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CheapOAir

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5.5

Overall Score

Author: Kalicia Bateman

LAST UPDATED: March 30th, 2022

Founded in 2005, CheapOair is a travel booking site with a unique search engine that allows users to search over 450 airlines simultaneously to find the best possible ticket prices. CheapOair offers 24/7 customer service and is frequently featured in worldwide publications such as the New York Times, Travel and Leisure, and The Huffington Post. 

The company does not sell its own products or services, but rather partners with third-party vendors in the travel industry to provide a single travel booking location for customers. These vendors include airlines, hotels, transportation companies, experience providers, cruise lines, car rental agencies, tour operators, travel insurance providers, and more. If you are looking for a place to book your entire travel experience and make each reservation through one central travel site, CheapOair could be just the company for you.

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The Good

  • Technology
  • Travel Accommodations
  • Search Engine Functionality
  • Reviews
  • Competitive Rewards Plan
  • Customer Service Policies
  • Award-Winning Service

Technology

CheapOair has created an online travel agency platform that allows travelers to find affordable and complete vacation deals at a discounted rate. CheapOair gathers and filters travel information through its innovative data collection technology and presents the most relevant search results, making it an easy travel site for travelers to navigate and book their reservations.

Travel Accommodations

CheapOair allows travelers to book nearly every aspect of their pending travel online, over the phone, or through its mobile app. Those who use CheapOair to book their travel accommodations can reserve the following:

  • Flights
  • Hotels
  • Car rentals
  • Cruises
  • Vacations packages

CheapOair gives its customers the ability to book online or over the phone, though users should know that a service fee may be larger if booked over the phone. The company also offers forms of travel insurance for travelers who want it.

Search Engine Functionality

CheapOair's search engine functionality is one of the best in the industry. Many customers have reported that they saved money with a cheap flight by using this functionality. Other site features that travelers may find useful include the following:

  • Flight Watcher — Look for the cheapest flights at the most desirable departure/arrival times
  • Seat Selector — Pick and reserve your seat on designated flights with participating airlines
  • Trip Manager — After reserving trip accommodations like a vacation package, manage tickets and other booking details from a mobile device
  • Deal Browser — With mobile-exclusive deals, travelers can browse discounts on vacations and reservations

The site also offers a way to do a flight search with flexible travel dates. This feature helps users to find the best deal possible, three days before and after your selected travel date, and usually results in a cheaper flight. 

Reviews

Both CheapOair's online and mobile platforms allow users to read and conduct further research through the help of reviews. Reviews are left by travelers who have stayed in prospective hotels or traveled using specific airlines and can help customers narrow their search and find the best accommodations for their trip.

Competitive Rewards Plan

Customers can earn travel discounts and gift cards by consistently booking with CheapOair’s rewards program. Once you sign up, there is a tiered rewards points system. Users can earn more points per transaction with each successive booking. They can even get $25 for referring a friend. 

Rewards members get up to 20 percent off flights and up to 55 percent off hotel bookings, six times reward points for every booking, and an account history to easily reference your upcoming or previous reservations. 

Shoppers planning to return should know that you can earn two to six times more points when you book through the mobile app. 

A CheapOair credit card is also available to help earn points towards future airfare or reservations in addition to the rewards program. Both options, the CheapOair Visa Credit Card and the CheapOair Visa Signature Credit Card issued by Synchrony Bank, offer several benefits: 

  • Earn 1 Member Reward Point and 6 Credit Card Reward Points for every $1 spent with the card on CheapOair.com
  • Earn 4 points for every dollar spent on dining
  • Earn 2 points for every dollar spent anywhere else

Six months of special financing is also available. 

CheapOair Visa

  • Emergency card replacement
  • Emergency cash disbursement
  • Roadside dispatch

CheapOair Visa Signature

  • CheapOair Visa Benefits 
  • Lost luggage reimbursement 
  • Trip cancellation/interruption
  • Travel accident insurance

Cheapoair Customer Service Policies

Price match promise: A price guarantee allows users to make sure they are receiving the lowest prices on their travel itinerary. If you find a lower online price, the company will credit the difference on your next round trip flight ticket or hotel reservation made through the website. 

Flight and Hotel Inconvenience: If your flight is delayed for over an hour, you encounter baggage delays, or your luggage is lost, the company will issue each ticket holder a $5 coupon for future booking, for up to five people. 

CheapOair Promo Code: CheapOair will also offer a promo code for different reasons each day. Some examples include senior discounts, student discounts, and military discounts. Travelers can use a promo when booking to save a little more on an airline ticket.

Award-Winning Service

To add to CheapOair’s many accomplishments, the company has received countless awards since opening its doors in 2005. The company’s has received rewards for everything from customer service and the CheapOair App to tourism and business practices. Most recently, in 2020, a year without much travel needs, the company received two Gold Stevie Awards for its communication department and its product management team.

