Traveler Reviews: cFares.com

[SarahS]

Has anyone out there used cFares.com? It's a site that applies the Costco model to airplane tickets; pay for membership and you'll get access to "wholesale" airfares that could save you money over other booking sites.

Have you used the site? Is it worth the membership fee? Read Independent Traveler's review of the site (Traveler Tested: cFares.com) and then share your own thoughts and experiences!

[Tami]

Sara:
I don'[t know if anyone has had this proble. But I paid the 50.00 (which they took). I bought a tickeet the end of May. I STILL have not received ANY rebate. They do not answer their phone nor do they answer their email. The customer and advirtising email does not work.

Do you have any ideas on how I handle this

Tami Fien

[SarahS]

Hi Tami,

I'm sorry you've had a bad experience with cFares. I would recommend continuing to call and send emails (I'd try every address they have listed on their contact page), as well as writing to their corporate headquarters. You may want to check your spam or bulk email folder to make sure that your email provider didn't mistake a response from cFares as junk mail.

I am not familiar with cFares' policy on rebates, but other companies often take six to eight weeks to process their product rebates, so yours may still arrive in the next month or so.

If you continue to have problems reaching cFares, you may wish to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau nearest to Redwood City, CA, where the company is based.

Good luck!

[ser715]

Sara:
I don'[t know if anyone has had this proble. But I paid the 50.00 (which they took). I bought a tickeet the end of May. I STILL have not received ANY rebate. They do not answer their phone nor do they answer their email. The customer and advirtising email does not work.

Do you have any ideas on how I handle this

Tami Fien

I, too, had a similar problem. They are quick to take your fee and very slow to pay. They are also very slow to respond to bids. I canceled my membership after one week which was well within the deadline and it took 6 weeks to credit my money back and that was only because I threatened to go to the B.B.B. and the site which had recommended their services. They are good for giving estimates, but buy the actual ticket elswhere as they are very slow to pay their rebates. SER

[Dele]

I paid the $50 for the platinum membership. I bought a ticket sometime in May. This is August and I still have not received my rebate. I've also bought two other tickets since then and have not received any rebates.

I have sent emails but have not received a single reply.

Their website says the CEO answers all emails sent to him directly and encourages people to send emails to them if they are not satisfied with the service. I did this and did not recieve a reply from them.

[hellothere]

Dont fall for this. You will lose $50. They will never give you any rebate.You dont purchase ticket from them ,its just a search engine which gives you the lowest rate and then u r directed to the airline page to book ticket..They are making money by keeping $50 from members. I did get reply for the email saying You will recieve amt is one or two business cylce.wat does that mean I dont know. Its already beenover a month n I have not got anything.

[HCS]

Cfares is a site that offers platinum members discounted airfare. You join for a fee (I paid $1 for me, $1 for my wife at a promotional fee) and you have access to the discounted airfares. The purchase is actually made on the airline's website, so I paid regular retail prices for our tickets. Cfares promises a rebate -- in my case $30 per ticket. But none showed up (the purchase date was 8/3/08) on my credit card nor is there any place on their site to see this history. I emailed them several times (both the CEO, Mr. Jafri at vajidhjafri@cfares.com and their customer support address of support@cfares.com) but received no response. Nor did they answer their phone. I contacted the BBB of Oakland, who opened a dispute. I finally heard from Andrea Taubman from Cfares (ataubman@cfares.com). She first demanded proof I had used their system, which I could and did provide. Then she told me that they would charge me an additional $49 per membership to rebate $30 per ticket. Why on earth would I pay them an additional $19 per ticket to use their service when they were impossible to contact and didn't give me the original rebate? This deal was not reflected in the confirmation email from the CEO. And since the promotion on their website has changed since I signed up, who knows what it really said then.

I got nowhere with the BBB investigation. We went back and forth and Cfares just kept demanding another $49 per ticket, which I refused. They offered me my membership fees back....today I gave up and said ok, refund them. We'll see if they show up. I wouldn't hold my breath.

I have concluded that not only does their customer service suck, but that they seem to be motivated to be so bad. If so, then this is a scam! I encourage all who have had such experiences not only to contact the BBB of Oakland, but also to consider contacting IC3.gov, an interent based crime invesigation joint venture of several federal agencies.

[wreither]

The site dosen't work, their phone mailbox is full, and all Emails bounce. The company has failed, but they have many credit cards. Cfares if a fraud. Beware.

Please post any contact info and report to CA Attorney General.

Win

[devilsrule2004]

yea totally not recomend the, kayak or priceline is the way to go

[robb01]

priceline is usually the way for me

[mdubs]

Cfares worked for me. Some of the best pricing ever! It is a little cumbersome and long to get refunds, but they are credited in about 3 months. It is difficult, but not impossible to speak or email someone. Probably, they are understaffed. So if you are patient and like a good deal, sign up. If you travel a great deal, it's worth it.

[vampares]

I used cfares for several tickets. I don't know if any of the platinum rebates ever came back to me. The way in which the purchase and rebate proceeded differed frequently. Generally they had the lowest price regardless. It seems to search tickets the other sites don't.