The Best Travel App For Cheap Flights, Hotels and Car Rentals: Webjet App Review
It continues to amaze me how quickly technology evolves. Travel is made more and more accessible everyday through the sleuth of new technology, apps and start-ups, and now resources to find affordable travel options exist in droves. The aim? To help us travel cheaper, smarter and longer. And while smartphones didn’t even exist when I began to travel, now we don’t even need to wait for our laptops to power up – everything is more or less available instantly from the palm of our hands.
Searching for cheap flights? There’s an app for that. Find & connect with like-minded travelers in your new destination? There’s an app for that too. Locate the closest WiFi? Learn to speak a new language? Find locals to give you an authentic city tour? There are now smartphone apps now for essentially every possible travel related need, and there truly are no more excuses that money is an obstacle to experiencing the world. Everything we need in order see the world can be ours for cheaper than it ever has been before, and it’s all available from our phone.
Though it’s now getting to the stage where we’re facing an information overload, and while it was once took hours to access information, now it could take hours to sort through it. There are almost too many resources, apps and start-ups, and the task becomes figuring out where to begin.
When searching for cheap flights, car hire and hotels at least, I’ve found you don’t need to look further than an app called Webjet. Comparing all available airfares, hotel deals and car rental rates around the globe, Webjet is your very own one-stop travel booking app, and the download is free.
Webjet App Review
There are many reasons to love the Webjet app; it’s essentially all of your travel needs in one convenient place. It’s easy to search and book the best travel deals on the go, you can compare leading airline and hotel partners, the booking process is simple and quick, and you can access your itinerary anywhere. Best travel app for booking flights
An Australian based travel agency, the app is promoted for the purpose of searching & booking flights around & between Australia & New Zealand, though really it’s a global app, and good for so much more. You can search and book for any destination in the world, and it’s fully integrated with deals from all of the world’s cheapest airlines and hotels. Hotel booking travel app review
While my advice is to always first check with the hotel or airline carrier directly before booking via a third party to ensure you’re actually getting the best deal, after you’ve been using Webjet for a while you come to trust that stringent rate checking isn’t necessary anymore. You’re always getting the most competitive deals. Best travel app for booking flights and hotels
Ease of use is also a huge perk. Simple, sleek, and very straightforward, the home page offers the option of flights, hotels, or car rentals, also displaying your recent searches and making these available for later use should you wish to save or bookmark a search.
It is lightening fast and there are no advertising, pop-ups or distractions – you’re lead right to the appropriate search page, and it produces your search information quickly and without fuss. You’re viewing deals on the following in literally a quick few taps.
Flights
The flight search box is incredibly simple and easy to use. Filter your results by airline, stops, departure time or price. From aircraft type to layover times, all the information is clearly displayed for you to make the best choice. Plus, easily add travel insurance to your flight booking and be prepared for unexpected events. Depending on what you requested, hitting the search function will quickly search multiple websites trying to find the cheapest flights from your request. Best travel app for cheap flight comparison
Search and book flights which are one way, return or multi city, and change the travel class back and forth from economy, premium economy, business and first. Use the ‘recent searches’ feature to conveniently retrieve details of your previously searched flights. Webjet travel app review
You can also view your past and upcoming trips in one convenient location by accessing your Webjet profile within the app, and there is a new flight status feature to check realtime updates on arrivals and departures.
The way this app differs from using a website is that you can’t be vague. In order to produce a search you must enter information including your destinations to and from, your departure and arrival date, number of adults and class (economy for me of course!).
Let’s be honest, this is all very basic information which you should already know, though it does mean that there is no option for running a search based on flexible dates, and to compare the cost of flying economy v business would require a second search.
Really though, with the ability to flick back and forth quickly between your recent searches, these comparisons are still fairly easy to do. And the recent searches are displayed prominently on the app home page, so they’re right there in front of you and easy to access and find. The app website promotes the availability of a flexible date search for popular flights, though perhaps I just haven’t been searching any popular flights yet!
Hotels
Quickly book a hotel on the go using ‘nearest location’ to help you search deals close by. Specials are clearly labelled on the results page where you can also compare star & TripAdvisor ratings. If you’re booking a hotel on the go you don’t even need to enter your location, it uses location tracking to automatically find where you are.
View hotels in a list or map view – it’s up to you! Found a few favourites? Tap the star icon for easy comparison on the results page or on the homepage for quick access.
Be aware that when viewing hotel search results the total price is shown for the entire stay. This can be confusing at first for those used to using a search engine which displays the cost of accommodation as a nightly rate, though in the end it’s just a different way of displaying things, and you know exactly the price of your total stay before clicking through to book.
Car Rental
Compare over 800 leading car rental brands at the best rate for domestic and international car hire deals. Rest assured, Webjet’s app will have all your travel needs covered. You can choose to pay in full at the time of booking, or leave a minimal deposit (usually around $40), and have the balance charged 7 days before pickup.
