MasterCard Worldwide and Yapta.com, a leading provider of airfare tracking, today announced a new airfare price assurance program for MasterCard U.S. consumer and small business cardholders who book flights directly with eligible airlines.
MasterCard® PriceAssureTM helps take the guesswork out of getting the best price on airfare by tracking flight itineraries and offering cardholders specialized customer service to help secure airline credit for savings on future travel, if the same itinerary they've purchased with their enrolled MasterCard card later becomes available from that airline at a lower price, minus any airline change fees.
"Finding the best deal on airfare can be one of the biggest frustrations for today's leisure and business travelers. With MasterCard PriceAssure, cardholders now have peace of mind knowing that when they book directly with an eligible airline using their MasterCard card, they're getting the most value at that airline on their flight itinerary for their travel dollar," said Chris Aguas, vice president, New Product Development, MasterCard Worldwide. "Now travelers can better focus on enjoying the priceless experiences of their air travel rather than worry about the price of their trip."
MasterCard PriceAssure makes it easier for people to save money when booking air travel at a time when most consumers are feeling frustrated and overwhelmed during their search for low-cost flights. A recent MasterCard survey* found that of those who have looked for airfare:
* 70 percent feel it takes them a lot of time to find low cost flights
* 77 percent worry about timing their flight purchases to get the lowest fare
* 79 percent say they will go to great lengths to save money on flights
To participate in MasterCard PriceAssure, MasterCard U.S. consumer and small business cardholders must simply:
* Enroll without additional charge with their MasterCard card at mastercard.com/priceassure
* Purchase an itinerary from an eligible carrier using their enrolled MasterCard card
* Log their flight details on to the site and opt-in to receive price drop alerts, which continually track fares up until shortly before the time of departure and notify cardholders if fy cardholders if an equivalent seat class becomes available at a lower price from that airline
* After receiving a price drop alert, pursue an airline credit on their own or choose the hassle-free option to have MasterCard PriceAssure do the necessary work to claim the credit on their behalf for a fee of $19.95 per itinerary, which is currently waived for World Elite MasterCard cardholders.
"The new MasterCard PriceAssure presents an excellent opportunity for people to capture savings on what is often their single, biggest travel expense," said Tom Romary, co-founder and CEO, Yapta. "Far too many travelers pay too much for airfare and forget to follow the price of their flight after they book their itinerary. The new MasterCard PriceAssure program alerts MasterCard cardholders when flights they purchase with their enrolled MasterCard card on eligible airlines drop in price, and with MasterCard PriceAssure customer service, we can help them retrieve airline credit that's good towards a future flight with that airline."