Difference between booking flights with Skyscanner, Airline and Expedia

 Do you know that you can potentially save a lot more if you book on the correct site at the correct time? But first, let us know you the difference between booking your flights on Skyscanner, Airline website and Expedia.

1. Booking flights on Skyscanner

https://www.skyscanner.com.sg/

To cut the long story short, you do not make any transaction on Skyscanner. Skyscanner is simply a search tool for you to find the cheapest flights from Point A to Point B on the various airlines and online travel agents (e.g. Expedia, Zuji, Cheaptickets etc). Once you complete your search and click on your preferred airline or online travel agent site, you’ll be redirected.

What is Skyscanner good for?

• Neutral comparison cross all airlines and online travel agent sites
• Set a price alert for your route and you’ll be the first to know when the price changes

 What’s the disadvantage then?

• Lack of visibility on additional promotions you may enjoy
• No additional cashback on cashback sites (e.g. Shopback or Ebates)

.

2. Booking flights on Airline sites 

There are two distinct school of thoughts when it comes to booking on the airline’s websites. Some think that you’ll always get the cheapest tickets on airline’s site while some think that it’s always expensive to book on the airline’s site. The truth is, there’s no correct answer because some airlines may like to run exclusive fares on their site (which means it will be the cheapest) while some others don’t.

What is airline’s sites good for?

• Booking on the airline’s site usually means that you’ll deal with the airline’s customer service agents. Which well, can work both ways. So so some research before taking the plunge!
• Clear indication of miles entitlement
• Additional cashback on cashback sites (e.g. Shopback or Ebates)

 What’s the disadvantage then?

• Lack of visibility on other airlines’ promotions (it may be a lot cheaper for the route you are taking!)
• Some airlines do not offer cashback on cashback sites (e.g. Shopback or Ebates)

.

3. Booking flights on Expedia

https://www.expedia.com.sg/

The line between online travel agents (such as Expedia, Zuji and Cheaptickets) and Skyscanner is a thin one. They both allow you to search across airlines so what’s the difference? Main difference is that you make the transaction on the online travel agent site and some sites may actually offer you additional discount. For example, Zuji offers 5% rebate with various banks and Cheaptickets is now offering $100 rebate for Japan packages. These are the promotions that you will not see on Skyscanner or the airline sites.

What are online travel gent sites good for?

• Additional promotions with banks or airlines
• Comparison across the various airlines and their flight timings
• Additional cashback on cashback sites (e.g. Shopback or Ebates)

 What’s the disadvantage then?

• You wouldn’t see what other promotions other online travel agents have
• To deal with the online travel agent’s customer service team instead of the airline’s

.

SO WHAT DO WE SUGGEST?

Search for the cheapest flight on Skyscanner first then check on the online travel agent sites for any additional promotions. Finally, once you have decided on the airline, do a sanity check on the airline’s site.

Don’t forget to use the cashback sites for additional cashback too!

Emma
My parents think I travel too much but if not now, then when? New experiences excite me the most and that's why I rarely visit the same city twice unless (a) they have awesome food and (b) they have awesome food.
Top