StudentUniverse

I have been booking international flights with studentuniverse since 2012. My first rountrip was to India for a study abroad my freshman year. My second roundtrip was to Japan for another study abroad in my junior year. In between those trips, I have also booked a few other flights for personal travel to Mexico, and Italy through SU. I suppose I am fortune for not having any poor experiences (knock on wood). Any time I did contact SU customer service support via chat they were helpful and worked with me. I have never had to change dates last minute (etc) though, which seems to be where most of their issues stem from. SU is kind of a broker for tickets at reduced prices and knowing that, they’re doing really well. It’s an at your own risk, you get what you pay for kind of service. I have been nothing but happy with my own experiences, and am flying out to the Philippines for a month immediately after graduation this May.

I am currently a college student based in Philadelphia, PA. I used to book international flights with Student Universe, but I will not be doing that anymore if there is no change of policy made or any proper explanation/​compensation made. I will not recommend this service any more to my surrounding student customers, either.
Recently, I booked a flight from the States to China during February, through StudentUniverse’s website. The price is acceptable but still, I am a student, and I spent most of my paychecks from my internship on this trip for a reunion. However, after I booked it, there happened to be a family issue in China, and my flight dates have to be changed. I called Student Universe’s customer service, and they said that both of the airlines included in this trip have to charge a date changing fee of $ 300, even though all the other travel routines stay the same. Also, there will be an additional $ 100 fee charged by Student Universe it self, plus the fare difference between the new ticket and the original ticket.
I asked the rep to look for any flight during March, so she kept me waiting online for 10 minutes, and came back with only 1 option of ticket, even if I told her that I have flexible dates. This new ticket, is $ 600 more expensive than my original ticket, and she told me that if I want to change my original flight dates, hence, the total changing fee will be $ 1017 something. I have seen better options on their website, with same flight date and a brand new ticket of $ 700 is even cheaper than this «change fee». I asked her if this is even more expensive than a new ticket, why would I want to change it? Then, the rep basically told me in an indifferent tone that it’s my own decision to buy a new one or not, and this is the policy, also, this ticket is right now the only available option, there is nothing they can do about it. They also let me know that if I buy a new ticket, the old one can’t be cancelled, hence, there is no way that I can get a refund. I had to finally book a brand new ticket, and my original ticket with a price of almost $ 700 cannot be cancelled or refunded, and the customer service did not even care to look into any other options or solutions. I have used basically all my money recently just to buy this quality of service, and my original ticket is now totally watsEven though I was told that «this is their company policy», I still feel that this is a travel agency that doesn’t care to understand and help with customers’ situations, and they never come up with a reasonable solutions. If changing a flight through you cost me more than $ 1000, and you are giving me an indifferent attitude, I don’t see a reason to come back.

Avoid doing business with Student Universe at all cost!
A month after my first flight had been deemed ineligible for my trip to Italy, I booked a second flight. While waiting for the consulate to approve my second flight, I submitted a transaction dispute for my first one. To put things in perspective, I’m leaving in July, and this is the first time I’ve traveled alone like this, so I just wanted to get everything done asap before the time gets the best of me.
Student Universe refused to refund me the first flight, so I had my bank involve and they disputed the transaction for me. Now Student Universe determines to screw me over with my second flight, by canceling it, if I don’t agree to pay for the first one.
Since the flight is tied to the eligibility of my visa documents, and I’m leaving in 4 weeks, I don’t have enough time to send my paper back to the consulate and have them approve another flight. It would take them at least a week to even get back to me.
I have been planning for this trip for a very long time and cannot afford to skip it all, so I will unhappily pay for both flights. They’ve lost a customer!

I will never use this website again!!!