We booked flights through CheapOair and even paid for travel insurance believing it would protect us if an unexpected life situation occurred. Unfortunately, our circumstances changed in the most difficult way possible. My sister is terminally ill and has been given only 30–60 days to live. The flight we had booked happened to fall directly on her birthday, and I simply could not justify being away traveling when there is a very real possibility that it could be the last birthday she ever has. We made the decision to cancel our travel so that we could remain with family during this extremely difficult time. What followed has been one of the most frustrating and exhausting customer service experiences we have ever dealt with. For the past several days we have spent hours on the phone being bounced back and forth between CheapOair, the airline, and the insurance company. The airline tells us we must deal with the third-party agency that sold the ticket. CheapOair tells us to call the insurance company. The insurance company then sends us back to the airline or CheapOair again. This cycle repeated itself for three to four straight days with no one willing to actually take responsibility for resolving the issue. Every call ends with the same scripted responses and no real effort to help. The most upsetting part of this entire experience is that the only solution we have repeatedly been offered is that we must provide medical records from my dying sister in order to receive any consideration for a claim or credit. I will never ask a terminally ill family member to produce private medical documentation simply so we can recover the cost of a cancelled flight. It is unreasonable, insensitive, and frankly inhumane to expect a family to chase down medical records while dealing with the emotional reality of a loved one nearing the end of their life. What makes this even more frustrating is that we are not even demanding a full refund. We simply asked for a reasonable credit that could be used toward future travel once our lives settle down after this incredibly difficult period. Instead of compassion or flexibility, we have been met with rigid policies, repeated scripted answers, and a complete lack of understanding for what families go through when someone they love is dying. Travel insurance is supposed to provide peace of mind when life takes an unexpected turn. In this case it has provided nothing but stress, frustration, and hours of being sent in circles between companies that all seem unwilling to help. The entire situation has felt like a system designed to exhaust customers rather than support them when they actually need help. We have already filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and escalated the issue to CheapOair's corporate offices because normal customer service channels have not provided any meaningful resolution. We are still hopeful that someone in a position of authority within the company will review this situation with basic compassion and fairness and provide a reasonable solution such as a future travel credit. Until then, our experience with CheapOair has been extremely disappointing and one that we would not wish on anyone dealing with a serious family crisis.
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CheapOair Reviews Summary
Positive Highlights
- Offers competitive prices on flights and travel packages.
- Booking process is simple and easy to use.
- Has been a reliable service for many long-term users.
Negative Highlights
- Customer service is often unresponsive and unhelpful when issues arise.
- Refunds are frequently delayed or denied, even for airline-canceled flights.
- Travel insurance sold through the site may not provide the expected coverage.
Most commonly discussed topics
The most helpful reviews behind these summaries
Cheapoair & KLM – Horrible Experience, Avoid at All Costs! I booked a KLM flight through Cheapoair and it has been a nightmare: My flight was cancelled and I have still not been refunded. Every time I contact them, I just get excuses. I was forced to buy travel insurance through Cheapoair, which is a scam. The insurer doesn't process claims directly – they send you in circles with endless phone calls and no real help. My luggage was lost and even then, no compensation was provided. Both Cheapoair and KLM keep passing the blame instead of solving the issue. This feels like a setup designed to frustrate customers so they give up on their claims. I strongly warn others – do not book with Cheapoair or rely on their insurance partner. You risk losing your money, your time, and your peace of mind.
I have been a user of your service for a very long time (over 15 years). It's been great -- simple and easy to use. This time, I was very disappointed by your service. My flights got cancelled twice this year. The first time, you guys managed it perfectly. You proactively contacted me and helped me resolve the issue and fully refunded the cost. But the second time, it was below any critique. First of all, it took me about a week to actually get someone to respond to me in the Chat to resolve this issue. Second, you refund me for ticket costs but don't refund me the cost of seat selection. That is just ridiculous to be honest. Not refunding for seat selection for a cancelled flight...