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The Bad

  • Limited Car Models
  • Customer Service and Fees
  • Rewards Restrictions
  • Cancellation Policy 

Limited Car Models

CheapOair doesn't have many options available when it comes to rental car models. Most of the cars offered are economy class, which doesn't give customers the option to select a more luxurious vehicle if they want to be a bit more comfortable during their ride. 

Customer Service and Fees

Even though CheapOair has tried to keep the feel of agency booking, it does cost to do this. CheapOair has 24/7 customer service, but the issue is, while getting immediate, human-based assistance, you may rack up some fees. It costs more money to book over a phone call with a booking agent than through the website, as well as a few other things, like cancellations or attaining a refund. Trips booked over the phone may incur more significant service fees. 

CheapOair charges service fees on its transactions: 

  • Air tickets up to $35 per passenger, per ticket
  • Hotel reservations up to $32 per night, per room
  • Car rental up to $25 per rental

The booking fees may be much more if you book over the phone with a customer support travel agent, choose specific vacation packages, upgrade to business class or first-class fare, or plan on multi-city airfare trips. Fees are also subject to change. 

Reward Restrictions

CheapOair does offer a rewards plan to those who enroll in its membership program (enrollment is free and can be completed entirely online). Still, there are some restrictions and a point system that travelers should be aware of. The point system is broken down as follows:

  • Flights — Earn 1 point per every $1 spent on a flight
  • Hotels — Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on a hotel room
  • Car rentals — Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on a car rental
  • Vacation deals — Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on trip "extras"

Points can be earned simply for signing up (up to 500 points upon enrollment), but a high number of points is required to save on hotel reservations. Further, points can only be redeemed on certain hotel chain reservations. 

Cancellation Policy

CheapOair and its contractors charge a cancellation fee ranging from $100 to $250, making it very expensive to cancel bookings and thus limiting the size of the refund you can get when you do cancel.

Most airline tickets available on CheapOair are non-refundable. It is up to the airline. If cancelation is approved, a credit can be put toward a future ticket. However, most of the time, this type of credit comes with an expiration date. So, if you don’t book within the proper time frame, your refund is gone. 

Additionally, most bookings and service fees are non-refundable after 24 hours. 

Trip protection can be canceled within 10 days of purchase if your travel hasn’t happened. 

Within 24 hours of booking, customers can contact a CheapOair representative to cancel and get a refund, but they will pay $50 in cancellation fees for domestic flights and $75 for international, first-class, or business class flights. After 24 hours, economy tickets cost $50 to cancel with a future credit, while business and first-class tickets cost $100 to cancel, with the rest being refunded to future credit. 

If you don’t want credit for a future flight, the cancellation fee is $100 for the domestic economy and $250 for international economy flights and all business and first-class tickets. Additionally, fees for changing your tickets range from $100 to $250. 

Special offers, discounts, or cancelation rates are available for military personnel, natural disasters, the bereaved, and the visually impaired. 

Cancellations with the company can only be handled over the phone with customer service or a cancellation request form. 

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The Bottom Line

CheapOair uses innovative data collection technology to help customers book several different travel accommodations, including flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and vacation packages. The company provides search engine functionality and traveler reviews to help users find exactly what they are looking for, so finding cheap tickets and hotel reservations are easy. CheapOair stands out from the competition because it has a vast network of resources thanks to its parent company Fareportal, which has been in business since 1976.

Joining CheapOair for the rewards program can help you get a great deal while getting the credit card offers you the opportunity to earn even more points towards future online booking savings.

However, if you do end up booking travel accommodations and then decide to cancel the reservation, you can expect to pay a steep fee. Also, CheapOAir's car models are limited, and its rewards program is somewhat restrictive. 

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Star Rating

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3.8

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475 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

52%

4 grade

18%

3 grade

5%

2 grade

2%

1 grade

23%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Quality

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Heidi Gajoch Strongsville, OH

One complaint about changing the flight information. I just wanted to check the amount of the flight for an economy plus seating and the other options, but I had to press the go back arrow and start again to find out how much each option was in order to make my final choice. It would've been easier to have the price available for each option. Maybe that can be an option added.

6 years ago

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Lotte Pedersen

I had problems with payment. I used 3 different credit cards, tat was all declined. I had to talk with your call center 4 times. But in the end I got to talk with a very nice man who assisted, and by breaking up the payment in 2 different portions then we managed. So the experience was mixed. Was very frustrated on all the stress - and it took hours and I talked with several of your staff some seemed very ruth , but in the end a good experiences with a man in the call center who went out of his way to help me.

6 years ago

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A J

As a first time user I got a bit confused when navigating the payment and confirmation of flight bookings, but managed to muddle through. It was a bit hard to see if I had paid or not until I got the confirmation email with the itinerary attachment. So I apologise if I have doubled up on requests for information. I was anxious to make sure I had done everything right and that my booking was definite.

