A word of Caution to all those looking for a good Travel deal on the net. The discount comes with a rider, akin to asterix mark (*) referringto Terms and Conditions . Pl go through the detailed terms and conditions carefully, otherwise you will feel cheated later on.
Egged on by the hype created by Travelguru around it’s discount scheme on Visa Credit cards-upto 50% off, I booked a hotel reservation in June 2008, paying Rs. 20566 and getting a discount voucher of Rs 4743, which is to be used for further bookings.
Delighted , I again booked a hotel reservation from them and refered the discount voucher issued earlier, during fresh booking process.To my utter shock and despair, they redeemed this discount voucher of Rs 4743 for Rs 1556 and forfeited the balance amount. On complaining by email , the Travelguru’s Asst Manager, Customer Care writes that this forfeiture has been done as per terms and conditions of the discount voucher.
If you analyse the scheme, this is how it works- You make a travel hotel/holiday booking, pay the full amount upfront , let’s say Rs 10000, and if you are one of the select lucky few, possessing a Visa Platinum/Signature credit card, you are entitled to a discount voucher of 25 % off, i.e, Rs 2500.To redeem this discount voucher fully, you again need to make a travel hotel/holiday booking of Rs 10000.
In case you make a fresh travel hotel/holiday booking of Rs 5000, your discount will be Rs 1250 only(maximum of 25% of basic fare) and balance amount will be forfeited. Nowhere does Travelguru mentions this fact prominently-this uncomfortable fact is tucked away in fine print. So, fellow travelers, Beware next time, read and re-read the terms and conditions carefully before you take the plunge.