Any issues booking through Expedia?

I’ve seen several horror stories on Elliott.org.

The biggest problem is involving a third party. That makes refunds and changes more difficult as you have to go through Expedia. It also becomes difficult to get refund money back.

I’d contact the hotel directly to see what kind of deals they offer.

Unless you’re using a competent travel agent, booking direct is the way to go. Less opportunity for mix ups.

Thank you for your quick reply!
That is what I'm afraid of - some terrible horror story and I end up with no hotel room.
I have used the points and booking in the US without issue, but since I'm traveling solo, I'm a little bit nervous. Add to that the language barrier, and it makes me agree that perhaps just booking directly is best.
It's unfortunate, because using the points would save me over $600. But in the end, $600 isn't worth my peace of mind and safety.

I have booked many times with Expedia over the past decade or longer, and I have never had a problem. I don't always use them because sometimes I can get a better rate with the hotel, B&B, airline, car rental agency (etc.), but when I do book with Expedia, it's never an issue.
Edit: I just counted the different itineraries I have booked with Expedia since 2012: 25 booked things, and seven upcoming things.

A competent travel agent??? Haha

I’ve not used a travel agent since my honeymoon 30+ years ago. I try to book direct with the property if possible but if not then I book with any reputable travel website including Expedia and Agoda and Yeego etc.

The Chase travel portal uses Expedia as it’s booking engine. I used it last November for my European flights. It worked fine without any issues.

If you’re worried you can always check with the hotel you book. Call or email them about a week before your arrival date to see if they have your reservation. That way you have time to contact Expedia if there are any issues.

If they are hotel points why aren't you going through the hotel chain's website?

Sorry, just realized you said credit card points. It's too bad the credit card companies make those so hard to use...they sure don't put that in their ads.

But in the end, $600 isn't worth my peace of mind and safety.

Really? That's a quite chunk of money to place on 100% certainty (I am not sure what safety has to do with it, there's nothing unsafe about booking with Expedia). Expedia has millions of users - just like airlines, you will see complaints (hyperbolic "horror stories"), but it wouldn't survive if the majority of people had a horrible experience with it. Most transactions are totally mundane and go off without a hitch - any changes in the reservation are made by the actual operator, not Expedia (but you will have to deal with them if there are snafus). I've used it many times without incident.

I would use those points and not worry about it. It seems like you're conflating nervousness about traveling solo into making a practical decision that frankly doesn't carry enough risk to warrant foregoing $600 in points.

I don't think the credit card company is making it hard to use the points, it's just patently obvious that they have a financial partnership with Expedia so they're only allowing you to book through their platform. If you object to this arrangement, you should probably ditch that card and get another one (that is platform agnostic) since you won't be getting value out of the points. By the way, AMEX and Southwest both have a similar issue - to get savings from their rewards programs, I have to book through their platform. If it's beneficial to me, I have no issues doing so.

I use Expedia frequently and have never had an issue. It is a major company, not a fly-by-night.

I use Expedia since 2010; my first time was to Egypt. Never a problem. It is pretty solid.
Nothing is hundred percent.

I've never used Expedia for overseas travel, but I have used them in the past for specific sites. I have found them to be reliable. If I were looking at using points on an Expedia trip overseas, I'd pay the most attention to the hotel reviews. Reputable hotels should present no issues, regardless of how the room is booked.

And always print out a copy of your reservation with the phone number to call if there are any problems. I find that's something like carrying an umbrella on a rainy day!

Have a wonderful trip!

I've used Expedia for over 15 years, for flights to Europe and domestic ones; for hotels, apartments, and car rental.
Only one problem when a flight was changed,.
They fixed it almost right away.

For Americans and Canadians considering a trip combining London and a destination on the continent, I suggest checking out EasyJet's air/hotel packages. I haven't taken one, but I stumbled on the information on the EasyJet website last year and thought the packages had potential for travelers considering London + Rome or the like.

Look, Expedia is 100% legit. But anytime you use a third-party, you are one step removed from the vendor, and there are higher (if still small) chances that there will be changes and cancellations. Any time you pay significantly less money than other buyers are paying, you have to consider the possibility that you will get (for example) a smaller room or later aircraft boarding or worse seats. And when something goes wrong, you may have less leverage when you ask for a remedy.

Just because a booking is easy to do and cheap does not mean that it is always the best or the natural way to book. Thus is partly generational, I recognize. I have sometimes found Expedia to offer a single night when a hotel's own site offers only 3-night minimums. That could be a compelling reason to use Expedia. But I still feel faint unease until I get there.

Thank you all for your comments.
The hotel is one recommended by Rick Steves in his Barcelona book - so I'm sure it's a nice hotel - although it's listed as one of the most expensive. That is the reason I wanted to use the Chase credit card points - that and because they are just going unused at this point. I booked a cheap flight on Norwegian Air, so I had plenty of money in the budget for a hotel, but was just a little concerned about using a third-party.