I have been using CheapoAir for over 10 years and was satisfied with their prices and service. I recently booked a flight from San Diego to Bangkok. I paid an extra $1000 to fly Premium economy. I went to reserve my seats on the internet and there were none available in Premium economy. All the seats were economy. I did see a couple seats available but they wanted $65 extra. It takes 6 different flights to get there and back. I called customer service and he said he could book me into premium economy seats for an extra $280. When I complained, he said I didn't pay for "real" premium economy. I got the premium economy that allows me to cancel flights with no cancellation fees. I explained everyone knows what premium economy is. You pay double for wider seats and more leg room. He said it wasn't CheapoAirs fault, it was the airlines. They have lost my future business.
I booked a hotel reservation through CheapOStay.com and couldn't have been happier. The 2 BR, 2 BA suite was wonderful - large, sparkling clean, well equipped, and would have been a bargain at 3 times the price. I called the hotel a couple weeks prior to arriving to check the reservation and all was in order. I would definitely book through this site again. Service was perfect and I don't think I could get a better price elsewhere.
They were very helpful when a friend tried to book on our flights at a later date. Also, the sales staff were polite, friendly and informative.
I'd certainly use them again for domestic flights within the US.
I had no problem with gettingthe hotel and good price i wanted. The RETURN REP was great. Will use them again and recommend others to the site
I had a very nice stay in the hotel. The only bad side was the wait to get checked in.
Book a room at the hilton@ seaworld.the price was great along with the resort. Would highly recommend it.
Booked a hotel (Chateau Bourbon) in the French Quarter for Mardi Gras day. It was only $135! We really had a great time. It was one block off Bourbon. We had no trouble at all with this reservation. I would definitely use Cheapostay.com again and recommend it.
The place was clean, comfortable and everything was as we expected it should be.
Easy to find and met our needs. I would go back again.
Steven C.
It was good to get the price I did for my tickets but when I went to cancel a ticket they told me I would get a refund and after the 75 days were over to complain to my credit card the stop sending emails and I did not get a refund. For that stay away we had insurance WHAT WAS THAT 300.00 FOR
We had tickets booked last May to Mexico on Mexicana Airlines. Unfortunately they went bankrupt but we did get notification from Cheapoair many times telling us to rebook our flight. We have no complaints with them at all. Will book with them again in the future.
We found CheapOair to be good for Nonstop fare prices for our trip two weeks ago.
I will check their site again for my next trip to see if their prices, especially for Nonstop flights continue to be competitive.
Customer service horrible. You're put on hold FOREVER at some god forsaken overseas phone bank. Reps speak poor English, hard to understand. "Customer service professionals"? What a joke... Booked a motel stay at what I thought was a reasonable rate & paid the site via credit card. Upon checkout I received a receipt for $20.00 less than I had paid Cheap-o-stay. WTF? Motel insisted the rate was correct & that Cheap-o-stay had over-charged me. After being placed on hold for over an hour being shuffled from one person to another, I gave up; they got me for $20.00 more than I needed to pay. I'm left to assume that they considered that their commission for the transaction...? I'LL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN. There are other, more reputable agencies to do business with...
I came upon this site by accident. I was going out of town for the July 4,2010. The first couple of hotel sites I checked were already filled. This site popped up and I arranged a reservation with a hotel. When I arrived, the hotel had not been reimbursed by Cheapostay. The GM of the hotel was put on hold for 30 minutes. Then he was routed to another number. No one answered the phone after 15 minutes. I also tried to call with no result. Then I found out I could have booked the reservation through the hotel website for about 20% less. Next, the emails I sent were returned due to a bad address. I would never recommend them or use them again. They are LIARS.
I can not imagine anyone recomending this website> Unles they are paid for it.
I made an air reser vation that was all screwup, when I tried to changed they say
They airline charge was $50.00, that I had to prepay in order to change it. I did that.
Then I called the Airline, and they informed me they had no made any aditional charges. My total charges from the Airline was $225.20, they charged my credit card $322.98, and overcharge of $97.98 (many miscellaneous charges) You call them, and thy hang up on you. Could not get straight answer.
I wish i had read these previous before. I would not have mad the mistake of booking thru them. Please stay away. We should advise our contacts by email of this people.
