Travelers Advantage is a Traveler’s DIS advantage
It should be called Traveler’s DisAdvantage
I’ve had really bad results with Travelers Advantage over many years of membership. The only reason I stick with this horrible service are the “bribe” rebate coupons they send each year when I threaten to cancel. These roughly cover the cost of this horrible travel service but it’s time to get rid of it. I think the “hotels at half price” may still be about the same as online pricing if you have the time to mess with it and make a lot of calls but their call in reservations system is scandalously expensive given that you are *paying them* to find deals. I’d like a *single example* of TA beating Hotwire pricing for comparable hotels or a few examples of them beating out a Kayak.com hotel search.
Example: Booking for a specific Days Inn in CA today I was getting many different rates. I called TA and asked them to match the online price. Nope, they said, and suggested deceitfully that they were using “real time” rates and probably I could not get the lower rate. Travelers Advantage had $75 plus taxes where my initial search gave me $67 including taxes. I pulled up their “low price guarantee” and read it to the customer servicer who just kept insisting on the high rate. Although it’s possible they would have eventually refunded the difference I’ve seen such “guarantees” before and they often try to take advantage of loopholes and BS. I didn’t want to book and then hope to get justice months later.
So… back to Days Inn website which had even lower rates than earlier (or I missed an option there), so I went ahead and booked at 204+tax for the 4 nights vs the 300+tax I would have paid Travelers disAdvantage.
But here’s the funny part: After I booked at Days a chat box came up saying ‘hey, would you like to save $30 on today’s reservation? Sure I said. Up came this: “JOIN TRAVELER’S ADVANTAGE!”
I explained I’d already joined and they gave me a higher rate than I’d got -literally- one second ago from this website and asked why.
She never answered me, just disconnected. Sad, but at least I got my good rate in spite of all the wasted time with 1) My existing Travelers Advantage Membership and 2) Another prospective Travelers Advantage Membership.
PT Barnum would be proud of you, Travelers disAdvantage, because you, like he, act on the knowledge that a sucker is born every minute.
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Great article… There’s no question that sites like Priceline and HotWire that are selling what is, in effect, “distressed merchandise” will give you the lowest price, if that’s your goal. You don’t necessarily know *what* you’re buying, just the price. TAs cannot match those prices, nor can they match “internet only” prices that you can find on a hotel’s own website. “Internet only” prices can be low because they are made without the hotel’s having to hire a reservationist, or pay a commission to a TA.
With that being said, it’s important to read the “fine print” in the internet only prices. These are often pre-paid rates with significant cancellation penalties. Sometimes they are non-cancellable and non-changeable (Priceline, for instance). The latest article in my own blog discusses this pitfall of online booking.
TAs do provide a valuable service, on the other hand, for travelers who are looking for upscale luxury, not price. I know from personal experience that Virtuoso agents can often provide pricing equal to or better than the lowest online prices with additional amenities as well… at luxury hotels.
This service is worse than useless! I canceled over a month ago, then today I noticed another pending transaction on my bank account by them. When I called, they said they have no record of my cancelation! The Travel Lodge I stayed at in Sandusky, OH was HORRIBLE!!! It was dirty, and on the website they say they have a “gameroom.” Yeah, check that out sometime…it’s a little “shack” in the middle of the parking lot with a hand-painted sign that says “gameroom” and if you look inside the dirty windows you’ll see a couple of old mattresses leaning against the wall, and that is all that’s in there! DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY! I’m thinking I might have to cancel my debit card and get a new one to keep these idiots from continuing to take money from my account!
Excellent points David and it was actually unfair of me not to note that my $204 booking said it was NOT cancellable That said, I have seen TA pricing get beat by comparable deals far too many times not to stay pissed at them.
You probably weren’t chattin’ with a hummin’ bean. I imagine the chance to express your dissatisfaction with TA may have been of some benefit
I’ll bet these TA reservations are high up on the hotel’s hit list of “internet reservations” that can get munged if there’s a situation at the hotel, too. Nothing like talking to the front desk and getting, “Sorry, you have an INTERNET RESERVATION — you’ll have to talk to them!”
Tommo I’ve heard of that type of problem (I think the worst case is “sorry, we don’t show any reservation Mr. Outofluck”
However in general once you are at a property, esp. larger resorts, I think the key thing to do is be nice to the clerks/manager who often have power to move people around in the thousands of rooms and fix problems. In fact I think some people don’t realize how effective the “squeaky but nice wheel” approach is to getting better rooms once you are on-site in resorts. We had great results with this in Hawaii getting a room with a nice view even though we had “budget” rooms.
I’ve een a TA member for 5 yr. use only the 1/2 price booklet. often AARP is just as cheap a discount. Three exceptions: a Tysons Corner holiday Inn for 65/nite, Hilton in Lexington KY for $65, and the Alyeska Prince hotel in Alaska’s ski area for 85. $20 30 less per night than elsewhere. Since I hit these last two frequently, it has been worth the cost.
Yeah, yeah, and then some. I had T/A for about six months ($60 I will never see again) and got a one-time $20 hotel discount (legitimate). I also got the “$40 discount check” which was actually 2)$20 checks, one valid January – June and the other valid July – December. I like Alaska Airlines flights, Marriott hotels, and Thrifty car rental. I find that by being a preffered customer with these companies and shopping them extensively (i.e. booking more than a month in advance) I save more and have far fewer hassles. I looked at some of the “vacation packages” T/A puts together and I think that they are a rip off as well.
I joined TA through the pop up offer after making a Days Inn reservation. They told me
“You will also receive an email with your $30 hotel mail-in rebate form within 72 hours of
accepting the trial Travelers Advantage membership. Simply send us your Days Inn hotel
receipt along with a printout of the rebate certificate we’ll send you via email, and we’ll send
you a check for $30.”