It seems most people have had no issues, and my dad actually recommended to call and confirm (as others have).

Thank you all again!

Any time you pay significantly less money than other buyers are
paying, you have to consider the possibility that you will get (for
example) a smaller room or later aircraft boarding or worse seats. And
when something goes wrong, you may have less leverage when you ask for
a remedy.

The issue is that folks claim this, but there is no data out there to support it - it just seems like a perception. There is always a bias in the saying "you get what you pay for" - it's not universally true and people overpay for many things and equate higher cost with more value, better service, etc. Some people (like me) don't care about getting a smaller room for a much lower price or to be able to sit on the aircraft longer and inhale the stale air. A $600 tradeoff is still a $600 tradeoff.

Agnes, I have experienced being put “at the end of the [huge] line” for a cancelled non-revenue flight. (Award mileage travel.) I can’t prove that refusal to upgrade my room, or startlingly finding it available at 9:30 AM had anything to do with booking it directly. It could be being polite and well-dressed!

Just an update for anyone who was wondering...
I did book through my Chase credit card - who uses Expedia. This ended up saving me $787 - so I am really happy.
I am traveling solo, so I deliberately chose a single room with a twin bed, but opted for an upgrade for a balcony.
That way, if I do decide that I need to take a break, I can always relax on the balcony, instead of inside the tiny room.
If I have any issues with the booking, I promise to update this post for future readers.

Keep in mind you very well could have booked through Expedia before, without knowing it.

TripAdvisor uses the Expedia booking engine; BedandBreakfast.com, Hotwire, HomeAway, orbitz, hotels.com, Travelocity, trivago are all Expedia sites (and that’s far from the complete list).

The issue is that folks claim this, but there is no data out there to support it - it just seems like a perception. There is always a bias in the saying "you get what you pay for" - it's not universally true and people overpay for many things and equate higher cost with more value, better service, etc.

Talk to most motel franchise operators and they'll relate their own horror stories regrading booking sites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, etc.. If you're in the travel industry, you're reliant on booking sites and positive reviews, people will always chase the lowest possible price. What CAN happen is those customers may inadvertently feel the frustration of the property owner and their displaced anger. To the OP, if you're booking using your Ultimate Rewards points, you should be fine, Chase and Expedia are major partners and one isn't going to risk disappointing the other's members due to poor service. Just review the trip insurance booking coverage your card has.

As for the perception that higher cost = better service/location/amenities, in the most general sense, it's true, however, you've got to know the difference between properties/services and weigh it against your priorities. Are you paying more because of more sq footage, nicer bath, location, A/C, same size room but quiet section, etc...

Stopped using Hotwire entirely. But that is another very long and tangled story. Expedia has been very good to us so long as we had never needed to use their "Customer Service."

However on our current trip planning, Expedia has been a nightmare to work with. This might be because we are doing an open jaw using three different airlines; Lufhansa, Air Canada and United. Yet, this kind of complicated coordination is exactly why any one would use Expedia in the first place. First problem occurred when we would get all the the way to the end of selecting Departure and Return just to get an "Experiencing Technical Difficulties - Try Later." notice which we kept getting for a full 24 hours. So we called "Customer Service," which was an absolute fail. Remember the Monty Python Skit of the Cheese Shop? That is what this turned in to. The "Rep" said he had our # literary on screen, had him repeat the number, which was correct but he, kept saying we were going to entirely different airports, and I spent 20 minutes running through all the Three Letter Airport designations, Airlines, Dates and Passenger List: He kept saying that MRS (Marselle Airport) was in Texas, USA. :) So we knew he wasn't looking at our itinerary cause MRS is on the itinerary as Marselle. I bid this person a good day and hung up. So we booked a slightly different set of flights and that itinerary got through with out a hitch. This was a back up plan if the prior, preferred itinerary had sold out. The next day we were able to book the first flight plan, and also cancel the back up plan. But...... one passenger's name was misspelled. So back to Customer Service on-line to do the name correction. Filled it all out to a T, including the passport photo. But their system would not confirm receiving the update, which has to be done in a timely manner. Tried doing this for 24 hours. And No Go even after waiting 1/2 hour for the servers to respond. So back to calling the Customer Service Number. Got the same guy we had called before. I hung up immediately. Rechecked and re-looked up what the official Customer Service Number was. It was the same number. Called that number and got the same guy again that didn't seem to know anything. Again tried the on-line correction method and this time it confirmed that the update got through. But as of one week later, our on-line itinerary has the same misspelled passenger name. So I'll have to call all three of these airlines individually to make the name correction. Well, there you have it. Its my opinion now, that Expedia does not have a functioning Customer Service Operation. :)