BOO! HISS! Orbitz sucks!

This week we went online to buy our airline tickets for Ireland. Well, let me tell you - we had a terrible experience trying to buy our tickets from Orbitz.com (where they were a great deal). I will never, EVER use their site again. BLACKLISTED!

After choosing our flights and entering our information (a lengthy process!) I clicked to purchase. I was given an error message, saying I'd missed some details. OK, fine - I tried again. Same thing. Several times. Frustrated, I gave up. Then, later at night I double checked the credit card number and tried again. Error again, and then the next time I was told that the card was declined! I knew something was seriously wrong, because that should not have been the case by a long shot.

The next morning, Jamie (traveling and in Fresno) tries to buy breakfast, and the credit card is declined. After calling the bank, he finds out that the card is over the limit because of pending charges from Orbitz.

Of course, I call Orbitz up and find out through much prodding that apparently, they "soft charge" your card - basically a preauthorization. That soft charge goes through to check that the card is valid and you have the available credit, but then the site tries goes in again in the same transaction to actually charge your card the full amount ON TOP of the preauthorization charge! It may run through several "soft charges" if you have had errors in the buying process - amounting to several thousand dollars taking up your card's availability, even though nothing gets charged in the end. Confusing, no? Anyway, long story short... Jamie gets the bank to figure out the problem (eventually) and the charge was removed by VISA. Normally the "soft charges" take up to 2 weeks to disappear - tying up your credit and disabling you from going elsewhere to even try to buy your tickets. I'm glad we weren't doing this at the last minute.

Searched online and this is very common - lots of disgruntled folks out there - also reports of them double charging people for rooms and trips and cases of people being enrolled in some kind of "savings club" that continually charges your credit card $9.95 a month until you notice and force them to stop...

Boycott Orbitz - tell everyone! They are on my blacklist for sure now.