Delta would prefer you to ONLY book at Delta.com. Fronteer, for one, gives you less points if you do not book from their site (I bet Delta does this too at some point)! Now they have expanded how many travel agencies book with Delta, even offering the ability to get Economy Comfort seats directly with TA’s. I have checked with Tamara and her agency does book with their own system, but after that you can deal directly with either Delta or her firm. Also, there is no problem for her to purchase the EC upgrade should you want it.
But all of this begs the question: Is it best to book directly with Delta.com. There is THIS StarTribune piece that says just that. Also, Delta reps have told me it is much better to book directly so that you can have full access to all that Delta offers you (i.e.. up-sell you all they can) and maybe more importantly give you correct information about bags, etc. etc.
So what do you think. Is it important to you to book direct or are you happy booking via say Priceline or Orbitz? Does booking via one of these sites save you money? Does it make you nervous to book via one of these 3rd party sites? Let me and readers know how you feel and your experience good or bad! And to make this fun, anyone who shares your thoughts will have a chance to win the Delta and Delta points SWAG below (including a Delta “tail” key chain & please note I only have M&L T-Shirts)- René
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I usually compare prices with 3rd parties and book with the carrier direct.
I always check Kayak.com when I book on Delta. Have saved thousands with them over the last year as often they have a cheaper routing on Delta than I can get off the Delta website. Where possible I then book throught Chase Ultimate Rewards® with my shapphire ot Gold PRG Amex to get 4-5 points per dollar. i am a Diamond flyer with Delta so easy to change things even with Travelocity booking.
Do Not Trust Delta Website For Lowest Delta Fare!
I think it’s better to book thru an OTA. I booked thru delta.com before and I wasn’t able to do online check-in for my international flight. I needed to physically swipe the credit card that I used to book the tickets at the kiosk at the airport before I was able to check-in.
The next time, I booked thru an OTA and didn’t have any issues checking-in online. I still got my PM upgrades a few days before the flight and was able to reserve EC seats upon booking.
Oh and I also got more points thru the Chase UR Mall. Score!
I check Orbitz & Kayak, but almost always book on Delta.dumb, unless I am using Flexperks points.
I book delta tickets from Alitalia since they have 15%off or 20%off all the time…Yet I can enjoy all the benefits of booking the sane ticket on Delta.com
Previously, always through delta.com with my Delta Reserve
Now, always through UR Mall > Travelocity with my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
4 UR vs 2 DL is a no-brainer. I won’t hit my 15k MQM thresholds this year, but I only need 20k MQM to requal DM in 2013 with rollover
@Howie – true unless you are trying to meet spend on the Delta Reserve! 😉 (you can get that 15,000 bonus for $30,000 spend)!
Travelocity to get ultimate rewards points!
UR Mall using Travelocity.
I typically book through Delta. I do use Kayak to check prices and get the flights I want – I find it more friendly than the delta flight purchase tools.
I booked at Delta. Com because if a change to the itinerary is needed, they usually fix it right away and do not experience any charges. Previously using orbitz, they requested a fee to deal with the situation. I Valle delta and they said I have to go with orbitz as they sold the trip. In another note, I have used amextravel.com and found cheaper prices that delta.con for same flight. I have Amex plat, so booked through them without extra fees, but otherwise you may be subject to a 6.95 fee from Amex. Don’t have the extra time to deal with the best rate guarantee process with delta, which I consider subpar.
I usually book thru Delta.com although I have booked thru AMEXtravel when I’m using platinum points. Based on the comments above, I think I’ll check UR and Travelocity next time.
I always check several sites and usually just end up going with Delta, but then again I usually only fly international. In the last few years, especially during holiday seasons, my luggage is usually delayed on the European flights and Delta usually offers $100 vouchers as if it is pennies. To redeem them though I was only able to use them through Delta.com, so that is another reason why I usually go through their own website. I just added Amex Reserve to my arsenal as I anticipate using Delta a lot more in the next year, and would like to start that with at least SM status.
I book directly with delta.com, easy choices plus award seats, better for me than other booking sites
I have always found Delta the easiest and fastest directly. I admit now I am wondering about these other ways as I love the miles.
I usually book on Delta.com, but check the other OTAs before booking (first site I check is Kayak). I’ve actually found lower fares searching on Kayak that direct me to Delta.com than searching Delta.com directly before.
