topic Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards? in Credit Cards

Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 08:00:24 GMT

I've been around the world, but today is the first time i paid for an entire vacation with credit card. Yay! All the other times, my credit card limit was too low or i completely abandoned credit cards all together and strictly used cash and debit card.

I checked the Ultimate Rewards site to see what a quick 3 night trip to Kapalua, Maui would cost. I then did my due diligence and checked on Hawaiianair.com and it came out 32% less. Adding to the madness, UR gave me a cheap discount interisland airline vs flying with Hawaiian Air (which has much cuter attendants). What are peoples experience with booking thru UR or another credit card reward service versus thru a travel site or direct from the airlines? Are UR, MR, TY, etc travel bookings the same price? Less? More?

Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

kdm31091 — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 08:23:43 GMT

I have heard UR site tends to be more expensive which defeats the extra "discount" you get with it. As you did, it's always wise to check your prices, don't assume the UR Portal is because because of the "extra discount" you recieve by booking through it.

Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 13:40:14 GMT

The value of UR (and MR and TYP and SPG) is NOT in booking travel through the portal but instead transferring the points as miles to the partner frequent flier program and booking award travel. (There are a few exceptions, e.g. TYP with Prestige on AA gives 1.6c per point, which might well be worth using directly)

Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

TheConductor — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 15:57:03 GMT

You could put anything in the title of this thread where Ultimate Rewards is - Kayak, Priceline, Amex Travel, a live travel agent, Expedia, etc. - and the answer to any of those questions would be:

It depends. It pays to shop around.

I've found great deals in unlikely places, and I've found awful deals from sources normally known for rock-bottom prices. You can't count on anything.

Ultimately there are two kinds of travel shoppers: those who will invest time and effort to get the best deal, and those who just want to get it done quick and easy.

Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 16:15:30 GMT

@TheConductor wrote:
You could put anything in the title of this thread where Ultimate Rewards is - Kayak, Priceline, Amex Travel, a live travel agent, Expedia, etc. - and the answer to any of those questions would be:

It depends. It pays to shop around.

I've found great deals in unlikely places, and I've found awful deals from sources normally known for rock-bottom prices. You can't count on anything.

Ultimately there are two kinds of travel shoppers: those who will invest time and effort to get the best deal, and those who just want to get it done quick and easy.

I mean you could put anything in the title regarding this but I bet you a million dollars I dont have that any of the above named options would be a better pick over Ultimate Rewards portal

Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 19:04:51 GMT

LOL i realize YMMV, BUT!... over 30% more is a bit outrageous. From my experience, all the major travel sites (Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity) are all very similar in price. I wanted to get the 3x points travel promo but no dice.

Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

kdm31091 — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 19:07:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
LOL i realize YMMV, BUT!... over 30% more is a bit outrageous. From my experience, all the major travel sites (Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity) are all very similar in price. I wanted to get the 3x points travel promo but no dice.

You have to remember that at the end of the day, Chase wants your money. So they advertise "3x travel points whe booking through us!" to entice you to use their portal and just assume you are getting the best deal because of the "special rewards". My advice? Don't fall for it. Shop...compare your prices. You'll see that the UR portal is frequently higher in price, negating any "extra benefit" you get.

Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 19:12:22 GMT

In my experience with checking the UR portal it was about 30% higher in comparison to discount sites so the 20% off you get using it was completely pointless. Orbitz for me is usually a couple hundred less than Priceline or Expedia. But I've noticed that American Express Travel is either the exact same price as Orbitz or less than $5 difference so thats also an option now and I used it for a flight to Montego Bay.

Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 21:47:37 GMT

PLUS ONE on American express travel site. Just used it to book my Mexico trip and it was the cheapest price besides one site. But after the $100 credit AMEX came out to be cheaper

Re: Do you REALLY get the best deal booking with Ultimate Rewards?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 21:52:51 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
PLUS ONE on American express travel site. Just used it to book my Mexico trip and it was the cheapest price besides one site. But after the $100 credit AMEX came out to be cheaper

Got $50 off using 10,000 MR points Not the best use of points for value (I know this points masters) but since I got them after making a $4 Starbucks purchase that was fine with me.