This begs the question: are third party travel sites even worth it?

Recently, Expediaenhanced their points program, which allows customers to earn travel rewards through them.

I looked up the same flight on Expedia and Orbitz, too, with the same results.

Plus, you also getbetter customer serviceif you book directly through the hotel.

Were going to give you the worst room.

I asked if hotels actually did that.

He said, We prefer when you book directly through us.

Some places will give you better service.

When you book directly with the company, youre also more likely to get help if something goes awry.

That goes for flights, too.

As a response, many of these sites now offer rewards programs to bring back these customers.

Lets take a look a few of these third-party programs to see if theyre worth it.

Expedia+ Rewards

Expedias rewards program comes in three tiers: blue, silver, and gold.

It all sounds great, but points dont really mean anything.

The big question is, how many points do you gotta book free travel?

Thats where it gets tricky.

Expedia has a different redemption process for flights and hotels.

So a $250 flight will cost you 25,000 points.

On the other hand, it’s possible for you to start redeeming for hotels at just 3,500 points.

I looked at a three-night stay at a NYC hotel.

The total directly through the hotel was $788.

Orbitz Orbucks

When you book through theOrbitz rewards program, you earn Orbucks.

The flight costs you $500, which will earn you 5 Orbucks.

Thats a grand total of 42 Orbucks for a $1250 trip.

Thankfully, Orbitz makes the redemption math pretty easy: one Orbuck equals $1.

Hotels.coms Welcome Rewards

Thankfully,Hotels.coms rewards programis a little simpler.

For every 10 nights booked through them, you get a free night.

Its sort of like a punch card you might get at your local coffee shop.

Membership in their rewards program also includes access to Secret Prices.

This is a pretty vague perk, though.

How deep a discount you receive depends on your chosen dates, your destination, and your selected hotel.

I probably wont sign up for these myself anytime soon.

Expedia+ and Orbitz Rewards might bemoreworthwhile for flight purchases.