Expedia/Universal scam
 

Yesterday, I booked a 2day/2 park ticket for Universal studios orlando through Expedia because of their home page listed Buy one get one free offer. I read through the offer, clicked on details and read two more pages about the offer, and then purchased the ticket when I got home. When I saw that the voucher for the second day wasn't included, I contacted Expedia's customer service. Long story short, Expedia claims that the free ticket only comes when you purchase a package which includes a flight or hotel - NOTHING IN THE AD OR DETAILS EVEN SO MUCH AS HINTED AT THIS. They won't refund my purchase. I'm stuck. Hope you readers won't be.

Mistake - not second "day", second "ticket".

Call Universal. They don't give you the second day ticket until you walk through the gate and punch your first ticket.

This way, you don't bring two people through the gate on one day but take one person through the gate on two days.

It isn't a scam.

Actually, they require you to have a voucher from Expedia to get the second ticket, otherwise they have no way of knowing you qualify for the purchase. The instrucstions from Expedia's website say:

Redemption instructions
After booking your activities or services—3 easy steps:
1. Print your voucher; locate the voucher in your travel confirmation e-mail or in the My Trips/My Itineraries link on the site.
2. Follow the redemption instructions on your voucher; it is critical to do this before you depart.
3. Take all vouchers with you; for each activity, you must redeem one voucher per group/itinerary.

1villa - If you don't have the voucher in your "my trips" area then I would keep calling Expedia and talk to someone higher up. It's true - nothing on that page says anything about having to buy a package to get the free tickets, though it does say "Restrictions may apply". Still, it wouldn't seem that would be enough to cover the having to buy a package clause. I wouldn't let it drop if I were you. Not without a good fight anyway.

jlm, my understanding is that they don't give you the second day until you walk through the gate. Is this incorrect?

You should get a voucher to print from expedia. You need to print this and take it to Universal and they'll give you the second ticket when you get there. So, it's true that you don't get the ticket until you get there, but 1villa said that there was no voucher included in the stuff s/he got.

Right - I initially posted in anger so perhaps I wasn't clear. There was nothing on their home page and the first two links mentioning the required package purchase. After I made the ticket purchase, they they're saying that I won't get the second ticket because I didn't purchase a package. No second ticket. No refund. No acknowledgement that their web site was misleading.

Update: After contacting the BBB, Expedia, as a "goodwill gesture" issued the refund. However, after stating to me that "You must book an air/hotel/ticket vacation package or hotel/ticket package to qualify for offer" they told the BBB the "the root of the problem . . . [is that] . . . had Mr. Rubinton booked for two travelers, the Buy One Get One Free offer would have been correctly given." So, unmentioned package requirement or unmentioned need to identify a second traveler, which excuse will Expedia use to deprive you of an advertised offer?! Stay tuned.

Honestly, I have heard SO many problems about people booking through expedia, orbitz, etc. - I can't imagine booking through them. Yes, I know many people have done it without problems. But I don't want to take the risk of not having my hotel room / being cheated out of a second ticket / having an airfare hiked on me after I bought it / or otherwise being generally screwed over. It's worth paying a little more to book directly through service providers or a good travel agent that you know and like.

I was never "screwed up" by Expedia and never felt I'm getting the worst room in a hotel. Call the hotel directly to confirm to be sure. Also check the hotel's website as the rates are often lower.

Plane tickets are cheaper if you go to the airline website. You see the full price before you hit "accept" on any website.

Tour agents? Birder, you must be lucky to find a good one. ONE is the key word.

I actually usually do not use travel agents. But last year for a complicated (and expensive) trip, I found a good one and was extremely happy. Will use them again next year for a similar trip.

In general, I use orbitz/sidestep/kayak/cheaptickets etc to check prices and then book with the airline/hotel directly.

Fair is fair - I received a letter from Expedia yesterday. Long story short, I got an apology and they comped my Universal passes. So, in the end, all is well.