well, in addition to all the reasons people fall for other scams, there may be another reason: back in your father's day (or maybe your grandfather's?), there actually were things called "bucket shops." These were real, (mostly) functional businesses (often in places like Athens, or the low-rent districts in other big cities) that really did gain access to lots of "unsold" flight tickets, and would sell them at a discount. They were popular with students, backpackers, and other cheapskates. This was way, way back in time, long before E-tickets, the Euro and border-free travel, back when Rick Steves had long hair and a giant backpack nearly as tall as him, when Pterodactyls filled the sky and Icelandic Airlines flew DC-6s with big, round, piston (propeller) engines from JFK to Luxembourg via Reykjavík, and there was (maybe, if you're lucky) a "no smoking section" on your flight. Oh, for the olde days...

"Bucket shops" for airline tickets are long gone (despite dishonest websites purporting to hawk things like "discount business class tickets"), replaced by...you guessed it...the internet, computers, and other modern technological conveniences that have connected everything together. Nowadays, smart travelers buy their tickets directly from the airline and save themselves lots of headaches (there will be enough headaches even if you get your tickets from them).

And, yes, Santa will of course still make his rounds every December 24 - count on it. But don't hold your breath waiting for the Cheap Airfare Fairy to come visit your house and hand out low-cost business class tickets to Rome at sunset on July 24th* – she went out of business in 1970 and retired to Goa.

(*July 25 is St. Christopher's Day - Saint Christopher, patron saint of travelers, so July 24th would be St. Christopher's Eve).

Posted by
8397 posts

. Dear OP, I can’t tell you how glad I am that you came here and asked this question before using a third party like ASAP tickets. We hear from so many people that have difficulties after they have purchased their tickets and then they post. You have saved yourself a great deal of potential issues.

Posted by
636 posts

But since an earlier poster thinks, the Better Business Bureau is not enough to hurt...

Hmm well...

I merely picked up on where the OP said

They have a high BBB rating...

The BBB is not a government agency. It's not a consumer protection or consumer advocacy agency. Their funding comes from dues paying business who receive "accreditation" after paying dues. I view that as a conflict of interest.