When this never appeared I called them and got a run around (that’s not how it works, we don’t do it that way. we don’t control what our bot agent does). So I tried to cancel and got the usual pitch about benefits, etc. and had to demand to speak to a supervisor. I called Days Inn to point out the web offer error and was met by the “not us” response.
As far as I can find from online searches, Travelers Advantage is not much of an advantage. Their price for the Days Inn was 18% higher than the Days Inn website prepaid price. And who wants to deal with a company that lies to you.
yep..The Travel’s Advantage / Day’s Inn combination is a scam. I have had the same issue of the pop-up grabbing info on day’s Inn website and now it is more than 8 months trying to recover the coast even though I had canceled it when I noted that the stuff had nothing to do with day’s Inn. — Moe
I am having the same type of problem. I found an airfare lower than TA and when I called, the guy I spoke to said, to fax over the lower fare itinerary and when I spoke to him after thatm he said that they would be sending me a refund. Now his supervisor is calling saying he was wrong, and I won’t be getting a refund. I have been fighting nonstop for three days. If this conitnues, I will fight them for it. It’s a $336.00 difference! I’m not just going to sit back on this one.
i had like room only one month
These Travel Advantage guys are CROOKS! I signed up about 5 years ago and cancelled soon after when it became clear that the promises were mis-leading. The charge has popped up on my credit card the past couple years, so I have to call to cancel every year, and every year they only want to give me a pro-rated refund rather than the full amount until I raise a stink about it. Un-freakin’ believable. What a scam.
Thank you for the warnings. I am going to cancel before my trial time is up and not get mixed up with these crooks. We have enough problems in life without knowingly adding to it. I can only hope these scammers can be scammed so they will know how it feels. They deserve it. I could not work for a company that I know is taking “advantage” of people.
They should be ashamed of themselves. Remember what comes around goes around.
I am having a type of problem that I found an airfare and when I called, the guy I spoke to said, to fax over the lower fare itinerary and when I spoke to him after thatm he said that they would be sending me a refund. Now his supervisor is calling saying he was wrong, and I won’t be getting a refund. I have been fighting nonstop for three days.
Dear Ladies/Gentlemen,
I am know why but yoy have charged to my credit card (American Express) $99.99 for something still I don’t know.
I did receive a junk mail from TraverlersAdvantage, but I threw it to the garbage like any other piece of junk mail. I did nothing with the papers I received, nor used the coupons for gas you sent.
Please advise my credit card company that your charge is incorrect.
A. Obregon
abdonn33@msn.com
A small typographical error in my e-mail sent to you: Instead of I am know it should read: I don’t know….
I expect you advise my credit card company to reverse the charge for $99.99 made on Sep. 12/07..
Thank you,
A. Obregon
Do have read similar comments for TRAVELER’S ADVANTAGE on other blogs too.. seems to be right. To name a few typepad , complaintsboard etc.
Thanks for sharing this info..
Definately usefull for others
I ususlly ignore these offers from TA or any other similar companies.
Everyone on this blog with negetive comments are on the tip of the iceberg. There are many of us who have been swindled by these companies & thier decptive practices. My wife & I lost over $7500 to Travel Club International, now doing business as Advantage Travel. There are about 40 of us who share information at a blog called Vacation Scam Busters. We’ve been trying to get some law enforcement agency or national media to pay attention to this issue, but to no avail. If anyone has an idea that we’ve not tried or who might want to join our voices of outrage please email me @ woodlings@sbcglobal.net.
Oct. 29, 2007
I booked a room online at a Days Inn for a stay during July. Somehow got sucked into the Traveler’s Advantage thing, ONLY because they promised me a 30 dollar refund even if I declined the membership, if only I waited until after I received their promotional materials. Duly declined the membership the day I got the materials, and I think I had to request the refund, which had mysteriously declined to 20 dollars. Today, I got a check for $9.25! What happened to the $20 or $30 I was promised? Not only did they short the check, the attached material informed me that “When you cash or deposit the enclosed check, we will automatically extend your membership for additional eleven months following your thirty-day trial and charge the $139.00 annual fee to the credit card you used with Travelers Advantage for a membership in Buyers Advantage unless you call 1-866-584-2457 to cancel during the thirty-day trial period and owe nothing.”
I think not. What a stinky deal! Perhaps I was naive to pursue a freebie, but still it is a shock to discover that a sleazy outfit like Travelers Advantage could be associated with an otherwise decent hotel chain like Day’s Inn. It needs to disengage from T.A. lest the smell rub off.
Abdon – this is NOT Traveler’s Advantage. You need to contact THEM and your Credit Card company to reverse charges.
David -I think that $9 check might have been a new promo offer – I got one of those as well and trashed it. You should call them to follow up on the refund they owe you.
The gist of all this is that in my opinion TA is a negative investment. You might find a few good deals but you’ll have to work for them so hard and mostly on the phone that it’s better to just use Kayak.com and the Exit Info Coupon books to find the best deals.
I guess I’m like a lot of the rest of you. I listened to the promoise of $40 and paid several months at $10 per month. Never was able to use it once. I finally got smart enough to cancel and then asked for my $40 gas refund, which I thought would be given in a check or a coupon which I could redeem at a station (Read the small print.) It took 2 letters, several phone calls, and several months before I received my gas coupons. Only today. But here’s the deal. I have 4 $10 coupons, which are to be used for the next year–1 coupon per quarter. And then I mail the coupon with the gas receipt to receive my check, which they say will be sent to me in 4-6 weeks. They probably know that most of us will not bother to redeem these coupons strung out over 12 months.
