A Quick Summary

‘For those of you who don’t have time to read the full review, I’ll cut to the chase:

WayAway:

1. Finds very competitive prices for flights and accommodation (I’ve tested this extensively) 
2. Has an excellent and intuitive user interface on the website and both IOS and Android apps.
3. Provides helpful information on popular destinations from local experts.
4. Has a premium membership (WayAway Plus) for a small annual fee. You will likely make the fee back in 1 trip. Here’s a 55% discount code (TP-375216),  so you’re in profit even faster.  Or just use THIS LINK.
5. If you decide to try, read our article on how to Get The Most From Your WayAway Plus 7-day free trial.

WayAway Plus:

1. Provides access to a more extensive range of travel partners, all of which you can earn cashback on. These include multiple accommodation providers, car rentals, tours, venue tickets, and city passes.
2. Has 24/7 support.
3. Earns cashback in real currency, NOT points. You can spend it on whatever you want.
4. Has a no-risk 7-day free trial. You get access to premium features and accrue cashback without paying a cent. (See below for more details.) 

So, if you’re still with me and want more details, read on…I’ll cover:

• What WayAway is
• How we’ve been using it for our current trip
• The details of the premium program and how it’s easy to make your membership back and more.
• How the WayAway Plus Cashback feature works
• How to work out if the premium product is worth it for you…(NOTE: You don’t have to join the premium program to get great prices from the user-friendly booking platform.)

What is WayAway?

At its core, WayAway is a booking aggregator that gives travelers excellent rates on airline tickets, accommodation, and other travel deals. 

As well as the free version, the company offers WayAway Plus, a premium membership plan for less than 100 USD (45 USD with my discount code) that gives you additional cashback on bookings of flights, hotels, rentals, and a lot more. Their tagline is ‘Cheaper Flights with Cashback.’

How we used WayAway for our South Asian trip (Nov 22-May 23)

Overview

• 1. Back in September 2022, I extensively tested both the website and the app to see if they really did have competitive prices. (I have described how I did that in the last section of this block so you can also do your due diligence.)
  2. Initial observations showed the prices were competitive with other major flight and accommodation consolidators and booking directly with individual airlines.
  3. I used my 55% discount coupon to join the WayAway Plus program for 44.99 USD.
  4. I have booked both international and domestic flights in India with the app.
  5. I have booked approximately 90% of our accommodation since November using Booking.com via the WayAway App.
  6. I have used the Support team several times to clarify issues before I’ve made specific bookings.

Results

Flights

• • Like other flight consolidators, WayAway provides the search function, and the booking is made via a third-party site. So far, the booking process has been smooth (except when I entered Tim’s name completely wrong and had to cancel and rebook his flight, resulting in cancellation fees). Totally my fault! It would have been the same result no matter which pathway I’d taken to make the booking.) I could access my flight details through the airline website or app. So presumably, I could also claim air miles if I was inclined to do so. 
  • Compared with Skyscanner, the prices WayAway gives are the same or slightly cheaper once I get the cashback. 
  • I’ve found the prices for international flights to be the same and in several cases quite a bit cheaper than booking with the international airlines themselves. (For example, Oman Air, Indigo (to Bangladesh and back), Pakistani Airlines, and Turkish Airlines.) 
  • I have the apps for several budget airlines here in India (GoFirst, Indigo, Air India, and Vistara) and usually find booking through WayAway as cheap and way more convenient. Sometimes these airline apps crash entirely, and if they don’t, when I get to the payment page, I’ve had no end of trouble using our international credit and debit cards. I’ve also found other booking apps, such as Make My Trip, impossible to use due to poor performance and the same international card payment issues.
  • I’m impressed by how the platform presents flight search results. The website and app display make it easy to look at the different options and decide which works best for you. Not only do you see the cheapest flights, but it also highlights things like:

• • • The cheapest direct flight, if there is one. 
    • The cheapest flight with a check-in luggage allowance – is essential on routes with lots of budget airlines with many add-ons that can blow out the total price. 
    • The results will show the cheapest option with a convenient layover if there are no direct flights.
    • The app also considers the times of the flights. Often pre-dawn and late-night flights are cheaper but are also inconvenient and exhausting.  Hence the results will highlight the cheapest ‘convenient’ flight. 

The WayAway site displays various ‘best’ options so you can choose what’s best for you.

