Air Travel » Air Travel Ticket » Best Fares
Question:
What experience have you had with this company. Can they really give you lower fares. Is it worth the $60.00 yearly fee. TIA
Response:
Never really helped me….There is enough free info on the website to help get lower prices….Heard some stories about them renewing memberships before the end of the previous year cheating members out of a few months. My advise is to save your money…. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > What experience have you had with this company. Can they really give you > lower fares. Is it worth the $60.00 yearly fee. TIA
Response:
The membership fee may be worth it for a few people who buy certain types of tickets (for example, international Business or First Class where Best Fares may have a specially negotiated rate), but I don’t feel that I have ever gotten anything for my money and I don’t plan to renew. The vast majority of what you see on their web site is available to the general public (if you know who to call), and I believe that very often you are actually better off booking the tickets yourself through an airline’s web site, where you get bonus miles for booking online (Currently AA is giving 2,000 bonus miles per booking, worth about $40 – $45. Delta is giving a 10,000 mile bonus for 3 trips booked online this fall, worth about $200 – $225) plus you get to skip the service charges and ticket delivery fees that Bestfares tacks on. I think they are an honest firm, but their customer service is terrible. Any time you call them, expect to be put on hold a minimum of 15 minutes and expect that the agent you finally get won’t know anything about the deals featured on the web site (and won’t care, either). My advice is to browse their web site for news, but keep your $59.00.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> The membership fee may be worth it for a few people who buy certain types of > tickets (for example, international Business or First Class where Best Fares > may have a specially negotiated rate), but I don’t feel that I have ever gotten > anything for my money and I don’t plan to renew. The vast majority of what you > see on their web site is available to the general public (if you know who to > call), and I believe that very often you are actually better off booking the > tickets yourself through an airline’s web site, where you get bonus miles for > booking online (Currently AA is giving 2,000 bonus miles per booking, worth > about $40 – $45. Delta is giving a 10,000 mile bonus for 3 trips booked online > this fall, worth about $200 – $225) plus you get to skip the service charges > and ticket delivery fees that Bestfares tacks on. > I think they are an honest firm, but their customer service is terrible. Any > time you call them, expect to be put on hold a minimum of 15 minutes and expect > that the agent you finally get won’t know anything about the deals featured on > the web site (and won’t care, either). My advice is to browse their web site > for news, but keep your $59.00.
I agree. Keep your $59.00. I use travelocity.com’s Fare Watcher Email. When prices go up or down for a destination you want to watch, it will email you. Everyone uses the same reservation system, so just let the system tell you what the best prices are. In my opinion, the cheaper the ticket, the more inconvience you have to endure. Jeff.Giannina www.liveairportinfo.com Before you buy.
Response:
If you need low fares try: http://www.travel.to/lowfare is for free and you can book online consolidator air fares Before you buy.
Response:
Best fares actually does a pretty good job. Tom Parsons owns the business and is more on top of what fares are out there than anyone I have met. I don’t really know if you got a good deal, but I have been able to find many of the fares he talks about. I just wish you did not have go through the hassels of cashing in on some of them. Blair > I have recently bought a membership to Best Fares Magazine but everytime I try > to book one of the discount fares, I get told the airfare is actually higher > than stated. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was asked by a co-worker > if the $69 fee is worth it and I don’t want to tell him no just because of my > experience.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >Best fares actually does a pretty good job. Tom Parsons owns the business and > is more on top of what fares are out there than anyone I have met. I don’t >really know if you got a good deal, but I have been able to find many of the >fares he talks about. I just wish you did not have go through the hassles of >cashing in on some of them. >Blair > I have recently bought a membership to Best Fares Magazine but every time I try > to book one of the discount fares, I get told the airfare is actually higher > than stated. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was asked by a co-worker > if the $69 fee is worth it and I don’t want to tell him no just because of my > experience.