I just cancelled my TA membership after being a member for many years. I was with the company due to ease of use and their rebate program. My wife purchased airline tickets to fly home less than a year ago. The flight was cancelled due to weather so she contacted TA and picked the following day which was also cancelled due to weather. The flight never occurred but TA charged our credit card.
So for almost one year we’ve been trying to get a refund. TA would work on it for 1 to 3 months, then tell us we needed to take it up with the airline (regardless that TA made the charge for the ticket and is on the credit card invoice). The airline would then look into it and say the refund would need to go through TA. After almost a year of this crap I’d had enough, “cancel my membership, pronto!!!”
So thanks to TA we lost over $300. Their customer service did zero in regards to fixing the situation and what was funny was as I was cancelling my membership they were attempting to offer me supposed “deals” with their company. Simply amazing. Lesson learned, an expensive one at that, goodbye Travelers Advantage.
I have belonged to Traveller’s Advantage for many years – originally it was the Sear’s Travel Club, and then for some reason I was switched to T.A. and it was never as good – even though it always was T.A. !!
In the early years I did get good deals on Hotels At Half Price, but you always had to be careful and the benefits were spotty – some very questionable hotels were included and my “half price” rate was considerably higher than what they were giving to the Homeless! This is true, especially in Brighton, U.K.
Of late, the website has been awful, inaccurate, and has “stranded” me several times – left me in limbo while the computer was whiring away AFTER they had taken my credit card # and personal details.
However, with perseverance I still often get a very good fare – I just got one to go to Miami from San Francisco for $300, cheapest anywhere, on a convenient direct American flight.
Now I am working on the Hotel, and the prices are high, even at Best Western, where I am a Gold Crown Member, with points, and an Access MVP member through Traveler’s Advantage. The rates are no better than the AA published rates, notoriously high.
It takes a lot of time, and on the whole is not satisfactory – although at least I remember who my reservation is with!! I did like using them as my “travel agent”, but now I have the feeling that time is long gone and I need to update and try something new. A pity.
While I’ve been a TA member for years, I use them only
for week or more stays, when they can get at least comparable rates. Used to be they’d find the BEST deal…rarely, now as they have “PREFERRED” Partners. I usually will find better deals at travel search engines. Then I tell TA what flights to book.(for a 5% rebate)
In the end I still save $. Occaisionally the car rental coupons will save a few bucks. Most times smaller local companies or car rental.com will save MORE $.
I miss the $50 TA discount off American Airlines tickets unattainable elsewhere, when “preferred” partners meant something. TA are you listening?
AND those 2 for 1 airline ticket coupons for staying a member are about user friendly as those BS time share incentives, restricted as hell in its “12 step” process
TA are you listening?
The few discounts for time spent are getting less worth it.
Mike Los Angeles January 15,2008
Mike and Doreen thanks for those updates – it looks like you have learned to use TA successfully. I *just* called today to cancel and they offered me a companion ticket to stay at least another 7-10 days after which I can cancel and still use the ticket. If it’s a “real” companion ticket that’ll be great, though some of the companion tix are scams in that you must buy an expensive special ticket to get the 2 for 1 deal.
Hi. I agreed to join AFTER paying for a room at Super8 nearby a Mardi Gras ball. The sell for me was the $30 rebate I could get. Of course, many phone calls later and even after confirming my email address to re-sending my rebate form (ha ha – they outright lie about sending it) I wrote to their parent company, Trilegiant right through their website form and threatened to file a claim with the FTC, etc. So, they re-mailed me the entire intro pack twice, but still NO REBATE form! I used the same response emails and copy/pasted it all back into their online form and lo and behold, I finally got someone who told me to email back my fax number so she could fax it to me. I sent her my fax number and during the wee hours of the next morning, in came the fax!
I have scanned and saved the fax as a jpg if anyone wants a copy of it. I’ve only mailed it out today, so we’ll see if I actually get a check or not.
Meanwhile, I canceled the membership and am on lookout for stray charges.
Only had time to read the first one and scan the rest, but here’s my two cents.
I have been a member of Travelers’ Advantage since the Sears Travel Club days, many moons ago. Sears cancelled them and I had to start from scratch at Travelers’ Advantage direct, at a higher membership rate. It was originally $50 a year.
I did get very nice deals with STC / TA especially in the early days before the internet, especially on the airfares and some hotels. Mostly though, it was a convenience to have a travel agent, sort of, and everything in one place. I get lost on the net.
But now that the internet has really taken hold, I have to say it’s had its day and I am having to find my way somewhere else. I bought a ticket to London the day before yesterday for $739 only to find, today, that Virgin is offering it for less than $400, same days. TA was carrying Virgin so I don’t know why it came up. (There is a chance that the $400 doesn’t include the taxes… actually now I come to think of it, that is likely as I think the taxes are close to $400!! So maybe I’m all right there). BUT, booking a hotel is now a nightmare with “Access” instead of Hotels At Half Price, doesn’t work at all, and the site is a mess. I am going to have one more try and then that’s it.
I did sign up for one of the web e-letters that advise you of deals and it looks like that might be a good thing. I don’t like it though – putting my credit card on the line all over the web, and not having everything in one place.
When I have been able to get through to them, TA has been helpful at trying to put matters right, for example when their website was totally messed up they did give me a credit back.
A pity, but I guess it’s such a fast-changing marketplace. It makes travel stressful though, and they seem to forget that in many cases travel is entirely optional, so the demand is elastic. Trying to book reasonable hotels for a 22 day visit to the U.K. to visit relatives – I am ready to either cancel the trip entirely, or choose to stay with the relatives, although I would prefer a hotel. Travelers Advantage’s search engine doesn’t have a clue where places are located.
I signed up for TA but just canceled my trial. The woman tried her best to throw coupons my way to entice me to stay but all were too conditional. I was annoyed at the junk mail already sent to my house and expect more from 3rd parties.
