American Airlines Tickets No Longer Available On Orbitz
Sad news today, American Airlines has announced their tickets are no longer available through Orbitz and US Airways will be following suit September 1 (h/t @KJTorrance). There’s still many ways to buy tickets other than the airlines’Â websites, but it’s still a bummer. Why?
Orbitz bookings earned cashback/points. There are few cashback portal options for US Airways or American Airlines, but Orbitz has plenty! Up until recently I scored 1 Ultimate Rewards point per $, now I only earn $3 per ticket via sites like Mr. Rebates.
Expedia still earns 1 point per dollar through the Ultimate Rewards Mall, but that leads me to the other reason I preferred Orbitz — they have a way better rewards program.
Booking flights via Orbitz earned easy to redeem Orbucks. Expedia gutted their rewards program with little notice last year and I’ve lost all interest. Orbitz recently launched Orbitz Rewards and I’m a huge a fan. Airline tickets earn 1%-2% in Orbucks which can be redeemed immediately towards hotel stays. Even if you’ve only earned $.34, you can apply it. They’ve also offered several periodic $25 booking bonuses for flights and I earned enough that my stay at the awesome Campbell House in Penang was free.
Since I’m not willing to change airlines looks like I either need to get over my dislike of Expedia or go back to American Airlines’ Business Extraa program which allows you to earn points. Pizza In Motion has a great summary of the benefits.
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