airline tickets

Price Drop PaybackSM Terms & Conditions

You must book your ticket on-line at www.CheapAir.com to be eligible for the Price Drop Payback Program. Tickets booked by phone through our call center, or through other web sites are not eligible.
After purchasing an eligible ticket, if at any point between the time of purchase and one day prior to the first scheduled travel date, you find that CheapAir.com is offering the exact same ticket (same airline(s), same flight numbers, same travel dates) for the same number of passengers, for a lower total fare (including all taxes and fees), you can request a travel credit for the difference between the price paid for each ticket and the price currently being advertised for the same itinerary.
To receive a travel credit, you must re-price your itinerary using the Price Drop Payback button that will appear with your itinerary when you retrieve your booking through the My Trips section on CheapAir.com.
The maximum credit per ticket is $100. In the event the price of a ticket declines by more than $100, a $100 credit will be issued.
The minimum credit per ticket is $10. In the event the price of a ticket declines by less than $10, no credit will be issued.
The Program is valid only with tickets booked on or after July 27th, 2011.
Only economy class, non-refundable tickets are eligible for Price Drop Payback credits. Tickets booked in business class, first class, or premium economy class do not qualify, nor do refundable economy class tickets.
The Price Drop Payback program is not available for tickets purchased wholly or in part with (1) a credit from an unused ticket; (2) a gift card; (3) a previously earned Price Drop Payback credit; or (4) any other coupon, promo code, or discount.
Each ticket is only eligible for one Price Drop Payback credit. Once you accept a travel credit, you will not be eligible for additional credits for further price drops on the same itinerary. With any price drop, you will have the option to decline the Price Drop Payback credit and wait for a potentially bigger price drop in the future.
Price Drop Payback credits can be redeemed only on CheapAir.com. Credit cannot be redeemed over the telephone.
Price Drop Payback credits must be applied toward tickets issued in the same name as the ticket for which the price drop occurred. Credits are not transferable to another passenger.
Price Drop Payback Credits are valid for one year, beginning one day after the scheduled departure date of the original ticket.
Price Drop Payback does not apply to airfares that may be seen on other web sites.
Price Drop Payback does not apply to flight bookings that have been changed or cancelled. In the event you change or cancel a flight for which a Price Drop Payback credit has already been issued, that credit will be invalidated.
CheapAir.com will be the final arbiter for any disputes that arise out of the Price Drop Payback program.
CheapAir.com reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, suspend, or terminate the Price Drop Payback program for any reason at any time.
The Price Drop Payback Program is void where prohibited by law.

Comparison to Orbitz, Travelocity, and Priceline airfare pricedrop protection programs:

http://www.businessinsider.com/cheapaircom-will-refund-customers…

Going with the family (one 9-year-old and one grandmother, so 4 total)to St. Louis during April Spring Break (4/6-15). Hoping to make St. Louis to Memphis to Nashville and back triangle in 8 days. We already have the airline tickets, but being a FatWalleter I’m interested in any special tips for saving some bucks or any hidden attractions one might miss. We’ll probably do the standard Arch, Graceland, Lorraine Motel & Grand Ol Opry. The Shiloh Civil War battlefield is something we’ll do also and my Mom wants to see the Loretta Lynn Museum (it’s on the way from Memphis to Nashville). But we’re hoping to squeeze in some more things.

As for savings, I’ll probably hit restaurant.com for the areas and see if anything is of interest (and passes muster with TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.), plus I’ll sign up for some hotel cards. I’ll probably use a Travelocity-type site for the car rental and the lodging, unless you think booking directly is better. We do have AAA, so in a pinch that will work in a lot of circumstances. But is there any other angles I should be investigating.

I noticed the NRA convention is in St. Louis for the back-end of our trip so I might need to book the 4/14 stay early. But, in general, should I book hotels early or wait until closer. Same with car rentals for that matter. As you can probably tell, it’s been awhile since I’ve been on a big trip so a tad rusty on these things.

Thanks for an advice.

As the fellow FW travelers noticed, the original travel to India thread reached an enormous length since I started the thread in 2006. the thread would have never reached this much popularity without the gracious help from “PatelforIndia”. Now it is time to make a cleaner and leaner thread, so that most people will find it easy to gather information. I hope posters would maintain the sanity of this thread by refraining from asking “price quotes”, as no one can possibly give you a travel quote in an open form, due the unpredictable nature of airline pricing. So PLEASE DO NOT ASK PRICE QUOTES for your trip, if you need help with that, send email to a travel agent or simply call. Remember, our motto is to have a thread which will provide useful information on travel deals to India.
PatelforIndia wrote a very helpful post here which I wish everyone should read.
I have borrowed much of the OP from the original post; below is a list of travel agents who were quoted by several fellow members as decent set of travel agents who are specialized in our subcontinental destinations. A hefty list of agents/phone numbers are listed in the previous thread, so kindly check back the first post of the old thread as well- but be warned that some of those numbers and email IDs may no longer work.