I told her I find better deals on sites like kayak.com and she said that TA offered a triple price difference if I documented a lower price. I don’t know if this is even true but seeing the trouble that others have had, it’s not worth it.
Using their search engine for airfare, it didn’t even recognize PHX (Phoenix) as a airport code…3 times???
I’ll stick with travelocity, kayak, expedia, priceline, and other free searches for deal hunting.
BTW, thanks to Joe Duck for this site. It’s nice to get the real story.
Thanks Mr. Travel. Funny you mentioned bribes. I called to discontinue but they offered a 2 for one flight coupon. Of course it did not arrive so I had to call back but then they added two $40 rebate coupons for travel booked through them, so I can’t cancel yet!?
I’m not certain it’s the good kind of 2 for 1 flights vs the crappy ones that require high cost flights but in any case at least I’ll recoup something of my investment in TA.
The best price guarantees are generally so laced with exceptions that it’s not worth messing with them. I’ve tried with hotel guarantees several times, and they *always* find a way out even when it is clear I found a cheaper rate.
Do not do business w these weasels.
I bit on one of their enticements to join for gas coupons.
When I read the fine print I tried to bail on the whole deal.
Then the games began,we can’t cancel your membership for 30 days ,and how can we extend your free membership priviledges etc.Then,funny thing,a month later they LOST my cancellation number.Sorry,it was never entered into our computer.
A year later I realize they have stolen $187 in dues for
membership in a club I never wanted to stay in.
I never used their coupons,or services,and tried to bail out,no harm done.That was asking too much for them.
The INABILITY to cancel the account,at any time,should send up red flags to any consumer.
Don’t get suckered by these guys like I did.
Ha – they sent me the junky kind of “companion ticket” that have flights only available through a third party at higher-than-market rates so you don’t really get a companion ticket – more like a tiny discount after a big hassle.
No $40 coupons sent either. Time to cancel for good!
Update: Cancelled and to their credit they agreed to refund the fee back to November – ie full year – rather than just the initial automated refund which would have only been for the *remainder* of the year. If you are getting a refund be sure to ask them to go back as far as they can, and if they say “no” ask for a supervisor.
OMG, I think I just fell for the TA spiel. Now I want to cancel, but I do not have any account details…I thought this was a Super8 deal….where do I go, is there a TA number somewhere??
Peter – the TA membership help number:
1-800-548-1116
thanks!
Hey there, I feel better now, that I hear all these stories about TA. I thought I was the only one believing all the nice stories about the 25$ coupons. If you try to call the membership number it’s out of service, and you can not contact them, they send you here and there…they are a big scam!, can anybody do something?
What did you expect?
If it started as some Sears marketed thing, it had to rely on heavy telephonic pitches rather than merit to begin with and could only decline after that.
What was Traveler’s Advantage really going to do that anyone couldn’t do with a simple search engine anyway? And often the mega-travel sites such as Orbitz had better deals.
All these superdiscounts but only if a member meets a series of high hurdles about points and dates are clearly illusory.
Why do people fall for this stuff in the first place?
Its like this inexhaustible supply of dolts who will sign up for MultiLevelMarketing schemes convinced that they will eventually find one that is not a fraud.
Just thought I’d make one thing clear. I work at the company that handles Traveler’s Advantage and have to take member calls everyday. Just in case you have ever called to cancel or will be doing so in the future… our representatives DO NOT care if you keep the membership or not. The only reason they throw coupons at you is because they are being recorded and have to make and “honest attempt” to save your membership. Truthfully they wish that people would not sign up on the internet just for the trial period if they have no intention of using the service, and they also wish people would stop cashing the checks that our clients (which are YOUR banks and credit card companies) are sending them just to get a couple of bucks back in their pockets. (This is not to mention just signing up for the free coupons and the rebate on your new booking when you already have the intention to cancel anyway.) We get tired of talking to you people, would rather NOT attempt to save your membership, and wish their was another way for you to cancel!
As for the people who have actually used the product and are unhappy (which there are less of you than those that actually love the service… and I was even surprised to find that out) you have a valid point and it sucks that a lazy travel agent wouldn’t help you out a little more to get you a better price… but that’s American work ethic for ya.
Hello Friends,
Amazingly enough, I am a sucker. Just got the 2fer airline seats offer so I stayed a customer. LOL, will wait a week and cancel again. THEN, from what I have learned here, I will go to my bank and BLOCK them from auto billng my account. Hopefully, I have learned from this.
There’s a sucker born every minute, i know, I am one.
Jessenia thanks for checking in to this hornets nest! I certainly realize that customer service folks are in a tough spot here, especially with somebody who is unhappy with the service. Even though I agree with much of what you have written I think TA’s has to some extent failed to create fair and easy ways to cancel memberships. Not so much heavy deception, but doing a lot to get you to “keep things going” and take advantage of the fact that cards will keep getting billed and people may simply forget to cancel. TA’s doing the math and noting that up to a point, the harder they make it to cancel means more profits for them.
Yesterday afternoon after reserving a Super 8 Motel room, a window popped to ask if I want to enroll travel advantage membership. So I did. Later on I got to read this forum and realize it is kind of terrible service. When I call back to the custom service of membership, they told me I cannot cancel it right now and I have to wait 72 hours because you just enroll it. I am worried about if it is easily to cancel this membership. Anyone has similar experience? What is your suggestion to go further? Is that OK to hold my credit card I used for this membership? Thanks
Thanks for the heads up on TA.
As fate would have it, I was sitting in front of my computer while I listened to a VERY slick pitch from a TA rep and just happened to GOOGLE Travelers Advantage. I dropped into this board while listening to the “great deal” of $40 gas coupons, easy cancellation, blah, blah.
