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Flight Centre and STA Travel are two major players in the Australian travel market. We compare them side by side so you can make an informed choice before booking a major holiday or any travel.
Both offer very similar services but with a few differences. Flight Centre has the option to book more luxurious trips while STA Travel focuses on extra discounts for youths, students and teachers who travel.
Flight Centre offers a wide range of travel products with top deals around the globe and is one of Australia’s most trusted travel agencies.
STA Travel specialises in travel products for a younger crowd but still has options available for all travellers and is also one of Australia’s most popular travel agencies.
| Feature | Flight Centre | STA Travel | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| What can I book? |
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STA Travel offers a wider variety of travel options. |
| Can I price match? | No. However Flight Centre has a Price Drop Protection which can be added with Captain's Packages from $19. | STA Travel will beat any retail travel agent, airline direct, or call centre travel agent or they give you $1,000 credit. STA Travel will also match online travel agents prices prices up to a difference of $50. This is given as a credit to use toward land products. | STA Travel offers a better incentive. |
| Is there lay-by or a payment plan? | Interest-free finance is available for holidays of $999 or more. A $99 annual fee applies and finance is subject to approval. |
For flights, a $99 deposit is required. A $39 fee is paid when the remainder of the amount is due.Tours require a $100 deposit and packages a $149 deposit. | STA Travel offers finance on more products for a lower cost. |
| Are there booking fees? | Online bookings incur a $9.99 fee for domestic flights and a $21.95 fee for international flights per person, per booking. | Flights originating from Australia don't incur booking fees. | STA Travel is fee-free. |
| Is there online chat? | Yes. | Yes, on select pages. | Both offer online chat. |
| Is there a loyalty plan? | No. | No. | Neither offer loyalty plan incentives. |
| What are my payment options online? |
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Flight Centre has more online payment options. |
| Can I book round the world fares? | Yes, the full list can be found here. | Yes, however you must speak to a round the world expert to book. Some are available to students/youths only. | Flight Centre’s round the world flight options are available to every traveller. |
| Can I book multi-city fares? | Yes, but you can't do it yourself. You must speak to an agent for a quote. |
Yes, but you must speak to a round the world expert to book. | STA Travel offers some prices online and you are able to create your own route. |
| Any features to find the best price? | Some destination pages include a comparison of the cheapest, quickest and most popular flight options. | A list of cheap flights, the most popular flights and top deals is available. | Flight Centre offers a comparison feature for specific destinations. |
STA Travel gives you $1,000 travel credit if it can't match retail agents, airlines direct or call centre travel agents' prices. It will also price match online prices but only to a difference of $50. Flight Centre only guarantees against price drops but you have to pay a fee for this.
Looking at it from an online purchase point of view, we went direct to each site and made the same search to see which could come out on top. We looked at a domestic flight from Sydney to melbourne.
The verdict: Flight Centre came up more than $50 cheaper than STA Travel making it the winner in this instance.
Interestingly we took this one a step further to look at international flights instead and found that STA Travel won that war on a fare from Melbourne to London. This just goes to prove it's worth checking both if price is your driver to see which can come out cheaper.
Both sites offer a wide range of airlines to choose from for domestic and international travel.
Flight Centre offers fares from 65+ airlines around the world. Domestic flights booked through Flight Centre include airlines such as Airnorth, Jetstar, Qantas, Rex, Tigerair and Virgin Australia. International flights include airlines that are well known and reputable such as American Airlines, British Airways, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Fiji Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Brunei Airlines and Thai Airways.
STA Travel offers fares from over 18 airlines worldwide. Domestic airlines include Qantas and Virgin Australia. International airlines include Delta, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airline, Thai Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines, Fiji Airways and more.
The verdict?: Between the two, Flight Centre offers more airline choices. However, STA Travel has exclusive BlueTicket prices for students and those under 30 which could mean more savings for you.
Cancellation policies differ depending on what you are booking through Flight Centre.
STA Travel has an online cancellation fee of $200 plus other fees depending on the type of travel booked. Before committing to either it is best to read the fine print.
Flight Centre offers deals on flights, holiday packages and cruises that you can find on its deals page which is updated daily. Flight Centre deals can include domestic flights from as little as $55, return flights to Europe for $1,099 and up to 50% off luxury cruises.
STA Travel offers deals on flights, tours and sales on accommodation (including hotels and hostels) which can be found on their deals page. Markdowns can include 30% off last-minute tours with Contiki or an early-bird discount of 15% off of tours with a selection of companies to destinations around the globe. Deals on flights include the Price Beat Guarantee which offers you a refund of the difference if the price of your flight lowers.
The verdict?: Flight Centre offers bigger discounts but STA Travel has deals on accommodation.
Flight Centre - International
Asia flights from $213 return
Available for flights on select dates from February - 31 August 2020 with AirAsia. Sample fare is Perth-Lombok. Destinations include Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Phuket, Maldives, Delhi, Tokyo, Bangkok and more.
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Deal ends
STA Travel
Up to 25% off worldwide tours
Available on select travel dates in 2020. Destinations include Greece, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, North America and more. T&Cs apply.
