Book Your Next Trip Online Using Expedia.com

Travel is a very important part of my life. If I need to fly to a destination, I usually search the airline websites for available rates. However, there are times when the airline fares are too high or I need to make plans at the last minute. I have used Expedia.com to find lower rates. I booked flights with Expedia.com and taken them without any problems. In this review, I will be sharing information related to searching, creating and buying using Expedia.com.

The Search
On the home page tab of Expedia.com, you will be able to choose what type of trip you are interested in, which will include any flight, hotel, car and cruise. Expedia.com also provides options to book several services together in order to save more, such as flight & hotel, flight & car, flight, hotel & car and hotel & car.

You will need to enter your "Leaving from" and "Going To" destinations along with the number of adults, seniors and children. If you wish, you can also book one-way trips and use open-ended dates if you don't have a particular date in mind.

You can type in the city and state or the airport code (for flights). Here are a few airport codes for your reference:

SFO = San Francisco
BWI = Baltimore Washington
LAS = Las Vegas
LAX = Los Angeles
MSY = New Orleans

After you press the search button, Expedia.com will do a search of the system and come back with a listing of the flights, hotels, etc. for you to review. I have found the search time to be pretty fast.

In terms of flights, you will see a recap at the top of the screen to show you the price range and airlines with non-stop flights, 1-stop and 2-stop or more. Beneath the recap, you can choose selected departure and arrival flights or opt to review complete roundtrip flights. Personally, I prefer to look at the complete roundtrip flights first.

If you are researching hotels, Expedia.com will show you the hotels first listed by what Expedia.com picks along with the price noted for each day of travel. Also, the hotels shown can be sorted by price, hotel name, city and hotel class by choosing the appropriate selection. I have also found it helpful to read the lodging information and hotel map view to give me a better idea of the area.

Creating the Account
When you start with Expedia.com and do not currently have an account set-up, the process is pretty easy. As a new user, just click the hyperlink "Create an account". You will be asked to provide information about yourself in order to set up the account, including:

• First Name

• Middle Name (this is optional)

• Last Name

• User Name

• Password (will be asked twice to repeat the information)

• Email Address

Here's a Tip: Do not make your user name your password. The system does not like that and it would not be good for security purposes.

After your account is set-up, you can review the "My Account" hyperlink, which will take you to the "Account Overview" section and show you the following information that can be updated to complete your traveler profile or for review:

• Email settings (this will determine where emails will be sent, types of emails to be sent (text or html) and any routes you are interested in)

• Travelers associated with this account (you will be able to update information related to contact phone numbers, passport information and emergency contacts for your and any other travelers that you make reservations for)

• Password & sign-in settings (you may change your password by putting in your old password and new password twice)

• Purchase & billing information (allows you to set up your credit card information on file and also allows for Express Booking, which will automatically use a credit card for the reservation for a specified traveler)

• Other information related to this account (view itineraries, coupons and your home airport location)

The Buying Process
After Expedia.com provides you with the amount of your flight, you will be given the opportunity to book the reservation (Continue with booking) or create an itinerary (Save this to my itinerary). In either case, you will need to log into your account or create a new account. After you depress either the "Continue with booking" button or "Save this to my itinerary" hyperlink, Expedia.com will take you to the sign-in page, which includes new sign-ups as I have noted in the Creating the Account section of this review.

Once the sign-in or sign-up process is complete, Expedia.com will offer add-ons to your trip, such as flight protection, activities, events and shows, air and land adventures, attraction passes, coupons, airport parking, etc. If you decide to add-on, you can press the "Reprice" button at the bottom to give you a new quote. To continue with the buying process, you would click the "Continue with booking. I have read and accept the rules and restrictions for any additional items selected" hyperlink.

Next, you will need to choose the traveler and then provide information related to contact information, seating preference and frequent flyer programs (if applicable). If you wish to choose your own seats, you will be shown the Seat Pinpointer window, and pick one of the open seats noted by the tan color (and gray seats if taken).

The final screen will take you to Billing and Delivery Information. You will be able to review your charges, which will include a small booking fee from Expedia.com (which is non-refundable). Then the credit card type, number and expiration month and year along with the cardholder name and billing address should be entered. Of course, if you previously filled out the purchase & billing information in your profile, then you would not need to enter this data again. Once that information is keyed in, the purchase can be completed by pressing the "Complete this purchase" hyperlink.

A confirmation page will be shown to recap your purchase. In addition, an email will be sent to the address on your profile.

When I booked trips on Expedia.com, I always received the confirmation page and email. Also, I was sent reminders of my upcoming trip in the email. I thought that was a nice touch, even though I new when my trips were going to take place. But, this reminder was great and I could see how this could benefit a frequent traveler. I have not had any issues with my Expedia.com eticket on the dates that I needed to fly.

Customer Service
If there are questions related to your trip, you can contact the Customer Support Line at 1-800-EXPEDIA (1-800-397-3342). On one occasion, I contacted the support line to ask questions about a saved itinerary (not yet booked). The employee who answered my call was pleasant and answered all of my questions related to the trip I planned to take.

Overall
I have been pleased with my experience with Expedia.com. The website is easy to navigate and provides me with options to plan out my upcoming trips.