I was referred over by Thrifty Car Rentals and now I am leery of Thrifty. Maybe, they should disassociate themselves from such an upstanding company as TA.
Thanks again and sorry to read of your negative experiences!
Just canceled a “cancel at anytime” membership I was suckered into by offer of gas vouchers from Days Inn booking.
Here is number I used to cancel: 800.678.3029
I could defintely hear the desparation in Martin’s voice.
I signed up for this service via a Howard Johnson reservation, purely for the “$30 cash back mail-in rebate.” After 3 days, I called to cancel and spent a good 10 minutes trying to convince the person on the other line to “please just cancel my membership.” I finally told him I was on a cell phone and each minute trying to explain to him that I want to cancel costs me $.40. He finally agreed after that.
For those looking for the rebate, I received a link to this from one of their e-mail’s today:
http://www.ecustservice.com/premiums/traveladv/30rebate/
It still asks for your membership number. Can anyone verify if you will still receive the check even after canceling?
I got the pop up offer after making a reservation with Super 8, I immediatly checked for reviews then I copied and pasted some of the reviews into the chat…the chat was immediatly disconnected with no attempt to rebuttal the horrible reviews. I would avoid this offer after all I have read.
I just finished the live chat with Jessica. I had no idea that she was not a part of the hotel. I feel so dumb now. Same as you all said. The window poped up and told me I could get $30 cash rebate. I made a reservation with Ramada Inn. I am planning to cancel tonight as soon as possible. Thanks for this info. I’ve been scammed in the past before and I don’t want to be again.
Wow ! “Jessica” was busy today. I feel so dumb ! TA said
they would take the info from my reservation at Days Inn and credit card used for that reservation. I think they also signed me up for another entertainment package too beside the travel package at $11/mo for each. I should have trusted my gut. I believed it to be from Days Inn. ** I will keep you posted.
Has anyone cancelled TA and NOT had a problem? I just canecelled within the 30 day window and am hoping that I will not be incorrectly charged as many have been. I did use the gas coupon and a discount on the hotel and got my rebates quickly. Also signed on for a sub-group that sent me a $25 American Express check which I cashed. Now I am paranoid that though I cancelled both memberships I will be “paying” for my mistake of joining in the first place.
Jennifer make sure you follow up. I think part of their problem is that the phone folks are probably incentified for NON cancels, so I’m not convinced they follow up well on cancel requests.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,
I WOULD LIKE TO CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION TO TRAVELERS
ADVANTAGE AS OF NOW 10/14/08 TRAVEL ADV 85751797
THANK YOU, RALPH SESSA
I’ve been using Travelers Advantage for several years and have received hundreds of dollars in rebates every year. I travel every day and request my rebates every month. The service is really for people who travel every week. I can’t see it paying off for a casual traveler.
They do pay their 5% rebates as promised, but they don’t match air fares, but that is because how the air fare system works. I don’t blame them, just buy the cheapest ticket you can find.
Traveler’s Advantage are liars! I requested a Hotel Access Directory numerous times over a YEAR’s period and never received one. I would call and they would say they were going to send it and it would never come. I finally cancelled our membership and instead of crediting the full amount they only credited 80% (even though the membership had just renewed!). I called and was told the balance would be credited, it has not been, I just called again and was told they would credit the 27.15 but I don’t anticipate it.
This company is a complete rip off and I would not recommend them to any one!
I’ve been using travelers advantage for several years but am about to cancel because of the hassle. I travel with a family of three by air 2 to 3 times per year and occasionally stay in hotels. I have found airfares are usually about the same as I can find on the internet if I search myself first and tell them what I want. Then I get the 5% back. Websites like Expedia usually charge $5 a ticket booking fee which can add up. We used to get good deals on rental cars, but now seem to do better on our own. They do not carry every provider which limits value. For hotels we often do better at the hotel website or at an independent hotel not in their system. For an occasional traveler like myself it works out to about break even or slight savings financially. However, I often get frustrated with the travel agents because they can’t find what I want. Also, they know nothing about the hotels they book so you have to do your own research anyway. Also, when I tell them exactly what I want they often try to change my mind or put me in a nonrefundable “package.” They did this on my last trip and I soon realized it was not as good a price as I thought but was locked inbecause the better price was for a different rental car company.
So I would not say I have been scammed, but it is not a high value for the occasional traveler and seems to add stress rather than relieve it.
Add Days Inn to the list of co-conspirators in this Traveler’s Advantage fraud scheme. Anyone who knowingly is a third party to fraud and attempted fraud is just as guilty as the perpetrator. There is no way that Days Inn is not aware of the criminal practices of Traveler’s Advantage aka Trilegiant. Someone needs to spend some serve old prison time for this.
I’ve been involved with TA numerous times — just take the free Trial, file for whatever rebate offer they made, and get out b/f the Trial expires.
This time (Oct 2008), they offered me a “$40 rebate on your recent TicketMaster purchase”. From past experience, I knew better, but bit anyway. Lo and behold — they sent me four (4) $10 rebate certs! So my rebate would up being only $10, not the $40 they promised me. I would note they do pay their rebates promptly — faster than many so-called “legitimate” rebates.
Also, somehow they got me into Shopper’s Advantage without me knowing it — or maybe I just was asleep when I clicked on the “join” button. And I missed the Trial expiration, so they immediately billed my cc $120. Never heard from them when they billed me — I just noticed it in passing while checking my cc online. I called SA and griped, and they offered me “$100 in grocery and gas rebates”. Wow I can hardly wait to see what that turns out to be.
In summary — you can profit handsomely from TA/SA/GF et al, with a small effort, but you have to be very vigilant. Otherwise, you’ll get dinged for the annual (or monthly) fee, and have to spend time on the phone getting it back.
