15 May 2014 / LA Times – Using bitcoin as a currency to pay for travel has taken a few steps forward.
CheapAir last week announced that its users may now use bitcoin to pay for Amtrak tickets besides airline tickets and hotel rooms. And a new hotel booking engine called GuestLeader that accepts bitcoin an payment could mean more hotels signing on too.
At CheapAir, you can use bitcoin to buy Amtrak tickets for several routes, including Los Angeles-San Diego, Portland-Seattle, New York-Washington and New York-Boston. (You can use more conventional money too.)
“We think it’s pretty cool when travelers can search Amtrak fares with their voice — from an airplane selected specifically for its WiFi — pay for train seats with bitcoin from that airplane — and then get $100 back if their fares drop!” CheapAir Chief Executive Jeff Klee, who started the company from his college dorm room in 1989, said in a statement.
Klee’s statement refers to the new bitcoin option as well as his company’s policy of giving customers refunds if the airfare they bought drops in price.
Meanwhile, Miami Beach-based Revpar Guru partnered with BitPay to create what it says is the world’s first bitcoin hotel booking engine. The selling point of GuestLeader, the company says, is that it allows international travelers to deal exclusively in one currency — no need to change money….. Read more
http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trb-bitcoin-travel-payments-20140514-story.html
