O.K. I admit it, I've never made a travel related purchase on-line and I'm a bit apprehensive about it.
I could get a good deal on airline tickets for this coming summer using Expedia.
Have you used Expedia and how did it work for you?
If you purchase e-tickets, does this work hassle free at the airport? Would it be better to get paper tickets?
What about car rentals? It seems like you don't even need a credit card to reserve an auto rental. They take your credit card when you pick up the vehicle. (Is this correct?)
Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences with Expedia.

E-tickets work great. Just go to the ticket counter, hand them your driver's license and get your boarding pass. I don't have to worry about forgetting the ticket.

Car Rentals - I've never used Expedia but ALWAYS had to give a CC# up front with many other websites.

Travelocity will Email a confirmation with all the relevant information. Just print it and take it to the airport, you'll probably not need it but is has all data if there is any problem.

You might also try Orbitz. It's owned by the airlines and has web only fares that are available only through Orbitz and airline websites.

If you buy on an airline website, you may get extra frequent flyer miles.

I use expedia all the time - probably have booked over 5 flights through them and never a problem. E-tickets are great. I'm not positive, but I think if you want to do curbside check-in, you need to present your email receipt with your flight info on it. Other than that, you can just go inside with your luggage and present your license to the agent - no tickets needed. I recommend Expedia very highly.

Yankee:
I have used Expedia twice with no problems. That said, I also check the website of the airline I am interested in and www.qixo.com and www.orbitz.com
Do A bit of comparion shopping.
Show up at the ticket counter with your picture ID AND the credit card you used to pay for the tickets. Have fun!

I use Expedia all the time, for air and hotel. Experiences have been uniformly excellent; they even went to bat for me when the airline cancelled a flight and put me on a much worse one -- they got me on a different flight a few minutes earlier than the original.

I comparison shop other sites before making a final purchase. For hotels, Expedia uniformly offers better rates than on hotel sites, but sometimes lacks availability.

I liked Expedia just fine until this Christmas. They didn't reserve SEATS for my husbands ticket out of Washington National. He came this close to being bumped because they didn't complete the reservation.

Before Sept, I used expedia a lot for comparing and often booking flights and found it to be very useful; also used it for rental cars.

I used Travelocity for a couple of years, then added Expedia to the search. Sometimes, for whatever reason, one system presents a flight departure time more in keeping with what you want when listing round trip flights..and that same flight combination doesn't show on the other system.

This fall I added Orbitz to the mix and really like their layout. I just booked a flight last night to CO for some skiing, and found the same direct flight Tpa-Den was $30 something less expensive on Orbitz than Expeida.

Have used them too for rental cars and found I got a better deal online than I did booking directly with the rental company. On questioning (Enterprise) about the difference, they told me my lower rate was an "online rate" which they couldn't match in their offices.

Never had any problems with e tickets, though I still approach the ticket counter with computer printout in hand...and baited breath!

Have been using Expedia and Travelocity for a long time with nary a hassle ... That said, I also check the airlines' web site (like Annie and others here) just to make sure I'm getting the best deal. Sometimes it's been worth it when the airlines is offering a deal that Expedia is not.

Welcome to shopping for travel on the web!

My experience has been just the opposite.

In comparing prices on the various online travel agencies (Travelocity, Orbitz, etc.), and the airline/rental car company web sites, I have found I can always do much better than Expedia.

Currently I am checking car rentals in the U.S. and flights to Europe. I don't even put Exedia in the mix any more.

Dick

I have used Expedia and the results have been great. For the airline tickets I have wanted, Expedia has had the lowest prices. They mailed me the tickets. Though I never got a ticket on Expedia for Southwest, when flying ticketless on SWA I have never had a problem. I don't have experience with flying ticketless with any other airline. Good luck with your search.

I have used expedia, cheaptickets and travelocity many times without problems, except once this past summer. I'll tell the tale but know that it did turn out alright in the end.

I was purchasing tickets for a somewhat complicated multi-stop itinerary through Europe. When I found the right combination of price and flights I attempted to purchase the tickets. However, apparently the Expedia system secures the amount on your credit card before securing seats on the plane. I was instructed to choose different flights. When I did so, my credit card was declined. This happened because the tickets were a fair chunk of change and the first time they secured them (for the flights where seats were unavailable) was still tying up my funds. I called and spoke with an agent who said it takes a few days for that charge to "fall off" of my card. I didn't want to miss out on the good fare I'd found so she offered to call my bank for me and remove the charges. Well, this began what I can only describe as days of phone hell. You cannot call expedia and ever reach the same person twice. I got different stories and different results every time I called. Finally, they did manage to remove the erroneous charge from my card and secure the proper tickets for my journey, but after great amounts of hairpulling on my part. When I've booked a straighforward roundtrip flight I've had no similar problems, just don't expect superb customer service over the phone.

I have used travelocity and expedia..compare prices on both.

I always buy air tix online, never a problem...

Careful with hotels...Expedia's prices have been way high compared to the actual hotel websites.

Thanks to all who replied!!
After searching the airline sites, I went ahead and booked the flight through Expedia.
I was able to print the itinerary and a receipt. It was all very simple!
At the Expedia site, they give you excellent directions for printing the receipt, what to do and expect at the airport, etc., etc.
I needed to get 4 tickets, and have saved hundreds of dollars. Thanks again everyone.

I have had great luck with Expedia. I've booked flights and rental cars. It's my favorite travel on-line service. Good luck and give it a try. Betty

What about for hotel reservations only? I'm starting to plan for a spring vacation and have seen some fantstic prices for off-Disney property hotels in the Orlando area. For the most part everyone that has replied has had good luck with air and car rental, but anyone have good/bad luck with hotels?

I've used Expedia for hotels with no problem.

Many are using Priceline which uses a bidding process. The process is opaque but the prices are often out of this world.

Look out for the car rental rates on expedia. Very recently, their quoted rates for a full size car from Alamo in Ft Lauderdale were substantially above the rates quoted on Alamo's own website. The same was true with respect to rentals from Enterprise in Minneapolis last August. Better to approach the rental agency directly.

I just finished making a reservation with Expedia. The hotel directly quoted me $99 per night, the hotel website gave me $89 per night, Travelocity had a price of $75.85 per night, and Expedia was the lowest with $65 per night.