I usually try to fly Delta from my home airport anyway even if there’s a small price difference since I don’t have to worry about cancelled flights through Chicago, free baggage for elite status, and better baggage handling.
I had a very disconcerting issue wi Delta last week. In trying to buy a r/t SEA-SLC flt I found that Travelocity sold the flight for $298 while Delta had the exact same flight for $598! I had both windows open on my computer at the same time when I called the Diamond desk, I fly a lot and generally love flying Delta, and the representative told me that Delta sometimes makes inventory available to third parties at lower rates and that I should probably buy from Travelocity! This has now happened to me twice and it is 100% unacceptable. I have 32 employees and now I require them all to double check Delta fares because I no longer have any faith that I am getting the true price. Delta is insane to behave in this fashion and insane to pretend it does not happen with their “low price guarantee” on the website. It feels like Delta is stealing from their best customers when things like this happen.
I always book at Delta.com unless it is for work. We have to use Orbitz for Business. I trust that I have the most options when dealing directly!
I always check Kayak first yet usually book directly with Delta.com. Easier to keep one number for flight changes while on the road.
I only book on delta.com. Have heard too many stories of tickets and trips gone amuck with discount sites. I hope delta has its reputation behind its tickets and web site.
Since most of my travel is on business, I have to book through my corporate travel agent (Egencia, which is owned by Expedia, I think?).
Whenever I book a personal flight, it’s always through Delta.com, since I can’t remember the last time I paid for a personal flight on Delta without defraying at least part of it with a voucher. Of course, this became much more difficult as of December 15th of last year, but that’s a whole different topic…:-)
UR–>Travelocity. Occasionally through MR, or on Freedom (right now it’s 5 points a dollar + 2 points a dollar thru UR site = 7 points a dollar. Great deal!)
I book via my corporate booking engine for work travel (required for expensing) and via delta.com for personal travel (almost all my personal travel is with FF miles).
Any initiative to incentive booking at Delta.com may risk alienating customers that are required to book via corporate policy. My company has its own travel agency and I must use them to book my flights if I want to be able to exspense them.
I usually book with Delta.com, but on occasion I have found cheaper tickets no other sites and have gone with them.
I always check with Kayak because it is so easy to quickly do so on my phone. Then make the purchase on delta.com using my delta amex. Like previous commenters, I am going to also check the UR mall in the future. Does buying direct from Delta get you any better treatment if cancellations or other problems come up during the trip?
Have to use Concur/Amex travel through work…
I was under the impression that you only get double miles on your DL Amex if you book through Delta.com. That being said, I always check matrix.itasoftware.com to ensure I am getting the best fare before I book on delta.com. However, I’ve never found a lower fare elsewhere, unlike on Frontier and United where I’ve booked lower fares on Orbitz. The only time recently I have not used delta.com to book a Delta flight was when it was a multi-airline itinerary (UA/ZK/DL) and I wanted everything on one PNR to make the baggage handling simpler.
Most of my Delta bookings are for business and we use Orbitz for that. For personal trips, I often use kayak for its easy search on prices and book it from there
I check out the flights I want on Delta.com and then paste and cut the itinerary I want and the pricing, send it to my travel agent, and have her book it for me to see if she can get a better deal. BTW, I am a Platinum Medallion member and she can often find cheaper and better connections.
Lately, I have cashed in some Citi Thank You points for delta flights, makes it really easy and you don’t even pay the $2.50 taxes 🙂
.
You copy and paste the confirmation number into Delta.com and pick your seats there. Use the iPhone to go thru security and board the plane. I love technology 🙂
At that point, I usually log into my Delta Bonus account and add the ticket info before I forget to get credit for the flight.
I always book airline/hotel reservations directly through the airline/hotel website. I’ve had problems when booking through third party websites, and in such cases, it’s more troublesome to fix, since you have to go through the third party to fix it. If you book direct, you just go to the airline/hotel.
Compare prices with Kayak and book with the carrier.
Check fares and routes on other sites, then book at Delta.com. Feel more comfortable going direct. Whenever I book with Flexperks, they never put me on the upgrade list at Delta (Gold). I then have to call Delta and ask them to move from Upgrade eligible to Upgrade requested.
