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Booking a flight this summer? Read these BBB tips first

Here are a few ideas for what to do when booking your next summer vacation.
Better Business Bureau
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Travelling can be a headache, especially when you are bombarded with choices to make even before you get there!

How much baggage can you take, without being charged extra fees?

Should you get the cheapest flight and chance the tight layover?

How much travel insurance coverage should you buy?

The list goes on. The BBB Serving Mainland BC and Yukon are reminding consumers to do their research before they fly to a new destination.

Here are a few tips on what to do when booking your next summer vacation.

Local Example in Metro Vancouver A Burnaby man narrowly avoided losing several hundred dollars after trying to change his flights with an airline carrier in August 2022. The man and his partner had done a quick online search for the airline carrier’s phone number, but neglected to pull the number from the official website of the airline carrier. The number they called was actually a third-party travel agency. The travel agent explained that the price of their flight had increased and they would have to pay a fee of nearly $500 to re-book. The couple says the travel agent continued pressuring the duo to give him their credit card information to re-book, but the couple refused and hung up the phone. Within the hour of that phone conversation, the flight agent called them back to say the price had dropped to $395. Under a time crunch and feeling the pressure to act quickly, the couple paid the rebooking fee and shared their credit card information, home address, and passport numbers. The final straw for the couple was when the flight agent called once more at the end of the day, claiming there was an error on their behalf and the payment was only for one ticket, meaning they would need to pay an additional $395 – and if they wanted to cancel the re-booking, they would need to pay a $200 fee. Distraught and overwhelmed, the man hung up the phone, called his credit card provider, and cancelled his card.  The following day, he was able to call the right number with the airline carrier and re-book his flights at no additional cost.

“In hindsight, this scam scenario may seem like an obvious one to avoid, but everything changes in the heat of the moment,” says Aaron Guillen, Media and Communications Specialist, BBB Serving Mainland BC & Yukon. “Whether it be a last minute change on your flights or trying to secure a vacation rental, there’s always going to be that feeling of pressure and time moving against you, and that’s the perfect moment for scammers to strike.”  According to the latest BBB Risk Report, travel/vacation scams are in the list of Top 10 Riskiest Scams affecting Canadians, coming in at #9. Although very few consumers are exposed to vacation scams (1.6%), more than one-third of them (38%) fall for the scam, with a median loss of $1001 CAD. Between May 2022 and now, there were 81 vacation/travel scams reported.

Here are BBB's top five tips to know before booking your next trip:

1. Use caution when using a third-party website. There are legitimate third party websites, such as Expedia, that can get you a great deal, but in the grand scheme of vacation websites, there will be dozens of potential sellers you may run into that could potentially be websites that will steal your personal information. BBB Scam Tracker continues to receive reports of scammers pretending to be online airline ticket brokers. Always take 5 - take five minutes, five hours, or five days to think before making a large purchase.  2. If purchasing from the direct source, speak with a representative about your bookings. Make sure you call the airline, hotel, resort prior to landing at your destination to confirm the legitimacy of your reservation. You will also be more likely to get proper credit for loyalty points (if you participate in that hotel’s program). No matter how you book, call the airline a week or so out to confirm the reservation. Also check out BBB.org, as the airline or travel agency's BBB Business Profile will also include their company rating, complaint history, verified customer reviews, and other important information.  3. Avoid wiring money or using a debit card for any payments before or while travelling. Try to use credit cards instead. These payments are the same as sending cash. Once the money is sent, there is no way to get it back. Where as with credit cards, most banks will be able to offer fraud protection and the charges can possible be cleared from your account, if you catch the charge and report it to your credit card company within a short period of time. 4. Keep all documentation up-to-date before you book your trip. Make photocopies of your itineraries and leave a copy behind with a family or friend in case of emergency. Make sure to check your passports and any other travel documentation to ensure they have not expired. To avoid disappointment, don’t wait until the last minute to apply for your travel documentation. Also make sure you have the other necessary documents relevant to your trip such as vaccine information, print outs of transfer vouchers, travel insurance, international drivers permit, or other such items. 5. Don't trust third parties when it comes to your passport. If you haven't travelled abroad in a while, you may need to apply for or renew your passport before making your trip. Just make sure you follow the instructions on the Government of Canada website on how to apply or renew your passport and bring the required documents to a Service Canada passport office. BBB warns against paying a fee or giving personal information to anyone who claims they can speed up the application process.