Is It Better to Book Directly With Hotels and Airlines? We Asked the Experts

Airlines and hotels often push the idea of booking directly to secure better prices, greater flexibility, and exclusive perks. In reality, the smarter choice—booking direct or through a third party—often depends on the trip and your payment method, whether that’s cash, points, or a credit card. 

Knowing which option works best for you starts with understanding what sets them apart. Booking direct generally means reserving flights or hotels straight through an airline’s or hotel’s individual website. Third-party bookings, by contrast, include reservations made through online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Kayak and Expedia, credit card travel portals, and other booking platforms (essentially any site that the airline or hotel itself doesn’t own).

Ahead, we take a closer look at when booking direct actually pays off—and when third-party platforms offer a better deal—for both flights and hotels, with guidance from travel experts.

Flights

Since flights have more moving parts than hotels—literally—booking direct is often recommended for control and clarity, explains Jimmy Yoon, director of client services at Point.me. Not only are changes and cancellations easier to manage, but airline-issued credits are easier to use as well.

Kyle Maltz, chief operating officer of Dollar Flight Club, echoes these sentiments: “When you book directly, it’s much easier to make changes or handle disruptions since you’re dealing with the airline.” While the travel pro does note “third-party platforms are useful for comparing options,” direct bookings usually lead to faster resolution with fewer headaches when something goes wrong (like delays, downgrades, rebookings, and cancellations).

Although booking directly with airlines certainly comes with benefits, snagging a deal is unfortunately not one of them. “Fares are often the same across platforms,” Maltz notes. “The real benefit of booking directly is the support and ease of issue correction, not cost savings.”

However, this is precisely where third-party platforms shine. According to Melanie Fish, vice president of global public relations at Expedia Group, OTAs are valuable for travelers booking complex itineraries because they allow travelers to “compare multiple airline options at once” and “manage the entire trip, all in one place.” That one-stop-shop approach can be particularly useful for trips involving multiple flights, different airlines, layovers, or international routes.

Rewards, Fish points out, can also make a strong case for third-party bookings. She notes that travelers who book flights through Expedia still earn frequent-flier miles with the airline (depending on the fare class booked), while also earning OneKeyCash that can be redeemed across flights, hotels, and vacation rentals: effectively earning rewards in two places at once. For points-focused travelers, that double-dipping can outweigh the benefits of booking direct, especially on simple round-trip itineraries.

And for travelers using credit card points to book travel (flights and hotels included) via their card’s portal, the main benefit is clear—they can use their stockpile of points to pay for their trip so they don’t spend more out of pocket.

Hotels

For travelers who don’t stay frequently enough to earn elite status, the immediate benefits of third-party hotel bookings can feel more tangible than long-term loyalty points from direct bookings. Moreover, both Maltz and Yoon agree that the biggest advantage of booking directly with a hotel is access to loyalty points, elite status benefits, and upgrades. As with flights, direct hotel bookings are also typically easier to modify in the event of a schedule change or cancellation, since the hotel has full control over the reservation.

Also, not every “book direct” promise holds up, and Yoon points to hotel “best rate guarantees” as one of the most overrated perks. “The eligibility rules are so complex and restrictive that they make the fine print on insurance claims look straightforward by comparison,” he says. Plus, hotel rates frequently fluctuate, so the lower price you initially found could disappear before your claim is even processed.

Fish also notes that some hotel loyalty programs can be restrictive, whether due to blackout dates or high redemption thresholds. In those cases, third-party platforms can make more sense. She points to Hotels.com, where rewards function “like cash” and can be redeemed at thousands of properties worldwide, with no blackout dates or complicated redemption rules (meaning travelers don’t have to wait until they’ve accumulated a large balance to use them). And sites like Hotels.com, along with credit card booking portals, can offer perks for members, like complimentary upgrades, resort credits, and more.