• • Like other flight consolidators, WayAway provides the search function, and the booking is made via a third-party site. So far, the booking process has been smooth (except when I entered Tim’s name completely wrong and had to cancel and rebook his flight, resulting in cancellation fees). Totally my fault! It would have been the same result no matter which pathway I’d taken to make the booking.) I could access my flight details through the airline website or app. So presumably, I could also claim air miles if I was inclined to do so. 
  • Compared with Skyscanner, the prices WayAway gives are the same or slightly cheaper once I get the cashback. 
  • I’ve found the prices for international flights to be the same and in several cases quite a bit cheaper than booking with the international airlines themselves. (For example, Oman Air, Indigo (to Bangladesh and back), Pakistani Airlines, and Turkish Airlines.) 
  • I have the apps for several budget airlines here in India (GoFirst, Indigo, Air India, and Vistara) and usually find booking through WayAway as cheap and way more convenient. Sometimes these airline apps crash entirely, and if they don’t, when I get to the payment page, I’ve had no end of trouble using our international credit and debit cards. I’ve also found other booking apps, such as Make My Trip, impossible to use due to poor performance and the same international card payment issues.
  • I’m impressed by how the platform presents flight search results. The website and app display make it easy to look at the different options and decide which works best for you. Not only do you see the cheapest flights, but it also highlights things like:

• • • The cheapest direct flight, if there is one. 
    • The cheapest flight with a check-in luggage allowance – is essential on routes with lots of budget airlines with many add-ons that can blow out the total price. 
    • The results will show the cheapest option with a convenient layover if there are no direct flights.
    • The app also considers the times of the flights. Often pre-dawn and late-night flights are cheaper but are also inconvenient and exhausting.  Hence the results will highlight the cheapest ‘convenient’ flight. 

The WayAway site displays various ‘best’ options so you can choose what’s best for you.

Flight Planning Tools

WayAway Accommodation Booking

As mentioned above, I’ve made most of our accommodation bookings for this trip through Bookings.com via WayAway. Essentially it’s like using Booking.com directly, except:

• 1. You choose the accommodation option from the WayAway website or app,
  2. Add your dates and location to the search fields and
  3. You’re then directed to the booking engine results.

WayAway Plus Benefits

24/7 Support

I’ve contacted the WayAway Plus support team several times since I became a Plus member. Note there is no phone or email support. The conversation is had on Facebook Messenger, and other than the first acknowledgment of your message, you talk to a real person, not a chatbot. So you don’t get instantaneous access, but they respond quickly and keep you up-to-date until the issue is sorted.

My first query was regarding an Omani Air flight for Tim from London to Ho Chi Minh City via Muscat and Bangkok. The last leg was on Vietnam Airlines, and the transfer times were quite tight. So I wanted to ensure his luggage would go through to Saigon without any hiccups before I booked it. The WayAway Plus support staff got on to the airline for me and confirmed that his luggage would go all the way through. And it did (despite the airline staff telling him he would have to pick it up in Bangkok and recheck it, which put him (and me in Australia at the time) into a  panic until the issue got clarified in Bangkok!) WayAway Plus team 1 – Omani Air 0!! And bonus – Having the support team do the legwork certainly beats me being on hold for hours.

The second time I queried accommodation price differences between that shown if I logged directly into my Booking.com account (a few bucks cheaper) compared to the price I got via WayAway. Once we clarified that I could log into my Booking.com account via the WayAway platform and get my regular discounts without losing my cashback, I was super happy. 🙂

The other couple of times were regarding bugs I’d discovered in the app. Once reported, the Tech Team quickly resolved them. So, all in all, a great experience so far. 

Other Partners

We haven’t tried other partners for venue tickets, car rentals, tours, and airline compensation because we haven’t needed those services. But I’ll update the blog with the results if we do. But I’m sure many of you might be interested, so here’s the complete list of partners at the time of writing with the corresponding cashback rates:

How Does Cashback Work?

When you book your flight, accommodation, etc., the platform shows you how much your cashback should be.

This amount sits in your account as pending until you’ve taken the flight or checked out of the accommodation. You can see the date WayAway will pay it out in the transaction history in your app.

Once everything is finalized, the cash becomes available to withdraw. It gets paid into your PayPal account. (PayPal accounts are free to set up if you don’t have one. Hopefully, WayAway will consider more payment options in the future.)

YOU CAN SPEND YOUR CASHBACK ON WHATEVER YOU WANT!

You don’t have to spend it with WayAway or on something travel-related. It’s your real cash…

I used my discount link to join WayAway Plus for $44.99/per year.

So far this trip, I’ve claimed back 64 USD, have 15 USD available to withdraw, and 112 USD pending. So a total of 191 USD so far.

Your Plus account shows how much cashback is available and how much is pending.