You’ve been warned
Just call me Sammy
Can anyone post what the TA charge appears as on the credit card so that we can simply block the charge after cancelling and before we’re fraudulently charged?
Sammy the offers are complicated enough IHMO it’s not worth the time to keep track – e.g. the gas coupons have specific dates, etc. I used to think I could keep up with all this, get the little deals, and get out, but that generally failed as you need to keep track of so much for so little.
The most important problem for me was that the air fares tended to be much higher than otherwise, hotels about the same as services and more than on the road coupon books which remain the best way to find hotels if you are travelling off season or mid week.
Well, I too have been a member since the dark ages, and it is true that many of the original “advantages” have been lost, especially as the search tools on their web site are rather pathetic, and their telephone agents have grown progressively less competent.
However, I do still find my membership to be quite beneficial. I rarely would book a hotel through them, as most of the posters here seem to wish to do, and would rarely research a flight on their web site or on the phone with them. But once you know exactly what flights you wish to take, if you put them into the TA site flight by flight you will generally get the same or better pricing from TA as at other sites, with no booking fees and a 5% rebate on all travel.
As an extremely frequent flyer (150,000-200,000 miles per year) those 5% rebates do add up.
My family and I recently booked planefare and car rental thru Travelers Advantage and experienced a major problem on the return flight home. Our confirmation showed us flying from Ontario, CA via Denver to Phila, Pa leaving at 2:20PM on Apr 26, 2009.
When we arrived at the airport at noon on the 26th we were advised by United that our flight had been changed to a layover in SF vice Denver but we were too late. When I asked why I wasn’t notified the agent told me it wasn’t United’s problem and that Travelers Advantage (TA) should have contacted me. They didn’t!
As a result of TA’s incompetence my family and I had to travel to LAX for an 11PM flight that night. While United provided the transportation to LAX we received no other compendation for our troubles (e.g. food voucher, upgrade, rental car, etc.
I just tried to email my complaint to TA using the response button on my confirmation letter but received an error message so I suppose my next attempt will be by phone which won’t provide the written documentation I was hoping for by using email.
Be careful if booking thru TA that you verify your confirmed itinerary prior to departure (both ways) since although their confirmation says you will be notified of changes, that obviously isn’t the case.
If anyone has advice on how to get satisfaction please send it to me.
Been a member for way too long. Have never found a deal better than say orbits, expedia, etc. I don’t travel as much as i anticipated after signing up for this service, so i have tried to cancel several times, getting great travel deals and coupons if i continue my membership. Last one i got was half expired and only good for about three months. I am planning a trip in the near future so i called…new coupons for gas and groceries were offered…guess im still a sucker cause i waited on the phone for almost 20 minutes before i hung up, waiting to talk to a representative to see if they could accomodate by travel arrangements. If i don’t get a really great deal they are history.
very long blog…
its nice and awesome…
e0mail me at stifler_305@yahoo.com…
i want to share my experience too…
I realize that I had not use Traveler Advantage for any of my trip I would just check the internet and book my ticket. I called to cancel and was offered alot of rebates and deals but when I said no to all of this the person from traveler advantage change his tone of voice on me and was very rude when I ask him for his supervisor name and phone number he click off the phone on me. I had to call him back. Talk about a bad experience if I had wanted to call back and reconsider I would not now their customer service is poor and lacks training and sensitivity.
*sigh* The box came up, it said it had my info from my online reservation with Hojo. I thought it was a Hojo affiliate. Then, my spider-sense started to tingle. As soon as I asked if I would get a statement, the conversation disappeared. I was concerned, so I called Hojo and they had never heard of TA. I came down here to google them and found all this. *sigh* I’m going to cancel as soon as I can, before the end of the free trial. I hope I have better luck than those I’ve read about here!!
Hojos a rip off too..Utica Ave..the service is nothing short of appauling. The rooms filthy with broken and burnt furniture. They refused to even bring me another pillow.
I have had deals with the Holiday Inns at Brooklyn NY that are cheaper or on par and put the HOJO to shame.
PS Why does anyone want to spend $200 a night to talk to the hotel front desk through glass??
Clearly TA makes its money from the monthly fees it collects from thousands of suckers and unwary consumers. They’ve no intention of providing services of any kind beyond the minimum required to stay legal. What really chaps me is the number of (otherwise reputable) companies who feed them our credit card information so they can start sneaking their charges onto our cards without ever asking us directly for that information. Such a scam!
Ok, add Ramada to the list of hotels. I just got asked about it and I thought it was an affilate program for Ramada. I’m cancelling my membership before the 30 days are up, but after my trip.
The last line of the chat before it cut out (so I couldn’t say anything before it ended) was that I’d get a packet within 3-4 weeks. So, if there’s a delay it won’t get there until after the trial is over.
Thank-you, very much for all these comments about Travelers Advantage. I knew its kind of of fishy when I did not get my instant discount coupon and instead I have to send my receipts now in order to get 5% cashback which going take several weeks to process. The program is too much work and
I still can’t find how much it will cost after Trial Period.
I am going to try to cancel it today and shame on Days Inn to get involved with this time of scam.
Just cancelled the trial-membership and they try to give me another $100.00 coupons and asked if I got my packet with $30.00 coupons? Good trick, because that would make my 30 days free tial expired. Thank goodness I read this blog. Thanks again for your comments and Thank for the people who created this Blog Site.
I have only been a member of the “Traveler’s Dis-Advantage” program for a week. They keep telling me that they will send me an email with my information. They did say it would take 3 to 5 business days to receive this information. It has been over a week and every time I call them I get the same runaround. I talked to a supervisor today and she tells me that they do not have the ability to send emails. That when you join the TA it automatically generates an email. Now the only way I can get my info is to wait for them so send me a hard copy in another 7 to 10 days. Be very cautious about dealing with a compnany that gives different information every time you speak with them. And be cautious about a company who says that they are a successful and large company as they are, and yet they cannot send emails.
