Additional Features:  

You can earn frequent flyer miles with all flights booked through Expedia. They also have a deals finder for those just looking to get away.

Expedia offers a low fare guarantee for all bookings including flights, hotels, cars, cruises, vacation packages and more. If you find a better price online for the exact same trip within 24 hours, Expedia will refund the difference and give you a $50 travel coupon. Airfares must be at least $6 lower to qualify.

Expedia is the only online travel site we reviewed that includes a travel arranger. This feature is designed for those that frequently book travel arrangements for others like personal assistants or spouses.

Booking Options:  

Expedia.com includes all the usual booking options like air, hotel, car and cruise. Additionally, they have activity booking and corporate travel features. Expedia does not book train tickets like Travelocity and Orbitz.

With Expedia, you can be as specific or general as you’d like about your flight, hotel, car and cruise requirements. When booking a flight you can narrow your search to specific airlines, class and layovers. You can also stay flexible with their flexible dates option that looks for the cheapest airfare regardless of dates and times.

Their hotel search can search for hotels near particular addresses, points of interest or star rating. You cannot narrow results based on amenities. When renting a car Expedia allows you to request special options like car seats, ski racks or snow chains.

If you request or require a paper ticket Expedia.com charges $19.99 per ticket. Additionally, if you need to change part of your itinerary like dates or flight numbers there is a $30 charge separate from the airline fees.

Resources:  

Expedia.com provides a slue of resources for travelers including travel news, flight status reports, weather updates, a currency converter, maps, passport information and airport guides. Expedia’s airport guides are articles about different airports across the country and world. Many go into detail about walking to your gate, places to eat and bathroom guides.

Although Expedia provides the most essential travel resources, we were disappointed they do not have travel guides.

Ease of Use/Support:  

Expedia.com is easy to use and easy to navigate. All booking features are clearly labeled and self explanatory. They provide telephone and email support, and a comprehensive FAQ. We were impressed with the response time and urgency Expedia handled our emails. All emails were responded to within the promised four-hour time frame. However, the FAQ would have been easier to use if there was a search feature.

Expedia.com was the first and is still the best in the online travel business. They give you, the customer, ultimate control of your travel arrangements and provide the best customer service on the Internet. Additionally, Expedia’s resources provide a one–stop–shop for all your travel needs including flight status, weather reports and travel news.