Here’s Why You’re Not Finding the Best Deals on a Travel Credit Card
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Here's your Money Briefing for Wednesday, January 31st. I'm Arianna Aspuru for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for J.R. Whelan. The annual fees, the perks, the points. You've put some legwork in to make sure your credit card is the right fit for you. But if you're booking travel right on the card's site, those prices might not be the best ones around.
The biggest mistake that people could make is assuming that the price is the same across different websites. You should be doing research. I know it's annoying.
Why might prices on my credit card’s travel portal be higher than airline or hotel sites?
But generally speaking, these are being set by outside companies, and those companies are usually negotiating the prices with the airlines and the hotels.
Wall Street Journal travel reporter Jacob Passy looked into these prices and explains what you should know before booking that summer vacay. That's after the break.
If you want to get the best deal out of your credit card company's travel website, you might have to do a little more math and shopping around than you think. WSJ travel reporter Jacob Passy looked at what goes into these travel bookings, and he joins me now. So Jacob, as people have been going online to their credit card portal, what are they noticing about these prices?
They're often finding that the prices are higher than what they could find elsewhere. So the prices on websites like Chase's travel website or Capital One's travel website are going to be higher than what you might find on hotel and airline websites or through third-party like Expedia. And what did the credit card companies say about this? The credit card companies stress that they put together really lucrative reward programs. So keep in mind that one of the reasons why you might want to use these portals is because if you have a premium credit card like a Chase Sapphire or a Capital One Venture card, you will get extra points or miles if you book your travel through your credit card company's website rather than through a third party.
Who actually sets prices on credit card travel websites and how do third parties factor in?
Who sets these prices on the credit card company site?
So the credit card company's travel portals are usually run by a third party. So they're usually run by major travel aggregators like Expedia, Hopper. Chase is an exception. They acquired a company that runs their website. So they essentially run it themselves. But generally speaking, these are being set by outside companies and those companies are are usually negotiating the prices with the airlines and the hotels. So the credit card company itself doesn't really have a role in setting any of these prices.
But the prices on the credit card company's website and the prices on the third party that manages those sites are different. Is that what we're seeing?
Sometimes, yeah. It varies. And that's the challenging part for travelers. Expedia might not negotiate the same deal for American Express Travel versus its own platforms.
A big thing when someone's going to book their travel is timing. Someone who logs onto their credit card site, they might not see the same prices as they see on Google Flights or the airline site. What if the price changes on those websites? Does it update on the credit card side?
Airline pricing, hotel pricing are dynamic. They respond to demand. So if a hotel or airline notices that there's suddenly high demand for a given flight, they're going to boost prices higher in turn. But those updates don't filter through automatically. It can depend on how often those third-party websites update. So that could explain some differentiations. And that also creates some opportunities.
How does dynamic pricing and timing cause price differences across booking platforms?
If your site hasn't updated as quick as the hotel's own website, that could be a chance to save some money.
And for people who are looking outside of their credit card travel booking website, a benefit of booking through a third party is, like we're talking about, that price can be lower. But what are you missing out on if you do that?
It varies. So if you're booking through somewhere like Expedia, you know, you're not going to necessarily have the same level of customer service as if you booked through the airline or hotel directly.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:03–0:36
2
Why might prices on my credit card’s travel portal be higher than airline or hotel sites?
0:36–2:22
3
Who actually sets prices on credit card travel websites and how do third parties factor in?
2:22–3:56
4
How does dynamic pricing and timing cause price differences across booking platforms?
3:56–5:09
5
What tradeoffs exist between lower third‑party prices and booking through a card portal?
5:09–7:20
6
How should I compare point rewards versus out‑of‑pocket price differences?
7:20–8:23
Speakers
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