Flight Centre has scrapped one of the best-kept secrets of savvy travellers

Flight Centre once proudly emblazoned its price match policy, the Lowest Airfare Guarantee, across its website. But last month the message was quietly removed and the practice that helped to establish the Australian company in the UK market revoked.

So what was so great about their policy and why should we miss it? Quite simply, it was a great travel hack. Not only does Flight Centre offer emergency assistance 24/7 while you’re away, but all of their flights are Atol protected. That meant that you could find the cheapest flight online and then walk into a high street store, instant message the team online or give them a call – and they’d match the price. You’d get a budget deal with the peace of mind afforded by booking with a protected and trusted brand.

When asked to comment, David Owen, General Manager of Flight Centre said: “We removed the Lowest Airfare Guarantee last month, but we remain committed to finding the best value for our customers.”

“If you’re looking for multi-city and round-the-world flights, it would be difficult to match the service our Travel Experts provide in person,” he went on to explain. And while it could be argued that there is value to be gained in using an agent for more complicated trips, the online booking tool that Flight Centre has implemented for customers in search of more direct flights is remarkably similar to the tools that Skyscanner and Kayak have been using for years.

With Flight Centre throwing in the towel on price matching, there are very few traditional travel agents still offering the service. STA Travel is one of them – but not for long. Currently, they have a Price Beat Guarantee, promising ￡1,000 if for any reason they cannot beat a rival fare. But their Ts&Cs are pretty extensive. The promise only applies to economy class scheduled carriers, which in their definition excludes low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet. It also isn’t ￡1,000. It’s a ￡1,000 voucher.

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But STA Travel are also in the process of phasing out the guarantee and it will only be available until 2019. So is this the end of price matched travel? It looks like it – at least for third-party providers with a store presence.

If you’re looking for a bargain, you may be better off booking directly with the airline. In an attempt to cut out the middleman, providers like British Airways are offering incentives to customers who buy their flight direct.

For BA, this takes the form of a Best Price Guarantee. The policy promises that if you book with them but then find the flight cheaper somewhere else, they will refund you the difference. The only catch is that it has to be on the same day – and again, there are quite a few terms and conditions to wade through.

In a market where we’re moving away from search that was once dominated by ‘cheapest’ towards ‘best’, it appears as though agents are following suit. Instead of offering the cheapest price, they are relying on their customer service and ability to save you a few hours of trawling through sites to secure your business. But in a highly saturated market, this means that the choice for travellers is only becoming more difficult as the differences between companies become increasingly indistinguishable.