I prefer to book directly with Delta (or any other service provider). This mainly due to accountability. If I use a local travel agent, then I do not worry. However, I do not like to use the online agencies; because, it effectively removes my negotiation power with the service provider.
If a problem arises, many airlines or hotels will ask the client to contact their travel agent, since the client has abdicated their interaction rights to the agent. The reservation was made with the agent not the client, and there are likely special provisions, which were per-negotiated between them that the client is not aware of being in force.
During a problem, it is much easier to work with Delta if they know I purchased directly from them, vice a travel agent. While it is usually advantageous to have a local agent fix any issue, the advantage is nullified when it is a large impersonal online agency like Travelocity, Prticeline, Orbitz, etc.
In the end, I have more power to handle my affairs if I book via Delta’s website instead of Expedia.
I check several sites for pricing but have always booked @ delta directly
My employer requires us to use AMEX travel but I always use Orbitz or Expedia to see what my options are versus the limited flights I might see on the AMEX site. For personal travel, I always book on delta.com.
I book through Delta.com. Check prices sometimes with Orbitz but find Delta.com prices competitive, expecially if you have some flexibility as to what days you have to travel. Like the fact that when you buy through Delta.com the Delta help desk will do their best to help you with any issue.
Hi Rene waiting for dl 3502
I’m upped
Anyway I only book on delta
I feel they watch this process and perhaps I have better recourse when there are issues
IMHO
Perhaps I’m wrong
Always room to learn
Namaste!
My delta points tag is on 🙂
I hope I win a t shirt
This weekend 🙂
Ususlly book direct with Delta.com unless I’m required to book through my company travel site. I usually get the same level of info and access either way!
I normally check expedia but if prices are too high then I use my miles and book a free ticket. Since I live in Alaska I use my free miles 95% of the time. The only time I don’t pay with miles is for long haul ‘cheaper’ tickets.
I always compare prices with miles when booking my flights on Delta.
I will check elsewhere but all most 100% of the time will book with the specific airline.
book w/ carrier.
There’s a cost/benefit for everything…guess I’d book w/delta under most circumstances
For personal travel, I book through Delta.com. For business travel, I book through CWT.
I only use the Delta site to book,even though I do search pricing,etc on other sites, but find Delta’s site very easy to use and achieve what I am looking for !
I use delta.com exclusively to book my tickets. I only book 1st/BusElite and it automatically credits my SkyBonus account. I don’t like looking here and there trying to find the cheapest flight. Travel agents tried booking me out of DTW, IND, TOL etc to get the lowest price. By the time I drive there, often overnight in a hotel, it is just as easy to book all my flights out of FWA directly with delta.com.!!
Have been doing it this way for many, many years and Delta has been very good to me.
Cheers,
Bob
We use the Delta,com site. We like to do our own research, and using a third party just seems (likely, as we haven’t done it in several years) simply to add another layer of bureaucracy between us and ticketing. Another reason is purely psychological. We have found that when seeking business/first award seats on Delta, the range of responses from the Delta folk is extraordinary. Some agents at the reward desk have a “take it or leave it” attitude that makes you want to switch to American. Others
will search diligently for the lowest mileage/class award that’s available, and if need be widen the search to sweep alternative dates. Most recently, that saved us 150.000 Delta miles on 2 biz class tix, JFK-LHR, and DUB -JFK. Of course that satisfying experience doesn’t really relate to a computer search on Delta.com, but it does sort of have a halo effect.
I had two instances in the last three weeks where I booked or checked possibilities on Delta.com and later found flights on Orbitz or through Kayak that were more direct and less expensive. In one, I booked a trip to San Diego, having to go from MSP through SLC to SAN on Delta.com. They did not even give me a MSP to SAN option. The next day I decided to check Orbitz and found the same trip but with a direct flight from SAN to MSP coming back – and it was over $100 cheaper. In that case, I called my Delta “gold line” and they cancelled my booking and made the new booking. A couple of days later, pretty much the same thing happened. At least that time, I didn’t book it on Delta. I then checked Orbitz to see better connections at a lower rate. Again, I called the gold line and made the reservations. In both cases, the “gold line” lady had no excuse – and admitted she had no excuse. So much for sole reliance on Delta.com
Except when required by work, I always book direct. I haven’t found it any cheaper – either with Delta or other carriers – but I have found it easier to get the seats I want. I sometimes go to the online TAs to research but booking is done direct.