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Flight Centre - International
Kuala Lumpur flights from $297 return
Available for flights 1 February - 31 August 2020 with AirAsia. Sample fare is from Perth.
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Flight Centre - International
Hawaii flights from $370 return
Available for flights 12 October - 3 December 2020 with Jetstar. Sample fare is from Sydney.
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Flight Centre - International
Bali flights from $241 return
Available for flights 5 May - 16 September 2020 with Jetstar. Sample fare is from Perth.
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Flight Centre - International
Auckland flights from $245 return
Available for flights 22 July - 16 September 2020 with Jetstar. Sample fare is from Melbourne.
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STA Travel
Bali flights from $279 return
Available for travel from 1 - 30 May 2020. Sample fare is Perth-Bali with Jetstar. Other flight departs from Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and more.
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Flight Centre - International
Asia flights from $546 return with Singapore Airlines
Available for flights January - September 2020. Destinations include Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Phuket, Tokyo, Maldives and more. Sample fare is Perth-Singapore.
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Flight Centre - International
Los Angeles flights from $979 return
Available on select dates from 26 April - 27 November 2020. Sample price is from Sydney with Air New Zealand. T&Cs apply.
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Flight Centre - International
Cook Islands flights from $599 return with Air New Zealand
Available on select dates from 24 January - 26 June 2020. Sample price is from Sydney. T&Cs apply.
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STA Travel
United Airlines: USA flights from $899 return
Available for travel from January - December 2020. Destinations include San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York, Seattle and more. Sample fare is Melbourne-Los Angeles.
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Flight Centre - International
Maldives flights from $506 return
Available for flights 1 February - 31 August 2020 with AirAsia. Sample fare is from Perth.
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Flight Centre - International
Las Vegas flights from $1,029 retrun
Available for flights 1 February - 24 March 2020 and 21 April - 10 September 2020 with United Airlines. Sample fare is from Melbourne.
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Flight Centre - International
Japan flights from $619 return
Available for flights 22 April - 15 June 2020 with Philippine Airlines. Sample fare is Melbourne-Tokyo.
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Flight Centre - International
France flights from $1,095 return
Available for flights 3 February - 31 May 2020 and 1-30 September 2020 with Etihad. Sample fare is from Adelaide.
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Flight Centre - International
Fiji flights from $441 return
Available for flights 4 May - 15 June 2020 and 29 July - 16 September 2020 with Jetstar. Sample fare is from Sydney.
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Flight Centre - International
Canada flights from $1,019 return
Available for flights 4 March - 31 May 2020. Destinations include Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver. Sample fare is Melbourne-Vancouver.
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Flight Centre - International
Beijing flights from $629 return
Available for flights 22 April - 15 November 2020 with Cathay Pacific. Sample fare is from Melbourne.
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Flight Centre - International
Barcelona flights from $1,117 return
Available for flights 4 March - 18 June 2020 and 13 July - 18 September with Singapore Airlines. Sample fare is from Sydney.
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Flight Centre - International
Bangkok flights from $334 return
Available for flights 4 May - 23 June 2020 with Jetstar. Sample fare is from Darwin.
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Flight Centre - International
Athens flights from $1,056 return
Available for flights 20 April - 15 June 2020. Sample fare is from Perth.
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Flight Centre - International
Amsterdam flights from $1,099 return
Available for flights 3 February - 31 May 2020 with Etihad. Sample fare is from Sydney.
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STA Travel
Japan: 7 night getaway + Ski Madarao from $999
Available on select travel dates. Package includes 7 nights accommodation, 5 day lift pass, return train station transfers and free ski lessons.
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STA Travel
Europe flights from $799 return with China Southern
Available on select travel dates from 21 February - 20 March 2020. Sample fare is Melbourne-Rome. Other destinations include London and Paris.
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STA Travel
10% off USA and Canada Busabout tours
Available for travel on select dates in 2020. Destinations include Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Boston, New York and more. T&Cs apply.
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STA Travel
USA flights from $899 return with Virgin Australia
Available for travel between 3 February - 31 October 2020. Sample fare departs from Melbourne. T&Cs apply.
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STA Travel
Japan flights from $599 return
Available for travel until November 2020. Includes Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo Chitose flights with Japan Airlines, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines and more. Sample fare is Melbourne-Tokyo with Philippine Airlines. T&Cs apply.
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STA Travel
Europe flights from $539 each way
Available on select travel dates from January – November 2020. Sample fare is Perth–Paris with Thai Airways. Other destinations include London, Rome, Manchester, Dublin and more. T&Cs apply.
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| Last checked | Code description | Code |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Jan 2020 | Asia flights from $213 return | ******** |
| 21 Jan 2020 | Up to 25% off worldwide tours | ******** |
| 21 Jan 2020 | Kuala Lumpur flights from $297 return | ******** |
| 21 Jan 2020 | Hawaii flights from $370 return | ******** |
| 21 Jan 2020 | Bali flights from $241 return | ******** |
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