7. Hotwire: Best Website to Book Flights and Hotels
I’ve used Hotwire many times to book last-minute hotel stays in various cities, so I was excited to try booking a Hot Rate Flight along with a hotel stay on their website.
“Hot Rate Flights” conceal the airline and exact flight times until after you book—much like their hotel stays. If those detail don’t matter too much to you, this could be a great money-saving option to try out (plus, who doesn’t like living life on the edge a little bit)!
Hotwire really shines when you bundle your deals and book a hotel along with your flight. For example, while searching for a flight and hotel bundle from New York City to London, a message popped up to notify me that I could save nearly $400 USD if I booked the hotel and the Hot Rate Flight together.
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So, I searched for a 3-night stay with flights and hotels included and the cost was $1,277 USD total. And the hotel was a boutique hotel, which was a nice perk!
A quick separate search for both the hotel rates and regular airfare shows that, indeed, the Hotwire deal is cheaper. Just the flight alone through American Airlines for the same dates is $1,347 USD…and that’s without the hotel!
I should note that although the Hotwire flights were cheaper than booking directly through the American Airlines site, the Hotwire AA flights used two different New York City airports.
When I tried booking one-way flights for departure and return on the airline’s website to match the exact same Hotwire routing, the price was actually even higher! Truly a great deal from Hotwire.
You also get a 24-hour cancellation policy with Hotwire. There are no hidden fees involved (although there may be a booking fee), because Hotwire is refreshingly upfront about baggage fees, seat selection, etc.