——————————————-
Mudra Travels
2994 AUTUMN APPLAUSE DR
COLUMBUS, OH 43035
Email: MudraTravels@yahoo.com
FatWallet PM: PatelFromIndia
Phone 614-818-2783

(excellent service, and CHEAP. In most cases payment can be made by credit card)

Mitra Travels
12375 Bissonnet St # 41, Houston, TX
(281) 530-3000
(excellent fare but service is very scary. You have to cross your finger for a long time after paying for tickets, send my paper ticket by regular firstclass mail; ticket fare can be paid by credit card without any additional fees in most cases)

Trade Wings Travel
2611 S 90th St, Omaha, NE
(402) 399-2004
(Usually gives very good rates from midwest, thru Northwest/KLM)

Vati Travels Website
206 W College, STE #4,
Carbondale, IL 62901
vatitvl@poofaccess.com
Telephone: 618-549-9214
fax: 618-549-9215

Stanmore Travels
11616 Queen Nicole Terr,
Germantown, MD 20876
Phone: 240-422-2353
http://www.stanmoretravels.com
EmailcWorldTravel@gmail.com
FatwalletID : ramkyk

Shalom Travel and Tours Inc.
info@shalomtrip.com
714-484-TRIP

—————————————–
List of agents I have not dealt with:-

Relaxtrip Travel
website
46708 Flicker Ter
Sterling, VA 20164
Ph:703 444 2526
Contact person: Manju

Easy Travel Inc.
7191 Camelot Drive
Canton, MI 48187
Toll Free:1866-51-INDIA
Fax: 1866-908-6663
punjabi2002@msn.com
(FW username garysingh)

Alanita Travels Website
87 Common Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel: 617.254.8045
Fax: 617.923.4821

One of the highly recommended agents. You can contact them by email but a quick phone call is the best way to communicate.

Highfly travels Website
1897 Woodbridge Ave., Suite 10
Edison, NJ 08817
Tel: 732 985 5855

A-ONE TOURS & TRAVELS (unprofessional, at least in my experience)
2341 W. Devon Ave,
Chicago, IL 60659
Ph 773-274-6969
Fax 773-274-2898

http://skymastertravels.com
One Irving Plaza
415 E Airport Freeway
Suite# 380, Irving TX 75062
(972) 256-2200
(972) 252-4454

Another big travel agency specialized in India/Pakistan tours. According to many posters here, they are as good as Alanita, but once again I don’t have personal experience.

Fly4less Website
Globetravels Website
Makemytrip Website
Kayak.Com

—————————————————————————————–
Black listed agents
1. Azure Travel Bureau Inc., contact name, Mr. Ravi Kohli .
47 West, 34th. Street, Suite # 409,
New York, NY 10001 Ph : (212) 239 1999
Number of complaint#1 from user dluxarun

EZ world Travel as reported by user sasa12
Schaumburg
IL-60173

Alanita Travels,
as reported by dixitsantosh.
——————————————————————————————

Best time to travel
Here is what I found from Alanita’s website about seasonal fares:-

Jan 17 2005 to May 08 2006 (Low Fare)| May 09 2006 to May 31 2006 (Medium Fare)|
Jun 1 2006 to Jul 12 2006(High Fare) | Jul 13 2006 to Dec 10 2006 (Medium Fare) |
Dec 11 2006 to Dec 27 2006 (High Fare) | Dec 28 2006 to May 08 2007(Low Fare)
The fare database above is approximately followed by other airlines too.

Another detailed pricing trend from fly4less:-

USA to India Travel pattern What’s happening Suggest booking
———— ————– —————- —————
01Jan – 15Jan =========== Overspill from winter holidays by mid Nov
16Jan – 31Jan ======== Slowing down by mid Dec
01Feb – 15Apr ====== Slow Jan onwards
16Apr – 10May ========= Pre summer travel picks up Feb onwards
11May – 31May ========== Start of Summer Holiday rush Feb onwards
01Jun – 10Jun ============ Summer rush picks up before Mar end
11Jun – 15Jul ============ Peak summer travel before Mar end
16Jul – 31Jul ========== Continuing Apr onwards
01Aug – 15Aug ======= Slowing down May onwards
16Aug – 31Aug ===== Slow Jun onwards
01Sep – 15Sep === Low fare rush May onwards
16Sep – 10Oct ===== Slow Jun onwards
11Oct – 15Nov ========== Diwali travel Jul onwards
16Nov – 30Nov ============ Thanksgiving Holidays travel Jul onwards
01Dec – 10Dec ============== Low fare rush before mid Jun
11Dec – 15Dec ============== Winter Holidays rush begins before mid Jun
16Dec – 24Dec ========= Peak winter travel before mid Jun
25Dec – 31Dec ===== Low fare rush before Jun end

India to USA Travel pattern What’s happening Suggest booking
———— ————– —————- —————
20Aug – 08Sep ============= Peak summer return travel by mid Mar
20Dec – 10Jan ============= Peak winter return travel before mid Jun

Also, please post your itinerary and paid $$$$ for the plane fare so we can have a good idea of the current fares/promotions. Also, as we reorganize/rewrite this thread, please send me your input to make it a better thread. More changes will come soon once I am off my vacation.

When it comes to credit card rewards programs what’s most valuable? Travel? Cash back? Free luxury goods and services?

The American Express Membership Rewards program offers up options in all those categories via an online store where you can shop with your bank of earned points and buy whatever you want. Rewards points can be redeemed for everything from airline tickets to American Express cash cards to flat screen TVs and even designer handbags. And like any store they have regular specials and sales, with deals of the week announced on the AmEx Facebook page (right now you can get a Nikon digital camera for 50 percent off). If you use a lot of credit the program is a great way to indulge in some of your favorite high-end treats without spending an extra dime.

I browsed through the American Express Membership Rewards store and rounded up my favorite luxury picks. See my selections after the jump and then share in the comments, do you use credit card rewards for luxurious indulgences or practical necessities? What would you choose?

Continue reading American Express Membership Rewards: Our Top Luxury Picks

American Express Membership Rewards: Our Top Luxury Picks originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.