7 travel sites that can save you money

Most travel planning sites share most of the same features: hotel details, user reviews, trip itineraries, search criteria like price, neighbourhood, and so on. They'll usually have some sort of "Best Price Guarantee."

In many cases, their prices will hardly be different.

So what shouldyou be using? It partly depends what you're looking for. We'll take a look at the pros and cons of several of the leading online agencies.

Priceline.com

Pros: Hotel results display "freebies," bonuses that come with bookings; tidy, user-friendly interface; bidding options; heavy usage of William Shatner
Cons: Visually unappealing and slow-loading mobile app

Orbitz.com

Pros: Versatile web interface; book theatre, tour, golf tickets and more; Price Assurance program - if another Orbitz customer makes the same booking for a lower price, you receive the difference as a credit
Cons: Based on our search, looking at the Millennium Broadway near New York's Times Square, Orbitz lowest price was slightly higher than some of some of its competitors (Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity)

Hotwire.com

Pros: Hotwire sells off travel companies' unsold inventory (hotels, flights, rental cars) at deep discounts, making their prices consistently among the lowest of all online agencies; former J.D. Power and Associates award winner
Cons: The "opaque" sales model means you can't pick specific hotels - you can only specify by star rating and general location; mobile app limited to hotel bookings, does not include flights

Expedia.ca

Pros: Versatile web interface; book theatre, tour, golf tickets and more; hurricane protection and travel insurance available; partnership with Groupon for deep discounts on hotels; find a better price and they will not only match it but add on a $50 coupon
Cons: iOS app looks fantastic but is less intuitive than others

Travelocity

Pros: The Travelocity gnome is easily the most charming mascot in the industry; blind rates (like Hotwire) available along with regular discount bookings
Cons: The website's design lacks the polish or the flair of Orbitz and Expedia, and the iOS app is horribly out-of-date. The functionality and product is all there, but Travelocity's design could use a refresh.

Hotels.com

Pros: Over 150,000 hotels in their database; cheap, last-minute deals; excellent mobile app for booking hotels
Cons: Singular focus on hotels means you can't package your room with flights, rental cars, or other activities.

KAYAK

Pros: Basically everything; KAYAK aggregates results from all major online agencies, streamlining your search experience and saving you the hassle of comparing five or six sites; their app is consistently ranked among the best travel apps in the world
Cons: If you're picking nits, you might find the home page a little drab.