The car rental landing page shows the best deals throughout Australia, though once again, in reality it’s a global app and will pull up the cheapest car rentals for you from all over the world. There are no hidden charges and they advertise all of the fine print straight up front so you don’t get to the end having been lured by misleading statements – ie $25 car rental in Sydney is currently being advertised, though it’s made very clear on the homepage that this is based on a 14 day rental.
One of the factors which keeps us using the app is Webjet’s transparency of terms and conditions. They offer all of the information you need to make a decision at the start of your search meaning you’re not surprised by extra charges or hidden terms at the end when it comes time to pay.
This is the Part Where You Download the App
Overall, the Webjet app is incredibly useful, and it really is a one stop travel booking app which I am happy to recommend.
Click to download now on iPhone or Android:
If You Liked This Post You May Also Like:
Photo credits: Feature photo from left to right, images by Garry Knight, Webjet, David Goehring, Webjet & Mapping Megan. Hand holding phone by Highways England.
Disclaimer: While I was asked to write a Webjet app review by Webjet Australia, my opinions are always my own and I would never damage my credibility by recommending something that I don’t use myself.
20 Comments
Wow! What a comprehensive list! Great tips. Will certainly try one or all of them. Thanks!
They do a really good job of covering all of the most important and essential aspects of travel :) Definitely give it a go for one of the flights, hotels or car rental options. You’ll likely find you’re so in love with the app that you’ll start using it for all 3 :)
I’ve never heard of Webjet but I’m definitely going to check it out! Thanks for sharing–I love sites where you can compare multiple options in one spot. Especially when they are transparent–I hate finding a good deal and then getting a higher cost at checkout!
Isn’t that the worst!! – you’ll definitely enjoy Webjet then Jenna, makes our lives so much easier having all of the information we need instantly from our phones :)
Sounds like a very useful app. When are traveling to Australia early 2016 but will already have booked our flight and then will travel around on foot and by bike, but we’ll definitely keep this in mind for the future because one thing is for sure: we are coming back to your beautiful country!!
Definitely make sure you’ve got Webjet on your phone then for heading through Australia – comes in super handy when you need to pull up a last minute hotel and have no idea what’s nearby :)
Happy travels! Looking forward to welcoming you to our country soon!
As a Travel Agent in Australia (my current “real” job) I have some reservations on sites like Webjet, pardon the pun. But to be honest, I have the same reservations with booking online through my own company’s system.
The main downfall for me is they do not search flights with many low cost airlines, which can be an annoyance for “low cost” travelers.
A really good rundown on the product though. I will certainly be having a look at it.
Glad you enjoyed the product review Dean – definitely something to take into consideration if you’re aware of a low cost airline and it doesn’t pop up. I highly recommend for anyone just starting to use these kind of apps to also do their own background research so they feel comfortable when comparing the results.
When I started using my phone to search for internet deals I would always usually head back to the computer to do some double checking first, though over time have become comfortable enough using the app and knowing that for our mid range budget it works well.
Great tip though to consider if you’re looking for super low cost, no frills deals.
Sounds like a great app, I like that you can easily book everything you need in a matter of minutes, then put your phone down and continue what you were doing. Smart phones have definitely made things a lot more convenient :)
They’ve completely revoluntionalized the way we plan and book travel (smartphones). You can now do your travel bookings on the go, and it makes last minute planning so much more convenient and efficient too.
Crazy to think how quickly technology has evolved into the world that we know today!
I’m planning a trip to South America, so the app might be useful. ;)
Absolutely Kinga – definitely pull it up – we’ve been putting it to very good use recently, so should be able to help with the planning process for getting everything booked and sorted :)
Happy travels!
Hy husband is a great fan of all travel apps, so we’ll have to check Webjet too. I went on their website after reading your post and tried to check my latest airfare purchase against their offers. They don’t seem different from Expedia, or Cheapoair price wise, but I’ll make sure to check them further.
I’m sure there are many similarities between Expedia, Cheapoair etc and Webjet because in essence they’re all offering the same service, so really in the end I think it comes down to which you’re more comfortable navigating :)
Definitely check out the app, especially if your husband is a fan of new apps, you may decide this is your favorite one :)
Happy travels!
Wow, where has this app been all my life? It’s way more convenient to be able to access all your needs for traveling planning in one app! I downloaded the app and it’s very straight forward which makes my life a lot easier! Thanks so much for sharing, I’ll be using this a lot in my future travels! :)
I’m glad you’re happy with the app Dawn – it really does make everything so much easier and more convenient. A much more efficient way to start planning travel – I especially love it for the ease of making bookings at the last minute when you’re actually on the road!
Happy travels :)
Sounds very useful for those always on the go! It’s good to know an app that we can trust to let us know all of the best rates and give us the fine print straight up. Thanks for the review!
It absolutely is Mary :) And that’s the best thing about it, I really have come to trust that I’m getting the cheapest rates – I don’t feel the need to be double checking rates with other providers anymore :)
I cant get in contact with webjet
HI Noel – if you jump over to their website they have a button for Customer Support and that page lists a contact email address as onlinetravel@webjet.com.au – otherwise I’ve found it usually works reaching out to companies on social media where the contact email address fails. That would be where I would start.
Hope that helps!