Is Capital One Price Freeze a scam? Here’s how the service cost me $300

I’ve had a Capital One Venture X card for a year and recently decided to use Price Freeze for the first time. I needed to book three tickets to London this summer. Award space has been nonexistent on the return, so a paid fare was the only option. The Capital One Travel portal not only had lower fares, but I could use my $300 Venture X travel credit to lower the cost.

I found a fare for $1,196 and decided to use the “freeze” function to secure it while finalizing my travel plans. Little did I know that it would end up costing me.

What is Capital One Price Freeze?

Capital One Price Freeze lets you secure the price of a flight for up to 12 days. You’ll pay about $25 or 2,500 miles per person. If the ticket price increases during those 12 days, Capital One will cover the difference up to $400 per ticket. 

Since you’re only freezing a price and not the fare, there is a chance the flight won’t be available when you’re ready to book it. If that happens, the Capital One site claims you’ll get your $25 fee back or the option to book a similar flight. 

Sounds like a great trade-off for a $25 fee, right? In reality, Capital One’s “freeze” function is nothing short of a bait-and-switch. You’re not actually securing a ticket or a price because if the fare goes up, Capital One can just choose not to honor the price. I learned that the hard way.

Related: Dropping high-annual-fee credit cards

My experience using Capital One Price Freeze

On June 10, I searched for flights from San Francisco to London. It’s high season and award space is limited. I froze a $1,196 fare, which would expire on June 18. Today, I logged back into my Capital One Travel account to book those tickets. Capital One actually displays the current fare vs. the frozen price. It clearly showed the current fare had gone up to $1,439. That’s a $243 price difference per ticket. 

I hit “Continue to Booking” and checked off the traveler names. Once I clicked “continue,” a message appeared: “Saving travelers and checking availability.” 

A few seconds later, a message popped up stating there was no availability for three travelers on that flight. I was offered a refund for the $75 “freeze” fee and nothing else. They didn’t even offer me another flight.

What Capital One had to say

Normally, I’d let this kind of thing go, but the blatant dishonesty really bothers me. Especially since fares increased substantially and I was on the hook for over $300 for another flight. I called Capital One and spoke with a representative. She tried her best but seemed utterly confused about how Capital One Price Freeze works. 

She insisted I should be able to book it if the expiration date had not passed. Then she put me on hold and explained that since one of the flight segments had been sold out or canceled, the itinerary was no longer available.

I told her that made no sense since I didn’t put the flight on hold; I froze the fare. So even if the flight is sold out, I should be able to book another flight at that price. At the very least, I should have been notified when the flight sold out so that I could book something else sooner.

At this point, she insisted the fare should be bookable and asked permission to access my dashboard. I agreed and she went in there but got the same message I did.

Her manager wasn’t able to help either. It became clear that the agent was completely confused about how Price Freeze worked and the rules regulating this feature. That makes two of us. 

Canceling a Price Freeze

With the Capital One agent unable to help me, I had no choice but to cancel the Price Freeze so I could get the $75 freeze fee back. The only way to do this was by attempting to finalize the booking. The same message popped up, offering me a refund and I accepted it. But what’s so bizarre is the email I got after agreeing to a refund. 

The email states, “The flight price you froze is no longer available.” That message would have been more helpful if I had received it before the flight became unavailable. Not when I went to book the tickets. It feels a bit gaslight-ey to let me know I’m getting a refund because the flight is “no longer available” when in reality, I’m getting a refund because Capital One won’t honor the “frozen” fare.

How Capital One can improve Price Freeze

In the end, I ended up booking a flight directly with American Airlines and paying almost $300 more than if I’d booked it last week instead of freezing the fare. That sucks, but I’m sharing this because I want to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to someone else.

As is, Capital One Price Freeze is a complete sham. It doesn’t hold the ticket and it doesn’t even guarantee the price. In theory, they will protect you against a price hike of up to $400 but if the fare is no longer available, you’re out of luck. They won’t even notify you when the fare becomes unavailable. At least then you can book something else before fares increase even more.

So you’re paying $25 for literally nothing because if the price goes up (which it most certainly will, if you wait up to 12 days), Capital One won’t honor it if that particular ticket is no longer available. During periods of high travel demand, tickets get booked up fast. During low-demand period, you’re paying $25 for something you probably don’t need. So in many cases, Price Freeze is entirely useless.

Capital One can improve this function by truly honoring the “Price Freeze” promise. Either allow people to book a different ticket at that same price if the original is no longer available. Or, at the very least, notify customers when the fare is close to getting booked or is no longer available. That email I got would have been nice to have a few days ago, when the fare became unavailable.

Related: How To Redeem An American Airlines Travel Voucher

Alternatives to Capital One Price Freeze

Capital One Price Freeze is pretty much useless, but there are alternatives you should consider. For starters, American Airlines allows you to hold a ticket for up to 72 hours, free of charge. United has FareLock, which allows you to hold a fare for up to 14 days for a price. 

Many other airlines offer free holds for several days, which you can extend longer for a fee. It’s essentially the “Price Freeze” feature offered by Capital One, except it actually locks in your fare. I didn’t use these options because I wanted to use my Venture X’s $300 travel credit, which is only valid on Capital One Travel bookings.

Alternately, there’s the DOT’s 24-hour cancellation policy, where you can cancel tickets without a penalty. That can buy you a little more time if you’re finalizing your travel plans and don’t want to miss out on a low fare.

Bottom line

Capital One Price Freeze sounds like a useful tool in theory, but in reality, it does nothing to secure airfare. It works out in Capital One’s favor if the fare doesn’t change and they pocket $25 regardless of whether you book it. But it has no discernible benefit for customers, who are neither guaranteed a ticket nor a set price, as promised. 

There are other ways to lock in airfare for later booking and I recommend you utilize those. Because Capital One Price Freeze appears to be nothing but smoke and mirrors. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Capital One Price Freeze do?

Capital One Price Freeze allows you to freeze the price of a flight for 7-12 days. Price Freeze costs $25 or 2,5000 miles per ticket. If the ticket price increases, Capital One will pay the difference up to $400 per ticket. Freezing a fare does not guarantee that you’ll be able to book it at that price later.

What is a Capital One Price Freeze refund?

If the flight is no longer available by the time you’re ready to book, you’ll get a refund. If you decide to cancel a Capital One Price Freeze, you will not get a refund.

Is Capital One Price Freeze a deposit?

Capital One Price Freeze is not a deposit. It’s merely a fee you pay to secure a ticket price. If you book the ticket, the $25 fee does not count towards the purchase price.

Can I change my Price Freeze on Hopper?

Capital One Travel is powered by Hopper. However, you cannot make changes to the Price Freeze. You can either book the fare, cancel or pay for another freeze.

Does Capital One have price drop protection?

Capital One Travel has free price drop protection. If the cost of a flight drops after you book it, Capital One will refund the difference.