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Iberia, JAL, CX, all seem to have flight+hotel/car options but only BA seems to have that very nice handy option of just paying a small deposit. Is anyone aware of other providers with similar features?
I believe Trailfinders and Flight Centre also offer this facility, but you can’t do it online.
I despise Flight Centre … their prices are not different to simply using an OTA or the airline directly.
Don’t know what value they add (other than helping those that cannot use a computer themselves).
I despise Flight Centre … their prices are not different to simply using an OTA or the airline directly.
Don’t know what value they add (other than helping those that cannot use a computer themselves).
Well the comment above yours states one very valid reason.
I despise Flight Centre … their prices are not different to simply using an OTA or the airline directly.
Don’t know what value they add (other than helping those that cannot use a computer themselves).
Well the comment above yours states one very valid reason.
But that comes at a price and without much benefit … I think coming here for advice beats most TA.
@Rob should turn HfP into a travel agent so we can book ourselves into fairly complicated fares 🙂Yes but the question was about other options for just paying a deposit. Most (al??) OTAs ask that you pay the whole amount on booking, and for those of us not employed by MegaBank, the thought of lending an airline £10k for 11 months doesn’t always fit with our own cashflow cycles.
So the discussion isn’t whether Flight Centre (never used them) or Trailfinders (last got a quote from them about 7 years ago and it was comical) can enlighten your life, it’s simply who lets you book a bespoke holiday but just pay a deposit now.
We booked a flight and villa package to Lanzarote a few years ago and only had to pay for the (LCC) flight part up front. I’m trying to remember which company that was with!
I am really confused here. @yonasl asked who apart from BA Holidays (effectively a travel agent) offers the option of just paying a deposit.
@The real Swiss Tony gave a couple of useful suggestions.
So @yonasl told him travel agents are useless. Why ask the question when you’re going to immediately slag off the answers you get?
So @yonasl told him travel agents are useless. Why ask the question when you’re going to immediately slag off the answers you get?
So ergo the TA that @Rob should open would also be useless because according to @yonasl all TAs are useless.
The value of the flight centre agency (that @yonasl despises) is that they offer a deposit often. An option they apparently want.
@yonasl specially dislike: 1) expensive travel agents like Trailfinders that want to “organize everything” and take a large cut and 2) useless TA like “Flight Centre” that add nothing to the mix … (For instance, Flight Centre” will cancel your flight if the tariff allows it – duh – but will charge you £125 for doing so … even if you book a more expensive refundable ticket they manage to rip you off by charging you!)
Paying for the whole flight and not the hotel is not unlike booking the flight yourself and doing a refundable booking on booking/hotels.com.
BAH is mostly a do-it-yourself where you select flights, hotels and car and then get to pay just £100-300 to book it. Not only does that help with cashflow but you can also cancel by simply losing the deposit (and I recently discovered they also have very good conditions if any family member, even those not traveling, becomes ill).
Most TA I deal with are useless. An office colleague recently was downgraded from J to Y and the TA wasn’t even capable of getting the 75% bac she deserved. @Rob as a TA with the support of this community will not let that happen.
Btw, if you read this and happen to be a TA then you are obviously not useless are you are here meaning you know the rights of your client!
You’re changing the proposition now.
You asked about paying only deposits for holidays but are now going on about services. A totally different issue.
And unless you have a very bespoke PAID FOR agent no TA (even BA hols) is going to do your delay / cancellation claims for you. Or you can use one of the claims handlers (and pay for as well via a cut)
If you want to write a post about how great BA Hols are (and they are and did far more for me the other week than I expected when I asked to rebook some flights because I was ill) then write one. Don’t try and do it via this round about route.
Man you really won’t let it go …
I asked if there are other providers that do as BAH does and allow you to pay just a deposit to secure a flight/hotel/car.
First answer was to check Trail Finders and Flight Centre.
From personal experience both gave very bad service (either that or extortionate prices). I much prefer the BAH system of building everything myself.
It also happens to be that when something went wrong BAH have been quite professional, helpful and candid.
@yonasl – how much do you think travel agents get as commission from airlines? It’s absolutely peanuts – when I used to work for a tour operator many years ago we wouldn’t even touch flight-only requests.
It was Travel Republic – they seem to be still going and offering low-deposit bookings.
It was Travel Republic – they seem to be still going and offering low-deposit bookings.
So that’s fundamentally different. I needed to book a quote expensive lodge in South Africa. Direct they wanted payment up front but an outfit called stayforlong (I think) were happy to reserve in advance but only take payment a week before arrival. I guess they could have sold me an air ticket too and I’d be in the same position you mention.
Where BAH and Trailfinders win is combining those bulk/consolidator airfares with deeply discounted hotels then securing for a 10% or so deposit. BAH’s online approach makes it easier to shop around and understand where they are getting the outsized hotel discounts.
Trailfinders no longer seem as competitive but I wonder if that’s because there never used to be a reference price to compare against. And the mark up on their ground arrangements is just phenomenal. But back in the day they cleaned up for me when booking long haul packages in the past.
