Google Is Now Guaranteeing You Won’t Find Some Flights Cheaper

There is now a new way to ensure for flyers to ensure they are getting the lowest possible price for their flights. Since April 3rd, Google Flights has been trialing its Price Guarantee, allowing customers to book tickets with the likes of American Airlines and Alaska Airlines in the knowledge that should the price of their flight later go down, they will be refunded the difference.

If customers book one of the price-protected flights through Google Flights, the price will be monitored every day, and if it goes down, they will receive the difference back automatically. The popular flight booking website has said that its Price Guarantee is “only available for flights for which we’re confident that the price won’t drop.”

Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

The Price Guarantee is free of charge, and can be identified by the Price Guarantee badge when searching for flights. Google Flights promises to process any refunds within 48 hours of the price dropping.

The terms and conditions

As you may expect, there are a number of terms and conditions that come with Google Flights’ Price Guarantee. These include:

• The Price Guarantee is currently only available on selected flights (one-way or return) departing from the US
• Tickets must be booked through Google Flights
• The maximum total amount to be refunded in one calendar year is $500
• Customers can have a maximum of three open Price Guarantees at any one time
• If the price difference is less than $5, no refund will be paid
• The customer will need to have a Google Pay account to receive the refund.

It remains to be seen how many flights will be available with Google Flights’ Price Guarantee. Simple Flying carried out a number of searches on Google Flights, covering various routes on several different dates over the coming months, and no Price Guarantee flights were available.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

It is also worth remembering that a number of carriers, such as Southwest Airlines, do not advertise their prices on third-party booking sites, so it often still pays to shop around.

Google Flights vs the competition

Many rival booking companies offer some form of price guarantee, but generally require the customer to find the cheaper fare themselves and then alert the website to it. Orbitz’s flight price guarantee, for example, is also only applicable for 24 hours after booking, whereas Google Flights’ guarantee remains in place until the departure date.

Photo: Airbus

Google Flights already lets customers see whether current flight prices are low, typical, or high compared to historical averages. Its Price Guarantee now takes that one step further, and could be a real game-changer for those on the hunt for the cheapest airfares in the US, providing peace of mind that if the price drops, they won’t be out of pocket.

What do you think of Google Flights’ Price Guarantee? Have you seen flight prices go down after book? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below.