The transaction history shows when the money will be available – i.e., after the completed booking

Not bad, considering we are traveling in a relatively cheap country, have stayed in budget hotels, and used low-cost airlines the whole time. I estimate we’ll claim back well over $USD300 by the end of the year. So we’ll still be well in front even at the renewal price of $USD99/year. If you stay in better accommodation and use full-service airlines and other partners, your cashback will add up far quicker than ours. See the following example.

An example of how much cashback you could earn back on a single trip.

WayAway Plus Free Trial

How does the trial version of Plus work?

 The trial version is a free taster that gives you a week of access to some of the features that Plus has to offer so that you can decide whether you want to stay with us. Here’s what’s available in the trial version:

 • Unlimited access to collections of hidden gems in 150+ cities around the world

 • The opportunity to earn and save up cashback on various travel services (however, you’ll only be able to withdraw it by becoming a premium member)

 • 1 question to ask our travel experts – make it count!

 If you end up falling in love with Plus after your trial week, then there’s no action required, as you’ll be charged automatically for a year of access after the 7 days are up. Don’t worry; we’ll remind you of that three days beforehand, so you’ll have ample time to cancel if it’s not for you.

How to see if WayAway (and perhaps WayAway Plus) is right for you.

How I tested the flight search functionality.

1. 1. Created a free account on the website and downloaded the Android App. Here’s the IOS link if you need it.)
   2. Performed multiple searches for both domestic and international flights on:

• • WayAway website
  • The WayAway website in incognito/private mode
  • WayAway Android App
  • Skyscanner
  • Individual Airline sites or apps
  • And then, I compared the prices with and without the cashback (the WayAway site will show you how much you could get back if you joined up.)

How I tested the accommodation booking functionality 

1. 1. I accessed the accommodation booking option on my free WayAway account.
   2. Performed multiple searches for accommodation in places we wanted to visit with:

1. • The WayAway website 
   • The WayAway website in incognito mode
   • My Booking.com account via the WayAway website
   • Directly through my booking.com account

3. I then compared the prices with and without cashback and

4. Estimated how much we would come out in front for this current trip.

5. I decided it was well worth the discounted price and bought the discounted WayAway Plus membership.

Plus, I wanted to test it to ensure it was a good product before partnering with them and recommending it to you all.

See the following screenshots to explain how using WayAway with your existing Bookings.com account gets you the most rewards.

1. Hotel in Islamabad through Bookings.com NOT logged into WayAway or my Bookins account. (100 AUD for 3 nights)

2. The same hotel booked through WayAway and logged into my Booking.com account. 71 AUD for 3 nights PLUS 5 AUD cashback.

So if you’re curious, I suggest:

1. You get a FREE WayAway account or download the IOS or Android App. Just follow those links to one or all of them.
2. Play around with the flight and accommodation search engines for an upcoming trip or one you’d love to have
3. Compare the prices on a couple of other booking engines.
4. Add up the potential cashback and see if you’ll earn more money back than the WayAway Plus Membership cost. (44.99 USD for the first year with the Discount Code or link below).
5. Wait until you are ready to start booking, and then use this WayAway Plus Discount Code – TP-375216  (Or use this link) to get your WayAway Plus account. Take advantage of the 7-day free trial to make sure you are happy with the product.
6. Feel confident you are getting great prices, enjoy your trip, and collect your cashback to put towards your next holiday!

Conclusion & Recommendation

As a free booking engine, I think WayAway finds very competitive prices for flights and accommodation. The site then presents all your options through an excellent user interface on the website AND the ISO and Android Apps.

The planning tools for pricing and articles about destinations created by the WayAway Ambassadors are excellent. So even if you don’t buy a WayAway Plus membership, it’s still well worthwhile using the platform as one of your options to search and compare flights and accommodation.

Per my suggestion above, it’s pretty easy to evaluate whether forking out for the WayAway Plus membership is worth it. 

From what I’ve seen, if you stay in mid-range or premium accommodation and book flights with major airlines, you’ll get your money back in one short trip. It might take a little longer if you stay in budget accommodation and use low-cost airlines, but it should still work out in your favor.

Here’s that Discount Code – TP-375216 ( and link) again to make the deal sweeter. And don’t forget, there’s a 7-day free trial period, so you really have nothing to lose. 

The cashback benefit is real and is not just some marketing gimmick. And it’s actual cash, not points you have to convert or spend with a particular company. Pay your electric bill if you need the cash to do that. Or head out to dinner. The money is yours to do with what you wish. We’ve currently made 4 x our membership back ( less than six months since we started using it), AND that’s likely to be 7 to 10 times, maybe more, by the end of the first 12 months.