I googled Travel Republic to see if they are still operating and their home page offers packages with deposits from £35pp. Maldives was featured which obviously wouldn’t use an LCC so they might actually be worth investigating.
I googled Travel Republic to see if they are still operating and their home page offers packages with deposits from £35pp. Maldives was featured which obviously wouldn’t use an LCC so they might actually be worth investigating.
I did a couple of tests and basically:
– you either have to pay the full flight with hotel due later (something you don’t need a travel agent for)
– for the £35 offer, the t&c are: “*Low deposit offers are available where indicated next to the specific flight or hotel in your search results, or as advised by your agent. The specified deposit will be required at the time of booking. The balance of the flight cost will be due 28 days from the date the booking was made. Any remaining payment will be due 28 days prior to departure.”
BAH remains the best option so far.
Lol, @yonasl, you didn’t ask for better options, just similar ones!
There are still a few high street travel agents around – It wouldn’t surprise me if they still offer various options including initial deposit as there must be people who aren’t in a position to pay for a entire holiday up front but prefer the benefits of a package holiday. A lot of people would never consider flying with BA and won’t even be aware that BA holidays exists.
If you’re over 50 Saga allows you to book trips through them where you only pay a deposit on booking and pay the balance later.
The obvious downside, other than having to be over 50yo, is that you’re limited to their organised tours as listed in their brochures. They do offer flights on BA and EasyJet though.
I know because my mum is on one of their tours in Montenegro, having flown on EasyJet,
Resurrecting this thread as I just discovered Iberia seems to offer similar conditions to BA Holidays:
https://www.iberia.com/gb/flight+hotel/
Combine and save
Booking your flights and hotel or car at the same time, for the best price. Saving with Iberia is that easy.Baggage included
Luggage included
Forget about paying extra for your luggage: all flight + hotel or car packages include a 23kg checked bag.Suma Avios Extra
Earn extra Avios
When booking the flight + hotel or car, you earn extra Avios: 1 Avios for every €1 spent on the package. (Only for Iberia Plus Spain members)Deposit
Book now, pay later
Secure the deal-of-the-day with a low deposit. Pay in as many instalments you like, we only ask that you complete payments 3 weeks before you travel.I was not aware of this and some flights to Spain or south america seems to be much cheaper through them (for instance, BAH was quoting £350 for a flight to MAD from LGW – plus then hotels and all that- thought IB it was half price).
Probably not for most on here, but worth remembering that EasyJet Holidays, Jet2 Holidays and Tui will also allow a small deposit per person with the balance due closer to the holiday. If you’re talking package holidays, you’ll often find the same hotels pop up as options for BA Holidays and some (or all) of those above.
Probably not for most on here, but worth remembering that EasyJet Holidays, Jet2 Holidays and Tui will also allow a small deposit per person with the balance due closer to the holiday. If you’re talking package holidays, you’ll often find the same hotels pop up as options for BA Holidays and some (or all) of those above.
We used Jet2 just before the pandemic for a package holiday. The flights were better than BA short-haul with hot, pre-ordered meals available, family priority security/boarding etc which was very useful at the time with twins in a stroller. They sent/send discount vouchers and friend referrals too which we have used. Being located within reach of Stansted, LCY and LHR (now easier via Lizzy Line) means we are never short of options.
As a comparison, BA Holidays offered the same hotel but wanted quite a lot more money overall. Flights were from Gatwick at an ungodly hour.
…And I’m supposedly a BA Fanboy!Probably not for most on here, but worth remembering that EasyJet Holidays, Jet2 Holidays and Tui will also allow a small deposit per person with the balance due closer to the holiday. If you’re talking package holidays, you’ll often find the same hotels pop up as options for BA Holidays and some (or all) of those above.
Sunweb for instance also has that (Ski holidays specialists). But you need to pay 100% of the flight and 25% of the hotel cost to secure the booking.
I don’t know how Tui/Jet2 are but I found other providers do the same.
In all honesty, in that case a flight booked normally and a refundable hotel will do the trick (without the packaged holyday protection).
What I was after was holiday providers where a £3,000 holiday can be booked with a £100 deposit like BA (and now IB) do.
Probably not for most on here, but worth remembering that EasyJet Holidays, Jet2 Holidays and Tui will also allow a small deposit per person with the balance due closer to the holiday. If you’re talking package holidays, you’ll often find the same hotels pop up as options for BA Holidays and some (or all) of those above.
Sunweb for instance also has that (Ski holidays specialists). But you need to pay 100% of the flight and 25% of the hotel cost to secure the booking.
I don’t know how Tui/Jet2 are but I found other providers do the same.
In all honesty, in that case a flight booked normally and a refundable hotel will do the trick (without the packaged holyday protection).
What I was after was holiday providers where a £3,000 holiday can be booked with a £100 deposit like BA (and now IB) do.
easyJet are exactly like BA.
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