Buying a ticket!

[LilyChiba]

This has probably been asked somewhere before and I can't see it, however I intend to by my SO's ticket to Australia. This is our first trip, so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to go about it.

I'm looking at using Expedia.com first before anything else. What information do I need to know and how do I fill out the payment options if I am to use a credit card?

If I go the route of a travel agency, how do I go about sorting that out with my credit card as well?

These may seem like silly questions, but I've honestly never had to deal with such before now and it's confusing to say the least to me. Thanks for everyone's time and help on this matter.

[Tooki]

Firstly:

*Where is he coming from?
*How long is he planning on staying for?

With websites, just pay attention to transit times and also the airlines. I would google them and read reviews. With paying, you just put the credit card details when it asks for them. It's pretty straightforward and no different to any other e-transaction.

I would recommend going to a travel agent though. It is smart to shop around because they might end up offering the better deal. They will do their best in finding cheap flights. When I used one, you just pay for it on card. If your card has limits, they will let you pay split the invoice and pay part cash/part card.

If he is coming from Europe, I can offer a lot of first-hand help.

[LilyChiba]

Philadelphia to Brisbane. And staying for 2 weeks. Expedia is giving me a good price of $1564 I think it was, and I don't really see many travel agencies quite that low. But I will have a look around over the next few days. I assume, because I've read otherwise, cardholder name is going to be me after all and not his since it is mine? Limit isn't a worry.

[Tooki]

Oh ok so visas won't be a problem . H

I still think you should look around. You can always tell them that you found it for $1564 on expedia. I know STA will match the price, even if they find a more favourable flight schedule.

Cardholder name isn't a worry. I just had to split how I paid for it because my flights totalled around $2500 and my account had a daily $2000 eftpos limit.

When you fill it out on the website, you just put in your card number, security code (usually 3-4 digit code on the back of the card), expiry date and the name. It's really simple

[LilyChiba]

Alrighty then. Thanks for the help, I'll do that. Kinda crazy the things you worry about first time around.

[lucybelle]

Just FYI, on some of those US sites you can't use foreign credit cards. Or at least I couldn't use my SO's credit card when buying online since there's no US address connected to it.

[CynicalQuixotic]

I've always found the cheapest international tickets on kayak.com. They have options to see prices in different currencies, so I assume that their customer base comes from many different countries and thus they would take foreign credit cards.

[Zapookie]

I would try using STA travel if he's a student or under 26 years old. Otherwise Webjet would be my second option.

You do need to have his passport details with you so you can enter them into the system - they're going to be checking that it matches up when he arrives in the country. You can buy the plane ticket online and then they send you the ticket, usually in PDF format, to your email. You can then send the PDF to your SO.

[Malaga]

I've always found the cheapest international tickets on kayak.com. They have options to see prices in different currencies, so I assume that their customer base comes from many different countries and thus they would take foreign credit cards.

Yup. Also, if you have a smartphone (say, iPhone) Kayak has a great free app which lets you set up price alerts. You get alerted on a daily or weekly basis, about price changes for selected dates and destinations. It's very useful if you want to get the best deal, as it's not always true that buying early = getting the best deal.

[morven]

u could try using skyscanner.net its just a comparison website tho and u will be directed to the companies website if u like the price of any of the fares