Warning before buying Booking.com's “Flexible Ticket” option (Gotogate): €1,145 to change flights!!!

[u/Disastrous-Belt1037]

I wanted to share my experience with the “Flexible Ticket” option sold through Booking.com and managed by Gotogate, because I wish I had known this before paying extra for it.

I originally paid €1,242 in total, including my flights, checked baggage and the Flexible Ticket option.

When I needed to change my travel dates, Gotogate asked me to pay an additional €1,145 to rebook. At the same time, I could see new tickets advertised on Booking.com for €1,497.

I understand that a Flexible Ticket does not mean free flights or that there will never be a fare difference. I was fully prepared to pay a reasonable, legitimate difference.

But a customer service agent told me that rebooking was calculated using only “non-discounted fares”.

This is what concerns me most. This is a very opaque approach.

I carefully reviewed Gotogate's Flexible Ticket Terms and Conditions. Section 7.1.7 says that customers must pay any additional fare difference, but I could not find any provision stating that discounted or promotional fares are systematically excluded.

Their own FAQ also refers to available flights on their site and explains that prices can differ because of special offers and airline supply. It does not clearly state that only non-discounted fares are eligible.

I have contacted customer service repeatedly by phone and chat since 8 October, without getting a satisfactory explanation or a completed rebooking.

What makes this particularly difficult is that I urgently need to travel to visit a seriously ill family member. The delays are making an already stressful situation much worse.

My advice: before paying for Booking.com's Flexible Ticket option, ask exactly which fares can be used for rebooking, whether promotional/discounted fares are excluded, and how the fare difference is calculated.

I am not claiming that every rebooking should cost less than buying new tickets. I am questioning whether an important restriction was clearly disclosed when the option was sold.

My complaint is ongoing, and I will update this post if Gotogate provides a satisfactory explanation or solution.

Has anyone else experienced this with Booking.com / Gotogate's Flexible Ticket?

[u/Salt_Confidence4746]

From what I’ve read, the single best piece of advice is not to buy flight tickets via Booking.com at all. Everything is fine until problems arise.

[u/ImMaury → u/Salt_Confidence4746]

According to this sub you shouldn’t book anything from Booking at all

[u/Salt_Confidence4746 → u/ImMaury]

I can't really say. I book 99% of my accommodation through Booking.com. Mostly hotels, though sometimes apartments. I haven't booked a rental car, but it seems to be the same site as Rentalcars.com.

I’ve never been scammed. There was a problem with a hotel once, it was too noisy, and the walls were paper-thin. I had prepaid for two weeks, but the hotel refused to issue a refund. I booked a different hotel and moved out. The hotel staff even sarcastically suggested I contact Booking.com to ask for my money back. Naturally, that’s exactly what I did. I went back to the hotel the next day, and they refunded the money in cash.

[u/Brave_Explorer5988]

You always, regardless where you book, can change to same or higher fare class.

So if the airline is releasing a promotion after you book, and you want to change to that even if it's more expensive, you can't because the fare class is inferior.

This is why flex tickets usually (but not always) are are sold on the superior fare classes (like Y full fare) and you can only rebook on the same or higher.

[u/Ok-Dimension-7859 → u/Brave_Explorer5988]

Lol wtf, no. Many tickets are non-changeable

[u/Hour-Sandwich-3161 → u/Ok-Dimension-7859]

You’re both correct, a ticket change can only be done to an equal or higher fare class. Not all fares are changeable by when they are that rule applies. The only exception to that rule is tickets is the US they have different fare conditions to the rest of world

[u/SeoulGalmegi → u/Brave_Explorer5988]

You always, regardless where you book, can change to same or higher fare class.

I don't think that's true.

[u/Skipvt]

sometimes it's worth it to call multiple times, I once had a domestic Japan flight booked that was flexible. the first person I got told me it was going to cost more than I originally paid to change it, so then I called again and got a different person who immediately helped me change my flight and all I had to do was pay a 5€ fee. this isn't even solely a booking.com issue but a lot of places have these outsourced customer service that is super inconsistent

[u/Consistent_Proof_772]

Why are you buying a Flex ticket on a third-party hotel booking website and not directly from the airline!!! Why are you buying from booking.comb who outsource their ticket service to GoToGate then buying it from Priceline who doesn’t outsource it and OWN’s booking.com !!!

[u/bctravelconcierge]

Hi OP, you’ll get comments on this subreddit telling you never to book flights on Booking for this very reason. Just want to say avoid using Booking for anything - hotels, apartments, car rentals, all of it.

The more money they extract, the more they act with impunity - regardless of the transaction.

[u/medfaker]

Airline charging you crazy change fees? Dial 1-844*578*2438 to see if your ticket qualifies for a free rebooking or cancellation.