'No refunds' means no refunds: No kidding

I’ve been surprised to receive several e-mails from senior readers who bought air tickets or hotel accommodations through Priceline.com, had to change plans, and expressed outrage that neither Priceline, hotel, nor airline would refund their payments or even provide credit toward future use. Whenever I've used Priceline (which isn't often), it seems to me that the site provides adequate disclosure about its no-cancellation penalty. But that may be because I’m familiar with it. In any event, this may be a good time to refresh everyone’s understanding about refundability, reusability, and nonrefundability, plus when and when not to use opaque websites.

As far as I know, in any context other than airfare, nonrefundable means that once you pay, you own the service and get nothing back if you have to cancel for any reason. Illness? Accident? Forget it—even with a certificate from a doctor, you get nothing back. The only time you can get your money back is if the supplier doesn’t deliver on the promised service—if a cruise line cancels a sailing, say, or if a hotel can’t accommodate you. But that’s it: If you cancel, you pay.

Most low-priced air tickets are labeled nonrefundable, but they’re not as nonrefundable as hotel rooms, tours, and cruises. Instead, many of them are reusable, which means that although you don’t get a cash refund, if you cancel, you can apply the money toward a future ticket, (less an exchange fee of typically $100). Be careful, however: Some airline tickets are totally nonrefundable—especially discount tickets you might buy from a third-party discount agency. Always check before you buy.

The least expensive air tickets, hotel accommodations, and rental cars that are purchased through either of the two big opaque sites—Hotwire and Priceline—are 100 percent nonrefundable. So are some of the lowest-priced rooms you arrange through hotel chains’ own websites or reservations offices. Unless the supplier can’t deliver, you’re on the hook no matter why you might want to change your plans. Obviously, then, you should never buy through one of those sites unless you’re 99 percent sure you won’t have to cancel once you’ve paid.

One reader reported a case where someone in her family inadvertently bought a nonrefundable hotel accommodation through Priceline when the traveler thought he was just shopping around. Although I haven’t heard of many such cases, there’s an easy way to prevent accidental purchase: No matter where you are in the shopping process, stop—repeat, stop—when the site asks for your credit card number. You should never have to enter a credit card number just to check prices.

Given the problems of nonrefundability then, when is a good time to use Hotwire or Priceline? Clearly, the overriding criterion is only when you’re virtually certain you won’t have to cancel. As a senior, that may mean only within a few weeks of travel—or whatever time period is likely to assure you won’t suddenly fall victim to a chronic infirmity.

Beyond that general rule, here’s what I’ve found about those sites:

• They’re terrible for most air travel—mainly because you have no say about schedule. The only time I’d ever use them is on a trip that would require a full day of flying, in any case.
• They’re pretty good for hotels. Even though you don’t know the exact hotel, you can specify general quality level and, in a big city, the general geographic area where you want to stay. The biggest drawback to opaque hotel buys is that you can’t specify whether you want one bed or two—and most of the time a couple will get a single double or queen bed. If you want twins, you have to negotiate with the clerk when you arrive.
• They’re fine for rental cars.

In view of the uncertainties, never use an opaque site for anything unless the price is substantially less than you can find through a more flexible source. My ground rules say at least $50 better on an airfare, $30 better on a hotel, or $20 better on a rental car, but you can bend those to your own requirements.