Ditto! DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE! They lie to you to say that your refund has been processed and only if you keep calling, they keep changing the date that your "credit" has supposedly been processed. Their email says it can take up to 12 weeks for your credit company to process your refund. BS! Yes, you will deal with a customer service agent in India, who speaks very quickly with a heavy accent, IMHO probably all part of their scam to keep your money as long as they possibly can, if not indefinitely. Yes, there are lots of hidden fees, so please, I agree with STAY AWAY from CHEAP O STAY! After repeated phone calls to try to process my refund, I am going to my credit card company, as I am tired of wasting my time holding on Cheapo's phone, only to hear more BS from them. Scam!
This is by far the WORST travel site I've ever used! I booked a room only to find out the hotel was sold out. My checking account was charged for the room the same day but it's now 2 weeks later and I have yet to receive the credit back to my account!? I've had 2 previous representatives tell me that the credit had been processed and now after waiting on hold for 11 minutes, the rep today tells me that she cannot provide me any information to call back in 45 minutes to speak to the billing department! Absolutely ridiculous and completely unacceptable! I can guarantee that once this mess is over and I have my money back, I will NEVER use this site again or even recommend it to anyone else to consider.
After sending this email above to the "feedback" dept on 8-26-10, I received an email back on 8-30 stating that my refund was JUST processed on 8-27 when the reservation was made on 7-29?!?! TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE -- DON'T USE
I booked a last minute overnight stay at Myrtle Beach at the Hilton. Last couple of weekends of the summer and the beach is sold out. Booked my room and off to the beach. After a four hour drive, I arrive at around 10:30 p.m. and am dog tired, with my girlfriend and her son. When I get to the registration desk... no room. Had to call cheapostay which said, they sent me an unconfirmed confirmation... wtf?
Only consolation, they said they didn't charge my credit card. I'm at the beach without a room in a sold out town... this site sucked.
Oh, that "your card isn't charged", well, they did charge my card. When I called their customer service in INDIA they said it was a technical (my butt) error and that the credit had been processed... another lie. I had to contact my credit card company to reverse payment... three weeks later and I still didn't recieve a credit for the erroneous charge for the phantom booking.
CHEAP O STAY-----STAY AWAY!
I booked the Hotel Sofitel in Los Angeles, a 5 1/2 star hotel for a week. I couldn't believe HOW CHEAP this incredibly sophisticated hotel was. For the entire week, by booking with CheapOstay, I was able to save over $200 on my hotel rate. That's huge. I was there for business and needed to entertain clients, have meetings, etc. What better place than this luxury hotel. However, my company NEVER would have approved it, but for the GREAT SAVINGS we got by booking through CheapOstay. CheapOstay - You have a client for life. Thank you so much! Your company is awesome. Top notch service and cheap rates. Ruby -
Do not use this site, you will be jeopardizing your trip! The hotel booking I made through this site was not legitimate. When I arrived at the hotel, after paying for a night stay weeks before through Cheap'OStay, the hotel had not been paid and my room was unavailable! Of course my credit card had been charged and later when I phoned Cheapostay to get credited they never got back to me. Of course I asked my credit card company for a chargeback against them, but really, should that have been necessary? Worst experience I've had online.
DO NOT use this website to book your hotels, ever! It is not any cheaper than to book direct from each hotel's website. My experience was booking my reservation through CheapOStay.com and paid up front my entire reservation. Then, CheapOStay got credit for my award points instead of my getting the award points from Marriott. Our friends booked direct on Marriott.com and paid the same hotel rate and they all received Marriott points.
Not happy with CheapOStay.com.
Rubes B, 5/24/2010
I booked a room on-line with CheapOstay... I thought the name was great! Little did I know that if you need to make any changes or cancel the reservations you will get charged up to $50 that they will take out of you bank right away in addition to the the funds they have on hand for the reservation; you then have you wait for a refund on your funds for 4 weeks. On contrast for the same vacation I had booked another room with Expedia, they had no cancellation fees and they helped me book another hotel while transferring the funds they had on hand toward the new reservation.
WOW! If I didn't see this I wouldn't believe it! When I called the guy at CheapOstay.com he started yelling at me and saying how my bank would need the "one month" to process the refund... Unreal! The hold time on the average is about 10 minutes under the best scenario.
Do not use these people to make any travel reservations... they are the worst!