I got swept into this two days ago and will have to wait another day to cancel. I got the number to call for cancellation during the “Chat” because I had a feeling that things weren’t right. According the the representative it takes 72 hours for the information to get into their system. I was instructed to call back tomorrow.
Here is the number if anyone is having issues waiting for the packet of materials …
Traveler’s Advantage 1-800-678-3029.
After booking at Days Inn website, a small Live Chat Window with Days Inn logo came up. Thinking it was an official Days Inn program, I agreed to it with $30 rebate. And they keep pushing freebies to me and I ask them what was this for. And they said it was for another program. I said hell no, I do not want it. And the guy just disconnect. I just wonder why Days Inn would allow such deceiving Scammers to use their logo on the PopUp WIndow. Don’t they worried they get sue as well in the future if there is a Class Law suit. I call Days Inn Presidential Office and inform them about such issue and I don’t know what they doing now. Don’t touch TA with 6 ft pole.
Excellent points covered and you seems to be right. Nice Post
Yup,I found out quick. Tried their service for 30 days and cancelled because I could get cheaper rates on the internet almost anywhere. Then they offered me a free ticket on my next fligt for a friend or family member. Didnt work. Bribes don’t work with me. I declined and cancelled. I learn fast.
I just signed up for travelers advantage club. How do I cancel? What number do I call? I want to cancel asap!
i saw your question about how to cancel. can you please let me know how? thanks!
I called 1-800-678-3029 to cancel my membership. They’ll try to convince you stay and bribe you. I just said I don’t live in the country and decline.
These people are RIP OFFs. I called to cancel BEFORE the
30 days free trial period. They are charging my bank card every month anyway. There was no number to call them again.
I thought when I cancelled, that I wouldn’t need # anymore.
Took a few months to notice my bank statement.
I experienced this company a few years ago with credit card company’s being the 3rd party company. The TA company sucked & was hard to get them to stop billing my card after I cancelled. YOu have to start recording your telephone calls with these companys because they do it to you & when they find out you dont have the cancellation number anymore, you are done. You cant prove you cancelled & they wont tell you that you did. They like to pretend you never called to cancel.
Trav.Adv company IS bad news. They were taking money out of the account after they said there would be no charges. It’ crazy how companies think they can do this. I do not know how they are still in business. I guess they say ‘there IS a sucker born every second’.
Everybody needs to email the State Attorney General’s office in the state where the company is operating from. With alot of complaints, they open an investigation. We may be able to put these dirtbags out of busines. They get rich nickel and diming millions of people to death. Thats how they stay in business. Luring you with free stuff to get u to bite & that’s all it takes. YOU r booked!!. YOu cant get off the hook either. They WILL take you for a ride!
I think they are out of Connecticut. Google Connecticut State Attorney General & it will pop up. CLick the link that says “contact us”. File your complaint. They will also refer u where to go for further complaints if they can’t help you. We must begin to STAND UP to big corporations abusing citizens. We cant roll over while they steal u blind & we end up with nothing.
Thank you! I just made a reservation on the Days Inn website and this little chat box popped up offering me the $30. It sounded like a good deal but fortunately I did a quick internet search before agreeing, and came to this page.
I’ve found a lot of these things are more trouble than they are worth. It seems to be much smarter to just shop around on the internet for deals and not sign up with one of these programs.
I got ripped off… they took $31.98 every month from my account and they did it for fortunately two months. I found that and called for cancelling it. Hopefully they won’t charge me next month…
I too got ripped off with this company…they were taking money out of my credit card every months.
I was scammed as well, but unlike others on this thread, I specifically declined the discount when it was offered to me by a Super 8 employee when I purchased a room in person. I told her that I never remember to cancel these kind of promotional deals and would prefer to just purchase the room. I was still signed up for TA and even though I have canceled, sent faxes, and a letter….they still charge me $15.99 a month and have no record of my cancellations, confirmation #’s, or correspondence. This seems illegal. Any suggestions?
I signed up for Traveler’s Advantage offered by Wells Fargo. The first month was free and as a bonus they would give me a video camcorder/digital camera. I have never received any info that I even signed up. Not even a simple confirmation letter with an account number. It’s now 4+ months and I’ve gotten nothing! The only confirmation is the monthly charge for the service that I’m not getting!! It sounds like they’re offering similar “deals” involving mp3 players or other incentives. Don’t do it! If I found the other reviews about this NOT FOR FREE Orbitz/Travelocity site, I would have never done it!
___________________
harrison
My friend got a bill in the mail saying she is one month past due on her membership. She never joined this outfit, when she questioned when she used the services she was told 2008. she did not think quick enough to ask how the membership was paid for for 2 years until now. She does not have computer access so she did not join that way. She is waiting for them to prove that she signed an agreement and what trip she took in 2008. she is handicapped and does not travel. They are looking to sucker her in by providing a credit card number so they can bill her.
We are going to report them to the Attorney Generals office and anyone else that can stop them from doing this.
Oh no! What am I going to do? Last month on my birthday I was put through to travelers advantage when trying to book a hotel room in Brooklyn NY for 3 nights. They said if I joined now and paid for the 3 nights (approx $200 per night) they would send me $20 in the form of a check for each of the nights so $60. I dubiously asked what the scam was, she replied nothing just dont cancel your membership till you receive your checks.
I lost my job a few weeks back and have been desperately awaiting the check. I opened it today and its for $20. When I called them they said the membership takes up to 72 hours to activate. And obviously I booked on the afternoon we stayed, as the operator told me that would be fine.