6 years ago

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jv Baton Rouge, LA

Good review of flight information within requested parameters. Additional costs spelled out when flight booked. Found seat booking confusing. In almost every case the added cost seats were all that could be viewed. Yet the system then allowed the use of a no cost seat if available. Interesting process. Give yourself time to review all options as they do provide a sufficient plus number. Good experience.

6 years ago

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Bob Dean Johns Island, SC

I made a last minute trip to Australia from the US. Everything was booked up or very expensive. My wife found me a seat using CheapOair at half the price of the other on line booking sites. When one of the legs got canceled they sent me an email and booked me on the next flight out. Trouble was, that meant an overnight layover in a foreign airport. I called the CheapOair number on my booking and Annice got me rescheduled on the other legs to preclude the long layover. She had to twist some airline arms to do it but she persevered and I am one more happy customer of CheapOair.

7 years ago

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Robert Frazier

I cannot find a flight from SAT to LAX on the 17th on the airline I want to fly...my flight should be on Delta and return on 16 February 2020 as well...but your site is only allowing me to view others...that are not worth the time to fly much less use...I refuse to fly on those airlines...

6 years ago

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kat Madisonville, LA

Do not like having to pay extra to pick seats. This trip has multiple plane changes and seat comfort is important. The extra charge was not known when the reservations were made. Will consider the extra charges when booking flights in the future.

6 years ago

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LB Chapel Hill, NC

I've been a customer of CheapOAir for some time. I like CheapOAir but they accept different forms of payment except PayPal (?!). When I don't use my debit card, I use PayPal or PayPal Credit to pay for purchases. In fact, many companies accept PayPal including some airlines. It's time for CheapO to get 'onboard.'

6 years ago

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Ram Rockville, MD

So far good but goofed up on two fronts: 1. I was charged for seat selections which I thought was just a routine privilege as offered by most of the airlines. 2. I could not use coupons and gift cards due to the fact the site did not direct me to that and I missed on that.

6 years ago

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Parambir singh

It is easy to work out the details are easy to navigate cheapoair give full details of baggage and cabin baggage where we get 2 bags free for checkin also it give the ticket details by email immediately on booking only thing is that indian international credit cards can’t be paid on the payment nice site overall

6 years ago

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Cindy Des Moines, IA

I appreciate the ease of the booking site and program. I appreciate being able to get responses in a timely manner when I’ve had questions about flights. The only negative I’ve experienced is last minute flight changes, which I understand may not be the fault of CheapO air.

6 years ago

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Sue Anderson San Marcos, CA

It's the first time I have travelled in over 3 years and the process seems more complicated than the last time I booked through another website. I don't know if it is just that the process is more complicated today or if it is the way in which CheapOAir works

6 years ago

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Denise Lecanto, FL

My experience was good until I tried to change my flight. I was told it would cost an additional 900.00 to change my flight that’s book all the way in May 2020. I should not have to pay that much to move a flight when it’s that far in advance

6 years ago

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Debora Paez Columbia, MO

Ever since I found the CheapOAir app, I only use it to book most of my flights. It is convenient and efficient as you can avoid having 10 tabs open with different airlines comparing prices. Additionally, having all my flight information in one platform also helps when traveling with various people or with a lot of layovers. My one complaint with CheapOAir is that they could invest a little more in the structure of the app itself; it tends to crash, glitch, and sometimes have trouble loading all the flights in an organized matter.

4 years ago

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RENEE ANGEVINE Hoffman, NJ

I was able to move around the website and take my time looking for the best rates. I like that I can compare, with different airlines, in regards to their prices and find that CHEAP O' AIR, offer the BEST!

6 years ago

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Winston Patrick Herico Columbia, MO

First, great price! Very competitive! It lives up to its name, CheapOAir, it really has one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest that you can find. I highly recommend this to everyone who has travel plans but is on a budget.

6 years ago

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rodeojo

so far so good except the rate of exchange is not good. I pay in Canadian so wish you quoted amount in canadian not just US. will give a higher rating when safely landed in Mumbai on the 5th Jan

6 years ago

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Vickie Bailey

I have booked numerous times with CheapOAir, they have very reasonable prices. They also have a phone number in New Zealand you can call if you need to change any bookings. Very Happy with CheapOair.

6 years ago

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Flavio Mateus Wooster, OH

Best way to fly cheaper with great deals and options, the only thing to discuss would be the fees for luggage, at least the cabin luggage and 1 checked luggage should be fee free.

7 years ago

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Megan A McEvoy Tallahassee, FL

As an out of state college student, CheapOAir has been a great resource for me to find flights home at the best price. I am constantly checking this website for fare so I can plan my trips home, and it has been really helpful! Without CheapOAir I would not make it home for the holidays and special occasions!

