Reserving flights through Road Scholar

Book through RS. We had a trip to the Baja cancelled, rebooked, and cancelled again, and were caught with tickets we had to purchase on our own. RS gave us credit for the rebooking fees, but it was a pain. We won't book anymore trips that we have to reserve flights on our own.

It is much easier to let RS do the booking and then be on the hook to get you there, provide transfers, etc. I do book myself but am a very experienced travel planner and wish to get the flights I want with convenient routing and times on my preferred airlines where I have executive status and can usually get some sort of upgrade. I do end up paying more than I would with RS, but to me it is worth the extra expense not to always be in economy with some unusual flight routes and times that RS chooses.

I book with RS for International travel. I can let them deal with arranging flight that alone perfectly with their airport transfer I leave using my FF miles for domestic travel.

We always book international trips through RS. They get the best prices and guarantee transfers, etc. We saw first hand the benefits of booking through RS on our trip to Italy. Everything works out fine for us but 4 other RS travelers had their luggage arrive late (up to 3 days) and RS did all the leg work for retrieving their luggage. Hours on the phone and they drove 2 hours to the airport to get the luggage. Don't know how they would have done it on their own.

I book through RS but do my research prior to booking with them so I can tell them which flight(s) I want. Works for me.

For domestic trips I book my own flights, unless free airfare is involved. If/when I take an international trip, I will book the flight through Road Scholar.

We always book international travel through RS particularly because we're inclined to travel somewhere warm when it's winter at home, and bad weather can interfere with flights. If there is a problem, RS handles it. I also like having them meet us at the airport and return us to the airport. We have always driven to domestic programs.

We always book international travel through RS particularly because we're inclined to travel somewhere warm when it's winter at home, and bad weather can interfere with flights. If there is a problem, RS handles it. I also like having them meet us at the airport and return us to the airport. We have always driven to domestic programs.

In reply to catcrazyaf030355:

I did the same thing and learned something. RS suggested a one- hour later connecting flight because I failed to consider the time it takes to get through customs on the first leg. I was very grateful for the insight.

I booked through RS for a trip to France even though I was extending my stay. The booking was on my preferred airline and was comparable in price to what I would have gotten. This year, however, I intend to use my air miles to get to my program in France.

I try to avoid it as I can usually get a better deal and get exactly the flights I want when I do it on my own.

We have done both - in fact we have both this year. I like the idea of booking through RS, because I HOPE they will check to see if the flight schedule and the program schedule are compatible. We had a problem last year when our return flight was too early for the return-to-airport time for the tour. Cost us several hundred dollars to United Airlines to change flights (what a rip-off).

I find Road Scholar to be very flexible at booking. For my India trip, they wanted to book me on an Emirates flight with a layover in Dubai. I requested a non-stop on Air India (and Business class) and they were able to arrange that with no problem. The only extra charge was for the Business class (well worth it for a 14 hour flight!).

When Road Scholar was Elder Hostel and worked with Lyon Travel, I found that the airfares offered by Lyon could be much higher than I could get on my own, once twice as high.  Now, the travel office is much better and I would book through them because they know when we are supposed to arrive and leave and will take care of all the details.

On overseas trips I use RS. Domestic trips I book myself. RS doesn't always book the most efficient trips. I don't want flights with 3 stops.