Trip.com

What is trip.com?

Self-proclaimed as one of the leading travel agencies in the world, Trip.com has proven to be a helpful online resource when planning most aspects of a business trip or personal vacation. The website brings together accommodation, transportation, and even local attractions, meaning that you can book your hotel, flight, and tour tickets in a convenient package that will save you money in the long run. I’m going to take an in-depth look at Trip.com and see how it compares to other online travel sites so you can decide if it’s the best choice for you.

Is Trip.com available everywhere in the world?

While they are based in Singapore, Trip.com claims to work with over 1.4 million hotels in over 200 different countries and regions according to their website. I’m not sure exactly how true that is, but I did put in a couple of isolated destinations such as Addis Ababa and did find at least one accommodation choice in each. They’ve built an extensive hotel network though I cannot claim the same thing when it comes to booking transportation and/ or tours. For example, while you may be able to book accommodation in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Trip.com’s network is not wide enough to include domestic plane or train tickets or admission to any local attractions; the combined package deals seem to be limited to high-tourism destinations. Their global flight network is on par with what you would expect from any booking website and they claim to offer over two million individual flight routes connecting more than 5,000 major cities. In terms of access, Trip.com is accessible from anywhere in the world.

What are the pros and cons of booking a hotel room on Trip.com?

Trip.com claims to work with over 1.4 million hotels in over 200 different destinations, and while this may be true, what restricts Trip.com compared to other online booking platforms is that you won’t find a variety of other types of accommodation. They do include homestays, villas, serviced apartments, and hostels on the site, but the choices are extremely limited.

The sheer number of hotels in their network alone is remarkably high and the site does allow you to filter by your needs; you can pick a hotel based on star rating, guest rating, price range, and even whether or not there are any special offers or discounts that could be applied. Additional filters also include whether meals are provided, proximity to local attractions, bed type, and property type. If amenities are your major concern, then filter your search results to only show hotels with indoor/ outdoor swimming pools, a sauna, fitness center, golf course, or if they allow pets among other things.

One pro feature about booking hotels through Trip.com that I like is the fact that you can find hotels based on their payment and booking policy. For example, you can filter your hotel results based on whether or not you want to prepay for your hotel online while booking or choose to pay at the hotel when you arrive. This is great if you’re not very sure about your travels but don’t want to lose the hotel room at such a great rate. You can also filter your hotel results by ‘Instant Confirmation’ or ‘Free Cancellation’ which is also rather useful.

What are the pros and cons of booking transportation on Trip.com?

Trip.com works with all major airlines and scans everything available on the internet to offer their customers some of the best deals on flights. They have an extensive range of domestic and international flights available on their platform and work with leading airlines from all over the world. You can book flights from the US to Cambodia in minutes, or if you’re already at a destination such as India, you can book flights from Delhi to Mumbai with just a couple of clicks. Filter your flight results by whether or not the ticket includes checked baggage (important for longer, international trips), how many stops there are between the starting point and ending point, and even based on your airline preference.

Trip.com does allow you to purchase train tickets through their platform, but at the time of writing this review, this feature is only available for travel within China, South Korea, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The website also gives suggestions on popular train routes that you can choose from if you’re just looking for a scenic experience.

Their on-site car rental service is much broader than the train ticket platform. I searched car rental and pick-ups from random destinations such as San Salvador and Ghana; there were results for San Salvador but none from Ghana. Renting a car through Trip.com is rather hit or miss in terms of which country you’re visiting.

What are the pros and cons of booking tours, tickets, and attractions on Trip.com?

Trip.com has a database of day tours, attractions, shows, and other experiences that you can purchase tickets for in a number of different vacation destinations. Somewhat similar to Airbnb Experiences, the feature can prove to be useful. I don’t think their database of tours and attractions is very extensive; a quick Google search has way more suggestions for things you can see and do in a particular location compared to what is offered on Trip.com.

That being said, they do scour the internet for limited-time offers that they highlight on their website. They might also have some deals that look like they have been catered specifically for Trip.com. For example, at the time of writing this review, there is a Trip.com exclusive for a free unique gift and an additional 15% off from Disney stores in Shanghai.

Does Trip.com have a reward system?

Trip.com does have a reward points system called Trip Coins which anyone can join for free by just creating an account. You’ll instantly unlock member-only special offers and discounted rates on over 80,000 hotels, and the more frequently you travel with Trip.com, the more benefits you’ll get. Each hotel or flight you book will acquire you points which you can use to unlock more features; the more points you have, the higher the tier.

Tiers start at Silver which gives you some exclusive hotel deals while also giving you the opportunity to earn more trip coins. The next tier is Gold, where you can get up to 5% off of hotels and earn up to 10% more Trip Coins. Platinum status gets members 10% off hotels and 30% more Trip Coins per transaction. And finally, they have Diamond status which gets you up to 15% off of hotels while earning 30% more Trip Coins with each transaction.

Not only can you earn points by booking flights and hotels, but you can also earn Trip Points by writing hotel reviews on Trip.com, posting Trip Moments, and writing reviews on attractions. 100 Trip Coins are equal to $1 (USD) and you can use them to instantly save money on bookings. It may take some time to build up points and really start seeing major savings, but it seems to be worth it from the beginning.

Is Trip.com easy to use?

From my experience, Trip.com seems to be very user-friendly. The website is very easy to navigate, and the layout makes it easy to access what you need; They have tabs for hotels, flights, attractions, deals, etc. going right across the top, making it easy for you to search for and find what you need. The pages themselves are filled with detail but don’t overwhelm you, so you can get a quick overview while still accessing and understanding the fine print.

Their filters are also quite easy to use; located on the left side of the page, you can filter a hotel room or flight based on your needs and have the results refresh and show up on the right side of the page.

If you do happen to come across any issues, their website says they have 24/7 customer service which you can access via phone, email, or directly through the Trip.com mobile app. Their customer service team is fluent in English but also has members who speak multiple languages which may be useful to you.

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Trip.com is renowned for its easy-to-use, money-saving platform and award-winning customer service. Their intricate network of travel-related establishments allows them to provide competitive pricing and incomparable deals to their members. The website is also very safe to use as they guarantee that data security is their top priority and that your personal and payment information will always be protected. Share your Trip.com experience with us by voting thumbs up or down!