LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Google Flights is experimenting with offering a price-match guarantee with money back.
8 News Now’s travel expert weighs in on the pros and the caveats of choosing to book this way.
You have been scouring the websites, and believe you’ve found the best flight deal.
You buy your ticket and wonder what if the fare drops afterward? Google Flights thinks it has the solution.
In early April it began offering a price match guarantee.
“They’re monitoring it for you, so you don’t have to set a bunch of alerts, which is great,” Katy Nastro said.
She believes the pilot program allows people to save money.
Here’s how it works, you buy your flights through the “book on Google checkout platform ” and you set up Google Pay – that’s the portal you would get the refund through.
“When you book that flight if there is an opportunity where it does drop, you don’t have to do anything, you are just getting that cash back after you take that flight so it’s really doing all the legwork behind the scenes for you,” she added.
Because without “Google flights’ price match guarantee,” Nastro said if you get an alert about a cheaper flight. You still have to get in touch with the airline to cancel your original flight.
Then rebook the cheaper one, once you get the credit. Nastro said the ease of the Google flight price match guarantee is attracting more people to its website. But keep in mind, this is a pilot program not every flight has a price match guarantee.
Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines, and Spirit are the airlines offering the feature through the book on the Google checkout platform.
Also, it can only be used for flights that are domestic or originate in the United States.
Another restriction includes that it can not be done on multi-city itineraries.
“So two one ways in different cities, outside of the U.S. it must have that badge that signifies that it’s offered, and not all airlines offer it,” Nastro said.
Refunds are capped at $500 dollars per year.
Google tried this out briefly in 2019 but the pandemic brought that to a halt.
and Capital One also offered it through its revamped capital one travel portal. It’s also important to note Southwest Airlines is not included.