Travel Tip 114
Here’s one of the biggest travel mistakes I’ve made.
I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes trying to save money does the opposite.
The mistake: I bought tickets from a third party.
I used to buy tickets from websites like Orbitz or apps like Hopper because it was cheaper - at least I thought it would be cheaper. It took three big problems for me to promise myself that I’ll only ever buy directly from airlines in the future. Learn from my mistakes and always buy directly from the airline!
The First Mistake
The first time, I bought a ticket on Orbitz that included a 12-hour layover in Beijing. They didn’t notify me that my flight had been cancelled, and I was rebooked on the same flight the next day, meaning that I needed a visa for China since I would be there more than 24 hours. I found out when I tried to board my flight from Seattle to Beijing and was refused boarding for lack of a visa. It was Sunday afternoon in Seattle and impossible to get a visa in the next few hours. The flight left without me, and I had to scramble to buy a last-minute flight leaving Seattle to get to my destination. (Thanks for sticking with me at SeaTac, Mom!) It took four months of badgering Orbitz to get that flight refunded on the grounds that they should have notified me I was rebooked and would need a visa to China.
The Second Mistake
The second time, I bought a ticket on Kayak for a trip to Bogotá. On the return, I arrived at the airport four hours early and was told that my flight had left four hours ago. Again, I had been rebooked but not notified. I had to buy a last-minute seat on the flight I was supposed to be on in the first place and the only seats left were in first class. It took almost a year to get the original flight refunded and I was still left with the bill for that first class ticket.
The Third Mistake
The third time, I bought a round trip ticket on Hopper from Cusco to Buenos Aires. My flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago was rescheduled for later and I got a notification, so I thought it would be fine. Then I realized my new flight arrived in Santiago after my connection to Lima would have already departed. I contacted Hopper and asked to be rebooked on a new flight from Santiago to Lima but got no reply until it was far too late. I had to buy a last-minute flight from Santiago to Lima, which Hopper refused to reimburse me for. They initially said they would reimburse the missed flight, but I had booked it on Hopper points, and they wouldn’t give back my points.
There will be no fourth time.
I highly recommend only buying flights directly from the airline you’ll be flying.
The only exception is partner airlines.
I’ll still buy tickets from Alaska for flights operated by their partner Horizon Air, and I’ll still buy tickets from Latam for flights operated by Delta, especially when it’s connecting with a Latam flight. For example, a round trip from Cusco to Los Angeles always has a Latam plane from Cusco to Lima, but the connecting flight from Lima to LA could be operated by either Latam or Delta.
Always download the airline’s app.
My flight from Bogotá was on Copa Airlines, and if I’d downloaded the Copa app or registered my email with Copa, they might have notified me of the flight change even though Kayak didn’t. To learn more about why airline apps are so important, check out my Travel Tip 106.
This gold and turquoise ear gauge was one of over 600 artifacts in the tomb.
New Blog
3rd Century Tombs in Sipán, Chiclayo
Last week I wrote about where you can learn about Pope Leo XIV’s time in Chiclayo and this week I’m showing you what Chiclayo was famous for before their bishop was elected pope: The Lord of Sipán. The tombs of the Lord of Sipán were discovered in 1987, the first intact (not looted) tombs found in South America. The extravagant gold and other artifacts rival the most luxurious Egyptian tombs.
Hotel Viñas Queirolo was one of my favorite places in Ica for wine tasting and for the hotel.
New Article
I loved Ica so much when I was there in January that I’m still writing about it! Here’s my latest article about why you should visit vineyards and distilleries in Ica, published by Smart Luxury.
