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.
Important Things to Know:
Our reviews are monitored for authenticity
On SmartCustomer, businesses may not offer incentives or pay to remove reviews. Read more about our Review Guidelines and the process we have against fake reviews.
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.
Like the rating says "they don't get any worse than this". Remember the old saying "buyer beware", now defunct thanks to the removal of the ban on advertising by lawyers? (Yes there was a day when they couldn't and I was around the day they could. That is another complaint). To the point - try to change a flight - more than a week in advance - look up the desired flights on their site - get, or attempt to get, charged $660 plus the original $423. Bull. Direct to the airline company - $134, fully refundable, exit row window, 2 free bags. Your choice.
Found the best rate on a hilton, which was not available anywhere, i did have some issue while making a change of dates but the low rate and ease of use the site made it all a wonderful experience. They need to upgrade their customer sevrice for sure, i think the agents are trying but not fully resolving the issue, it took me 20 mins to make a change to my booking. Which was then done succesfully.
The cancellation policies of this website are not clear at all and in my opinion, rather arbitrary. It is one thing to be a 3rd party site offering low fees with a specific policy but I was given the run around and THREE different cancellation fees for my hotel reservation which was still 3 WEEKS away, and 2 weeks ahead of the penalty period as stated in my confirmation email (for one night's charge). The charges given to me on the phone ranged from $12-73 which is an exorbitantly wide range to be telling someone. It was even more condemning to hear that my penalty would be lowered if I was able to transfer the reservation to another name - I have never heard of anyone charging a penalty to save a reservation to another name and CC. Clearly they are making up amounts on the fly, and do not have any consistent form of policy. I would not book on this site unless you are absolutely sure this is a trip you can make to avoid this headache.
I think the site visually is convincing and done well, however, the job they do is awful. I called to get a room at a motel that I aways stay in for a certain event and they really screwed up the reservation and it cost me a fee for them plus it cost me $61.00 more for the room for two day. What a bad, bad, bad experience. Shame on them. If you are smart, you won't use them.
I myself had used this website and it is really cool. You get lots of discount on it. You can book hotels at cheapostay and get fairly good discounts. All kind of hotels are available on this website.
Customer service stinks -- Called twice to change a reservation date on a Sunday afternoon, but told they me I had to call back Monday. Sunday first call, the agent said I had to change the date with the hotel, but the hotel said only the 3rd party (CheapOStay) could change the date. Calling right back, Sunday second call, advised the computer wouldn't take a change -- got an error message -- call back Monday. Monday call, agent cut me off after giving him the booking number. Never again with these guys and I hope others can learn from this experience before it's too late!
Horrible Customer Service - I booked a hotel stay using this web site and less then 12 hours later when I found another site that was $60.00 cheaper I call to see if I could cancell my booking and was told I would only be charge $25.00 total but when I got my credit card bill I have been charge a total of $55.00. When I called back no one ever tried to explain what the charges were. If they are going to charge that amount they should post up front before anyone books using there site. I will never use this site again and hope everyone else thinks twice before using this site.
BBB gives cheapoair.com an F. Major scam that is illegal! - This company is fraudulent and should be punished. While trying to search on-line for the cheapest Alaskan flight, I came upon Cheapoair.com for $565 (4 stops & a grueling flight but the price was right!) When I click on "Book" flight, the website stated that my credit card #'s and my address/zip didn't match.? I tried multiple credit cards (3) and they all were met with "credit card #'s & address don't match". I next called one of my credit card companies to see if this could possibly be true and they said that my # and address match and they had not receive any request for the purchase nor had any request that required matching address with credit card number been processed. They then stated that they would allow such a purchase because of our credit was solid and that the message is coming from that website and no contact was made with American Express. I told them what company was giving that message and they told me to contact the company. Well that was a merry-go-round... here's how it went...
Booking agent #1: Did not ask her name but she could not give me that flight for that cost... explained they are all booked (Because I was on speakerphone, my spouse got on line with a second computer and got the same flight for $565... also tried to book it but got the same message) I told her that the flight is still on-line and she stated that the website wasn't real time? I asked her what time it's on and she said it is updated every 24 hours! (What kind of business does that), I then asked her why I received a message that my credit card # and address didn't match when I tried to book the flight. She tried to blame it on my credit and my card company and I cut her off telling her I just called my CC company and Im fine and it is your site that is generating the message! I ask to speak to her superior...
Agent #2... Name was Sherperd. 5 minute wait. He does not know my complaint. Hmmm So I go thru the same story, he can't tell me how his company "knows my credit card #'s and address don't match" tries to sell me a ticket for $200.00 more and I asked to speak to his manager.
Agent #3... His name was Vincent. 5 minute wait... My first question was if he knew my story/complaint. He said "no" but to tell him! Sound familiar? My next question I asked if he was a booking agent or a supervisor. He replied a booking agent. I then realized they were just sending me around and around agents to see if I would tire. I told Vincent my whole story yet again and told him that I wanted to speak to the REAL supervisor immediately and threatened to contact the better business bureau and other whistleblower organizations.
Agent #4... 20 MINUTE WAIT! His name was Nigel and he was nasty! I told him my whole story (I think he knew it already) He could not answer my question about credit card numbers & address not matching. I asked him if there was a scam going on where you bait customers on an imaginary deal, stall them from booking by a bogus message stating their credit card information doesn't match, and then when they call you to clarify you state "oh I'm sorry that flight is all sold out. But how about this one..." At that point he said the changes have been updated. I'm sure he did this during my 20 minute wait! He accused me of just wanting to argue and not really book a flight. He continued to berate me while I stated over and over that I just wanted to know the answer to why his company sent that message when I tried to book that flight with 3 different credit cards including my spouses company card!. I then wanted to know his immediate supervisor. He said he was at the top. There was no one else. I told him I will call back tomorrow to speak to someone different... He then offered to sell me the ticket for $20.00 off the updated price. I told him no and that it was more important to get the word out about your company than any deal you can offer. So This is why I write here. Thanks for reading. I will follow up tomorrow and call the company back. I also looked up the company on Better Business Bureau and they give cheapoair and "F". Oh why didn't I check that first!
Disappointed customer - I am trying to find the best possible way to help people not to buy airline tickets through Cheap O Air. They do not honor their contract and they do not have the cheaper airfare. They do not post bad reviews when they received them. They will put you on hold for an inordinate amount of time when you have a complain. Overall, very poor services.