I just tried to cash the $20 check at a check cashing place and they refused to cash it not giving any reason. Chase bank said they may be able to do it if I bring it in on Monday and they will charge me $6. So now I dont have a cent..any advice?
I booked a room at Super 8 and was referred to them. “Jessica” pops up and kept asking if I had clicked “Yes, sign me up.” The $30 cash rebate sounded too good to be true, so a Googled them and found this site. It would appear that they are a bit scamy and “Jessica” appeared to get frustrated that didnt just turn over my credit card to them. It was also obvious that Jessica was a little scripted. I asked about the process for submitting a claim, her response was “have you clicked Yes, Sign me up?”. Im toggling between tabs to respond to her and after she told me to “take my time” Jessica logged out of chat. If all they can do is try to get me to provide my credit card info and NOT answer any questions, that shows what kind of service they will provide. I dont have time to argue with people about gas cards or service cancellation, so I will pass on signing up. Thanks for this site
what the world needs is fewer whiny pinheads like you. if you don’t like the program then cancel it, dimwit.
[...] Travelers Advantage is a Traveler's DIS advantage « Joe DuckI've had really bad results with Travelers Advantage over many years of membership. The only reason I stick with this horrible service are … [...]
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I signed up for this service and less than 12 hours later I realized that I didn’t want it. I was pretty impressed that TAN canceled my membership within 40 minutes. I have not been charged yet, but I guess we’ll see.
yjru used to give 50.00 coupons for traveling when ever you called them, now they send a coupon book and good every 4 months, to many people that dont understand english,make booking reservation errors which result in not getting your cash back bonus.
[...] Travelers Advantage is a Traveler’s DIS advantage « Joe DuckI’ve had really bad results with Travelers Advantage over many years of membership. The only reason I stick with this horrible service are the “bribe” rebate coupons they send each year when I threaten to cancel. [...]
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[...] Travelers Advantage is a Traveler’s DIS advantage « Joe DuckI’ve had really bad results with Travelers Advantage over many years of membership. The only reason I stick with this horrible service are the “bribe” rebate coupons they send each year when I threaten to cancel. [...]
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Yipes.
These spam posters can’t even learn that it Travelers not Travelrs.
This Travelers Advantage is a complete scam. We signed up for it and did not get anything they promised. We were supposed to get a gas card for signing up that we did not get. we received no offers. We then canceled it and then was somehow signed up for Shoppers Advantage, which they deducted payment from our bank account. We still don’t even know what Shoppers Advantage is. we certainly did not sign up for it. We called and now canceled that. It will be interesting to see what we are signed up for next month and what is deducted from our bank account. DON’T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!! It is just one big scam I think we’ll report them to the BBB.
Wow talk about an ongoing problem. My take – I called Thrifty Car Rental just a few days ago to ask a question about the shuttle service since I’d never had to use a shuttle service at a car rental before. The woman I initially talked to was a regular english speaking woman with no accent whatsoever and was generally helpful. She invited me to save an additional so much for reserving over the phone. I wasn’t trying to place the reservation so I kind of avoided that topic. Before hanging up she said “You don’t want to be transferred to find out about the additional savings and $20 in free gas?” I said sure, like whatever. The “transfer” part was the first oddity, like why couldn’t she just tell me about it? She transfers me to what sounds like a guy in a call center in India. He had an accent. And I have to say, before I go on ranting the guy had the most calm and reassuring tone I think I’ve ever heard from a customer service person. He starts into a total spiel about the 5% cash back and said he’d up the offer to $40 in gas coupons (’cause I’m so special, right?) and how it was only $1 to join and I could cancel anytime in 30 days and still keep the gas coupons. Oddities 2, 3 and 4 start with the calm tone – SUPER reassuring which always puts me a bit on edge when someone sounds suave. (Manmeet…) The trial for a dollar didn’t really throw me on the basis of being cheap, but rather why bother. Like there are plenty of free trials, and once it’s over it’s over. Well if they’re offering to basically pay me for coupons and crap why would they care about my dollar? Naturally – they gotta get that credit card number somehow so they can keep charging it. Then the guy was sooooo reassuring, like he totally was primed for me to get $40 in free gas for a buck and then cancel instantly. Because good business always involves selling $50 for $25. Above all, he was heavy into his spiel. Thinking there was still a possibility he could make my reservation, too, I told him no, no thanks. I am not into the idea of going for a free trial that involves me getting a bunch of freebies for a service I had absolutely no intention of keeping. Seriously, if I had the slightest inkling of definitely keeping the service I might’ve thought about it but to deliberately go in with the intent to immediately cancel wouldn’t feel right to me. But like I said, this guy REALLY wanted me to do just that. Anyway, I told him no thanks, and he went RIGHT back into his reassuring spiel. I said it again after he finished (he talked all the way through), and he went RIGHT back into he EXACT same lines! “It’ll only be a dollar and you can cancel anytime within 30 days and your service doesn’t start until a few days from now so blah blah”… I eventually had to hang up on him, which I normally wouldn’t do but I really hate aggressive sales tactics. This site only confirmed what I was already thinking. I hoped that wouldn’t be the case but you don’t try to force free stuff on people with that much fervor if you aren’t secretly up to something.
[...] apparently also comes up with Days Inn a lot. My search led me to a few different sites, primarily Traveler’s Advantage is a Traveler’s DISAdvantage – JoeDuck. His site only confirmed what I was already thinking. Another site talking about some of their [...]
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Great post. I stumbled across this from a Google search when I too had just booked a reservation, and a chat window popped up “would you like to save $30 on the reservation you just made?”. I asked if the agent could actually guarantee that if I signed up for Travel Advantage for $1, that I would later receive $30 back and how I’d be able to prove to someone at Travel Advantage the $30 offer. She disconnected the chat. Nope, guess not.