Every time I book a fare I’ve seen on easy saber it is also higher – because they don’t show the taxes and airport fees in the basic fare. Can be quite a bit more. Could this be the problem? Also sometimes fares are only lower for a VERY short period. grandma Rosalie
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Best fares actually does a pretty good job. Tom Parsons owns the business and > is more on top of what fares are out there than anyone I have met. I don’t >really know if you got a good deal, but I have been able to find many of the >fares he talks about. I just wish you did not have go through the hassles of >cashing in on some of them. >Blair >> I have recently bought a membership to Best Fares Magazine but every time I try >> to book one of the discount fares, I get told the airfare is actually higher >> than stated. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was asked by a co-worker >> if the $69 fee is worth it and I don’t want to tell him no just because of my >> experience. > Every time I book a fare I’ve seen on easy saber it is also > higher – because they don’t show the taxes and airport fees in > the basic fare. Can be quite a bit more. Could this be the > problem? > Also sometimes fares are only lower for a VERY short period. > grandma Rosalie
I’ve just bought a membership and haven’t yet received the magazine. I’ve called their airfare desk and was disappointed to find that they will not make reservations for you and hold them. Also, they don’t book travel with AA, NW or SWA…we normally fly AA. They were able to alert me to the availability of a senior citizens fare on Delta which I would have never been able to book if I hadn’t known it was there. (I had to specify exactly what I was looking for when I booked the seats through Delta; they wanted to sell me regular seats and give a 10% discount while these seats are actually a special deal which is about 40% less than the regular fare). Both times I’ve called them, I have had to wait several minutes on hold and then they won’t check availability for you unless you are ready to book (actually they should say ready to buy), so just knowing that a fare exists isn’t much good unless you can actually get the seats. They suggest that you call the airlines directly and make the reservation and then call them back with the locater number and they’ll issue the ticket. (wouldn’t every travel agent love that deal!) If the ticket is over $200, they’ll give you an instant rebate of 4%, under $200 nothing! If you like TWA, it would be a good deal. They offer a 20% discount of TWA domestic and 25% international. They actually had sale seats available at the special price ($155 Chicago-Boston RT), but they were an instant purchase only deal and I usually need to check with my husband or family after finding what is available and before spending my money.
Response:
>I have recently bought a membership to Best Fares Magazine but everytime I try >to book one of the discount fares, I get told the airfare is actually higher >than stated. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was asked by a co-worker >if the $69 fee is worth it and I don’t want to tell him no just because of my >experience.
I called them once to get a "special subscriber-only fare," but was told it was no longer available. Problem was, the special was posted on their Internet site just a few hours before I called! Personally, I think the whole set-up is a sham. Thank goodness the subscription is on my company’s credit card! — Michael Quinlan
Response:
>I have recently bought a membership to Best Fares Magazine but everytime I try >to book one of the discount fares, I get told the airfare is actually higher >than stated. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was asked by a co-worker >if the $69 fee is worth it and I don’t want to tell him no just because of my >experience.
Their Web site (www.bestfares.com) is excellent. It has saved me lots of money over the past year or two–far more than one year’s subscription fee. It was on this basis that I subscribed, but the paid subscription has not been worth the money. You get access to the subscriber fares and rebates on tickets purchased through them, but I have not found this worth the considerable inconvenience. — email: mikew 99 @ hotmail.com WWW: www.bigfoot.com/~mikew99
Response:
For the most part I’ve been very satisfied with Best Fares. Bought my membership before they had their website (which is excellent, and blocked by my company IM personnel) , have renewed it twice, and received two extensions for tips I supplied. Have gotten some very good, last minute deals with them; epsecially when they caqn waive the 21-day in advance rule, book that fare and then discount it with one of the coupons that they seem to have readily available for some airlines. They are real strong with TWA discounts because of the consolidators they work with. But I have had some problems with some of their heavily accented hispanic employees understanding my questions and their responses to same. Unfortunately, too many people have found out about them, because of Tom’s relentless self-promotions and media availability and the popularity of their web site. This has undoubtedly lead to them be overwhelmed with inquiries and lessened their response time considerably.. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->I have recently bought a membership to Best Fares Magazine but everytime I try >to book one of the discount fares, I get told the airfare is actually higher >than stated. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was asked by a co-worker >if the $69 fee is worth it and I don’t want to tell him no just because of my >experience. >Their Web site (www.bestfares.com) is excellent. It has saved me lots of >money over the past year or two–far more than one year’s subscription fee. >It was on this basis that I subscribed, but the paid subscription has not been >worth the money. You get access to the subscriber fares and rebates on >tickets purchased through them, but I have not found this worth the >considerable inconvenience. >– >email: mikew 99 @ hotmail.com >WWW: www.bigfoot.com/~mikew99
Response:
> I have recently bought a membership to Best Fares Magazine but everytime I try > to book one of the discount fares, I get told the airfare is actually higher > than stated. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was asked by a co-worker > if the $69 fee is worth it and I don’t want to tell him no just because of my > experience.
