Both Expedia and Kayak offer comprehensive travel booking services, but they have different strengths and weaknesses. Expedia has a loyalty program and is working on fee transparency, but its customer service is declining. Kayak offers flight status alerts and price tracking, but its customer service has mixed reviews and there are concerns about misleading pricing. User reviews suggest that Expedia has low customer satisfaction, while Kayak has a mixed reputation.
| Attribute | Expedia.com | Kayak |
|---|---|---|
| Price comparison across multiple providers | Yes, Expedia allows users to compare prices across multiple providers for flights, hotels, and car rentals. | Yes, Kayak searches hundreds of travel sites at once to find information on flights, hotels, and rental cars, displaying prices from over 700 travel providers. |
| Breadth of travel options | Offers a wide range of travel options, including flights, hotels, cars, packages, cruises, and activities. | Offers options for flights, hotels, car rentals, tours and activities, trains and buses, and vacation packages. |
| User interface and ease of navigation | App aims to streamline the customer experience with combined hotel and flight search on one screen; focuses heavily on graphics. | User-friendly interface. |
| Search filters and sorting options | Allows users to filter and sort hotel search results by price, rating, distance, or popularity. For flights, options include sorting by price, departure time, arrival time, or duration. | Offers various filters to narrow down search results based on stops, airlines, departure times, and amenities. |
| Deals and discounts availability | Provides deals and savings on flights, hotels, and packages, with last-minute deals on vacation rentals and all-inclusive resorts. Member Prices offer instant access to savings. | Can deliver exclusive discounts that may not be found on other hotel booking sites. App offers special mobile rates and app-only deals. |
| Customer support responsiveness and helpfulness | Customer service has diminished over the past year, with difficulties in reaching live support and inadequate responses to cancellations. | Customer support has mixed reviews. |
| Cancellation and modification policies | Offers a 24-hour cancellation policy for flights. After 24 hours, cancellation policies depend on the airline's specific terms. Some bookings are nonrefundable. | Cancellation policy varies depending on the ticket type. |
| Mobile app functionality and user experience | Offers features such as destination comparison, flexible date search, and live flight tracker. Provides personalized recommendations and offers. | Offers special mobile rates and app-only deals. Kayak Trips provides real-time flight status, gate change, and baggage claim notifications. |
| Loyalty program benefits | Has a loyalty program called One Key, where members earn rewards and status. Members earn 2% OneKeyCash for every dollar they spend, and can earn up to 6% with elite status. | Loyalty program discontinued in 2022. |
| Payment options and security | Accepts major credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal. Supports alternative payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Alipay in some countries. | Not available |
| Transparency of fees and taxes | Working to increase transparency by including all mandatory fees, such as resort fees, in the upfront price. | Some users have concerns regarding misleading pricing. |
| User reviews and ratings | 1.8 stars from 1603 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied. | Kayak has a mixed reputation, with customers appreciating its competitive pricing and user-friendly interface. However, there are concerns regarding customer service, misleading pricing, and slow response times. |
| Flight Alerts | Not available | Provides flight status alerts and can track prices for a period of time and send you alerts. |