6 years ago

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Luke Swierczynski Troy, MI

Have used them once or twice. You can occasionally find some super cheap flights. If you enjoy impromptu vacations this is a great way to go to destinations cheap!

4 years ago

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Bill Viser-Tausch

I made the wrong departure date instead of 17 Nov I pressed 14 Nov The cost of change is too high for a pensioner Older people need/demand more flexibitilty.

7 years ago

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Helen Arjad Irvine, CA

So Far Happy , let's hope will be happy to the end. But not happy to receive so many emails for PROMOTIONS,,,, $25 and $20 dollars which didn't deduct my Ticket Price.

7 years ago

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xabriah glenn-young Tallahassee, FL

Being a college student, I live on a budget. College has not limited my desire to travel nor has it been in my way when I desire to and cheapoair helps me find the most affordable flights one-way or round trip

4 years ago

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Tiauna Anderson Salt Lake City, UT

I used Cheapoair last fall to book our second family cruise and it was great! We were able to find the right sailing itinerary and vessel we wanted at a very good price. I highly recommend the site. It's user friendly!

6 years ago

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Janie Dennis Tallahassee, FL

I feel like I had a good experience with this company! Since it is not directly with an airline, I get worried about it not being reliable but I flew fine with their ticket suggests.

6 years ago

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Adriana

What makes the difference is to able to call if there is any problem and someone will answer the phone quickly and help you to solve your problem.

6 years ago

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Christi Gilbert Gettysburg, PA

I like the way it compares all of the airlines to find you the best deal and lists it in a way that is clear to see total time including layovers and flight changes.

5 years ago

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Alexa Cooper Salt Lake City, UT

I liked my experience, but had a discrepancy between booking a flight on their end that didn’t carry into the airline’s booking. But great web experience.

5 years ago

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Ashley Ulibarri Sandy, UT

CheapOAir is great resource for looking up and tracking airfare. The site is user friendly and I love that o can set alerts to alert me of price changes.

6 years ago

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Martha Gourley Pleasant Grove, UT

I have tried CheapOAir. I used it because Oprah used it. It is a good service. Honestly I think all of the companies like this are about the same. Just pick one.

6 years ago

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DRDixonYoung Houston, TX

I received my booking info but a red message saying I chose an alternative airport is very confusing

6 years ago

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Richard Hall

Cheapoair was easy to use and much more user friendly than Expedia. I look forward to a trouble free trip.

6 years ago

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Rosetta Bahe Provo, UT

Great resource for affordable rates. Had no problem selecting an affordable flight. Thank you for your service!

7 years ago

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John

It was reasonable, though I am not sure why I didn't get an sms message from my bank regarding this transaction.

7 years ago

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Rylie Crandall Nakhon Sawan, 60

I like CheapOAir because I was able to find a great deal on my flights, but it was hard to get in touch with a customer service representative.

5 years ago

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Joannetta Jarman Secaucus, NJ

When we travelled a lot this was a good back up for finding cheap travel. They even have car rentals which is nice for last minute finds.

5 years ago

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Valerie Beus Richland, WA

It’s nice to see different options. Easy to use. Not too different from other sites, but still we will use them often when planning a trip.

5 years ago

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Tagg Ogden, UT

CheapOAir has great prices on flights that allows me to travel more because of the money I save. Their website is easy to use.

6 years ago

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David T Ogden, UT

We have found some good deals on CheapOAir. It allows us to fly as a family and go on some great vacations. Definitely give them a try.

6 years ago

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Audrey Mitchell Managua, MN

CheapoAir is amazing when looking into flight prices and booking a hostel. They have great pricing and customer support.

6 years ago

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Nicole Mondares Bogalusa, LA

Really good app. It is very convenient for people who are on a budget. Fast service

6 years ago

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Christine

The booking experience has been easy. The proof will be in how the actual flight experience goes

6 years ago

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C. Rodden

It was a great experience, easy to make the reservation and very easy to navigate. Pleased so far.

6 years ago

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ELTON White Sulphur Springs, MT

I FIND IT VERY HELPFUL FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T TRAVEL OFTEN. AND A VERY GOOD PRICE THANK YOU

6 years ago

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Eric Deravin Yonkers, NY

good efficient, this is why people dont do review they want to keep it short and make it longer

6 years ago

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Lisbeth Caiaffa Miami, FL

Why am I not able to book seat and why do we I pay extra to reserve seat for a purchase ticket

6 years ago

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Myrna Wattley Fulshear, TX

My experience was time-consuming, but finally satisfying when I completed the booking!!!

6 years ago

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Glenn Lyons West Chester, PA

Not difficult to book with CheapOAir. At over 6 feet tall an aisle seat is important to me.

6 years ago

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mjcast Corona, CA

The site was easy to use and compare with the prices and hours with other airlines.

7 years ago