Travel Partner Spotlight: Egencia’s Savings Finder for Air and Hotel

What is it?

Egencia Savings Finder is an automated tool that saves IU money by continuously monitoring the prices of your flight and hotel reservations for a less expensive rate. When Egencia finds a lower rate or fare that matches your existing reservation, it automatically books it and cancels the original reservation.

Savings Finder starts monitoring prices one day after you book all the way up to two days before check in.

Egencia will re-book a reservation that matches the reservation you booked originally – the same airline and ticket class, or in the case of a hotel, the same type, terms, and amenities – but at a lower price.

Note for airfare: if you selected a specific seat, your seat selection may be lost. Egencia will try to book the same seat as the original itinerary. If they’re not able to book the same seat, they’ll rebook the nearest available similar seat in the same class as your original booking.

How do I know Savings Finder saved me money?

When Savings Finder has rebooked your reservation at a lower rate, Egencia will send an email confirmation to the traveler and their travel arranger, if notifications to arrangers were toggled on during the initial booking. The traveler’s itinerary will also be updated online in their Egencia account. To the right is an example of the email notification that Egencia sends.

Where can I find more details?

Details about the transaction history, including the price of the original booking can be found via a link on the itinerary page. Log into Egencia and click Trips at the top of the page. Locate the trip in question, open the Itinerary, and click the Transaction History link below the receipt information on the lower right-hand side of the page.

A detailed listing of the charges for this trip will appear in a table. The cost of the original purchase, the refund, the finder’s fee, and the cost of the new purchase are reflected.

In the example below, starting with the bottom row of the table and moving towards the top, the original booking was $610. Egencia’s Savings Finder found the same flight for less and re-booked at $482. The $6 booking fee is only charged once, and Egencia refunded the cost of the original flight. Finally, Egencia charged a Savings Finder fee of $55.

How is the fee charged?

Egencia charges a variable fee that fluctuates based on how much money Savings Finder saved you. The fee is charged to IU's ghost card and needs to be reconciled by your department to your department's account.

Reconciling Fees

With airfare, you’ll ultimately have five items in the traveler’s eWallet to reconcile, listed below. These will typically arrive at varying times.

1. The original flight purchase
2. The $6 online booking fee
3. The refunded flight purchase (a negative eWallet item)
4. The new, cheaper flight purchase
5. The Savings Finder Fee 

With lodging, there will be two items in the traveler’s eWallet to reconcile, listed below. These will appear in the traveler’s eWallet after they’ve checked into the hotel.

1. The new, cheaper hotel reservation
2. The Finder’s Fee, 30% of the savings

You will not have a Credit Card Item of the original booking because IU’s credit card for lodging does not get charged until the traveler checks into the hotel.

What if I cancel my trip?

If the Savings Finder was applied to your trip, and it gets canceled, the fee for hotel savings can be refunded up until check in.

Who can I contact for help understanding or reconciling these fees and refunds?

Questions about a fee in your eWallet? Reach out to travel@iu.edu.