My experince with them: 1. Signed up on internet. My credit card immediately charged. 2. Waited 6 weeks for anything to arrive in the mail. 3. During that time accessed website and tried to phone them to take advantage of"subscribers specials". They never ,ever answered the phone. 4. Magazine arrived. Filled with stuff I had seen before. 5. Requested refund and had to mail material back at my expense. 6. Four months after asking for refund and was still waiting for it to hit my account. After many emails they finally advised credit issued. I will see on next statement. Caveat Emptor
Response:
First off, congratulations on getting through their phone lines. I would say I have tried at least 3-4 times over several months top contact them and have finally hung up in disgust after being on wait for 15 minutes or so. The only time I got thru, the deal was not available. I have a travel agent who seems to get good deals for me and I dont have to wait forever on the phone for him so I have stopped calling Bestfares. One other thing that they dont tell you about is that they will AUTOMATICALLY CHARGE your credit card with the bestfares renewal rate when your subscription expires if you dont give them advance notice that you do not want to subscribe again. It’s in the fine print and if you do not want to re-subscribe you are obligated to return all the "freebie" crap they send to you in your intro package. Things like rental cards from Hertz which I already three of. Anyway I do not plan to renew and already cancelled that credit card so they will not have the pleasure of my company again. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I have recently bought a membership to Best Fares Magazine but everytime I try > to book one of the discount fares, I get told the airfare is actually higher > than stated. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was asked by a co-worker > if the $69 fee is worth it and I don’t want to tell him no just because of my > experience.
Response:
I have recently bought a membership to Best Fares Magazine but everytime I try to book one of the discount fares, I get told the airfare is actually higher than stated. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was asked by a co-worker if the $69 fee is worth it and I don’t want to tell him no just because of my experience.
Response:
> Being like Mike, I rely on my own web searches of airlines’ > web sites and travel agencies like Travelscape and Orbitz. > Orbitz is great for air fares, Travelscape/Expedia for hotels. > gld
Gary I have to agree with you on this one. It is much better to do the search yourself than to rely on others to do it for you. I have found that Orbitz generally has the best airfares, plus it’s the easiest site to search for my money. Happy hunting for good deals. AH
Response:
Recently I saw summer fares to Europe for $459. Is Best Fares truly worth joining. Will I be successful at buying our tickets for this price? Any other sites you can suggest. Trying to fly from phl to madrid. Please email me directly. Thank you very much.
Response:
Madrid is generally priced a bit high because of trade agreements with Spain. We’ve known the people at Bestfares for several years and have not heard a single complaint regarding reliability or responsibility. If you join their program, we expect you will receive your tickets at the price quoted. Their program, in a basic sense, does lengthy shopping for people with limited time and is worthwhile even for that aspect alone. On the other hand – if you have some time in April or May – and your spanish is sufficient – you can shave a few dollars off the current quote – if your travel plans coincide with the special offers available through the following url http://airtravelcenter.com/despegar.htm — Air Travel Center airtravelcenter.com 1-717-732-7222 1-800-931-7222 1 East Manor Avenue (rear bldg) Enola, Pa. US 17025-2822
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Recently I saw summer fares to Europe for $459. Is Best Fares truly > worth joining. Will I be successful at buying our tickets for this > price? Any other sites you can suggest. Trying to fly from phl to > madrid. Please email me directly. Thank you very much.
Response:
General consenus over the couple of years i’ve been on this NG – save your money. I subscribed for a year before i discovered this NG and never made use of them. Easier (and often cheaper) to do my own web searches. OTH, they are reliable. Just not a bargain. …mike – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Recently I saw summer fares to Europe for $459. Is Best Fares truly > worth joining. Will I be successful at buying our tickets for this > price? Any other sites you can suggest. Trying to fly from phl to > madrid. Please email me directly. Thank you very much.
Response:
Being like Mike, I rely on my own web searches of airlines’ web sites and travel agencies like Travelscape and Orbitz. Orbitz is great for air fares, Travelscape/Expedia for hotels. gld – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > General consenus over the couple of years i’ve been on > this NG – save your money.
no comment untill now