Expedia

• Technology
• Travel Accommodations
• Features
• Rewards Program
• Travel Insurance

Technology

Expedia is one of the leading travel sites on the web and has helped thousands of travelers with their booking needs. Over time, the company has made innovations in the online booking space and its technology ultimately allows it to pull data and pricing information from thousands of traveling and airfare sites. These results are then presented to the traveler to compare, contrast, and book.

Travel Accommodations

Expedia seeks to ease the regular pains that come with travel planning by allowing customers to book all of their accommodations in one place. With Expedia, consumers can book flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and vacation packages either online or over the phone.

Customer Review: Karen from Tallahassee, Florida

"Expedia is awesome! I have found all the best traveling deals on Expedia. It makes planning for a trip so much easier since I can find flights, hotels, and more all in one."

Features

Aside from allowing travelers to book standard accommodations on its site, Expedia has also found a way to help travelers make booking a trip as straightforward as possible. Features that travelers may find useful during their research and planning time include the following:

• Triple points for using the Expedia mobile app to book travel accommodations
• An easy-to-use website that features deals on airfare, car rental, cruises, and more
• Packaged vacation deals that include options for the particular time of year
• A user-friendly destination search tool that allows customers to select the components of their travel plans

Rewards Program

Another benefit of using the Expedia platform is access to its rewards program, which includes a number of membership benefits and no annual fee. The rewards program is broken down as follows:

• Three-tier rewards program (Gold, Silver, and Blue)
• Earn a point for every dollar spent on flights, hotels, and activities
• Earn 2 to 4 rewards points for every dollar spent on hotel and flight vacation packages, depending on the size of the package

Guests can qualify for tiers in the Expedia Rewards platform by booking a qualifying hotel room, rental car, airline ticket, or vacation package. Members can obtain Expedia gold status by booking 15 nights at hotels or other qualifying Expedia purchases. Guests can also sign up for the Expedia Rewards card or the Expedia Rewards Voyager card from Citi and enjoy gold status for the duration that they have the credit card.

Travel Insurance

While there are some exceptions, Expedia does provide travel protection. Travel protection plans depend on what is booked, but they are backed by the Transamerica Casualty Insurance Company. Ultimately, an Expedia travel insurance policy will cover up to the total cost of the vacation for trip cancellations and interruptions.

• Website Ads
• Complaints

Website Ads

Expedia's site contains several ads, which contribute to a text-heavy page and make it difficult to find information about deals and travel options.

Complaints

Expedia has received a number of complaints from consumers, most of which circle around the company's customer service. Many individuals have cited miscommunications and bad experiences when dealing with Expedia's customer service representatives.