Never, ever use this site to book tickets or to do any kind of business with whatsoever. My friends had never had problems with them, so I figured to give them a try. All I did was book a United flight from Dulles to Providence which is an hour and a half plane flight, for $375. I saved up to be able to pay this and have a couple hundred dollars to spend with my friend in Providence and Boston. They literally gave me a confirmation with the wrong dates and messed up the flight date (I had booked for this weekend in October when going through their site, but the emailed itinerary showed last weekend in September.) I have disputed it with them, United and my bank to either give me a refund for their technical error, or to at least book me another free flight for another weekend of the same monetary value to make it right. They passed me back and forth between reps and kept claiming they cannot guarantee anything. They said their IT team would investigate the technical error and I'm still waiting on that. I was beyond livid because I missed my flight, I missed the only weekend I can see my friend's art being exhibited in the school's museum which is a big honor, and they still claim they can't refund me for a mistake that wasn't even mine to make. I would give them no stars if I could. read more

I thought this would be a great agency for my students and professors to travel to Florence International Film School.The first time I used them they were good but then they took a nose dive. Really have dropped. the only support is from the Philippines and the agents there are very confused and not helpful. I had many problems with my reservations!!! read more

Avoid this company at all cost! My flight was cancelled and all Student Universe has to do is call the airline to arrange a travel voucher. After 2 months of constantly calling and emailing Student Universe, there is still no resolution, so I'm out $618. Thanks Student Universe! read more

Wish could give a 0 star. Not a good experience. No refund, costs more than actual ticket price to make changes, even when there was no difference between the price of the dates I was changing to. Would never book an international flight with them again. read more

I had a situation come up with this travel service company about a ticket that was issued for my ddaughter, they were sure that nothing can be done but today thursday I received a email stating that everything was fixed and she would be able to fly with a corrected ticket. Thank you student universe for everything read more

Do NOT book through Student Universe. They sell tickets that they negotiate with airlines on a wholesale contract basis which are next to impossible to get changed or refunded (even if the flights are cancelled). The tickets they sold us were about $100 cheaper for a $1000 airfare through the airline. But if you run into problems...good luck getting a refund or getting any flexibility. For the tickets we bought direct from the airline, the airlines are refunding them quickly. But tickets bought through Student Universe are next to impossible to get refunded EVEN WHEN THE FLIGHT GETS CANCELLED. By any ordinary definition, if you sell a ticket for something that gets cancelled and you dont' refund the money you charged that is called THEFT. read more

STUDENTS BEWARE- I will never book with student universe again. I booked a flight for a morning this January and received a confirmation email. When I went to go check in for my flight at the airline - it's was for 12 hours LATER. Originally my flight was 8am and I was not scheduled on a 9pm flight. I called StudentUniverse and they blamed JetBlue saying that it must have been their fault. They asked me to send the confirmation email to them to which they replied that it wasn't enough proof and I would have to pay over $150 for my flight to be corrected. The representatives were rude and kept telling me I was wrong regardless of all of the proof and paperwork I provided. I even sent them the itinerary that THEY gave me for my original morning flight. This fight isn't over and I will continue to contact them until a refund and more are issued. read more

I bought a flight to USA on Student universe. They took my money and have not given me a Ticket or any information at all about my flight. Not even an Email. Juist took my money and now they can't be contactedd. This is the worse service I have ever had on a Flight. Seems to be run by a bunch of amateuers and no customer service at all. I would never use them again and am despairing about my ticket and money. Jay Heyman read more

During a pandemic, they are unwilling to help customers by refunding money for tickets bought months in advance when the customer is no longer able to make the flight. They are not flexible at all and are not willing to work with you and will fight with you if you would like to speak with a supervisor. Do not use this service. read more

Terrible customer service. Terrible company. I booked a hotel reservation and canceled within an hour following their "24-hour cancellation policy". Never received my money back, not to mention customer service was rude, unhelpful, and their communication was so all over the place. This company claims to have good rates for students but all they really do is take advantage. If you really want to save money on a trip, stay away from them and save yourself the unnecessary headache and stress. Will never ever book with them again. read more

Horrible service. It took almost an hour to resolve my issue. I asked for a supervisor several times before I was finally able to speak to one. I would not recommend to anyone. read more

Never using student universe again. If you use this joke of a company you are guaranteed to get fucked over. Lost $800 in international flights that were CANCELLED by the airline due to COVID 19 a week before the departure date, have reached out 10+ times only to get one response saying "the flights you booked are non refundable by the airline". So now, they refuse to give me any credits, I cannot cancel through the airline since it was booked through student universe, and they have now taken my $800 for a flight that no longer exists. Fuck you student universe. read more

I will NEVER use the Student Universe site to book flights again. Cheap, yes. Easy to use website, yes. I booked my daughters summer study abroad flight to Italy in February 2020 prior to Italy closing. I even paid for the insurance and was ASSURED by their rep that the insurance would cover the cost if Italy closed or if my daughter's study abroad trip was canceled by her university. Once we had cancellation documents from her university, I called and called and called. They pulled every "get her to give up trick in the book." I waited for over an hour several times to speak with any human. They had reps who either could not answer questions or could barely speak English. They even "accidentally" disconnected me. I jumped through ALL their hoops to process this this correctly. I went to the insurance company which was completely separate and filed a claim. It has been over a month and I have not yet received my flight refund for cancellations due to COVID19. I explained over and over how THEIR phone rep assured me and sold me the travel insurance even when I explicitly asked if it would be refunded due to COVID19 closures. This company could have made this so much better for future business by actually having a heart for people in this terrible economic time. I am not the only parent from the university in this situation with Student Universe. Larisa G. read more

many travel agents with great services are behind you. not this one. dont risk your money and waste time!! read more

I wish I had read through reviews on this site before booking my flight with Student Universe! Absolute worst travel booking service ever. For all students, please don't be penny wise and pound foolish -- you are better off paying a little more and buying directly from the airline or using a more reputable booking service. I booked my Turkish Airlines flight for May 30th through Student Universe. A few days to the flights, I received a notification that my flight had been canceled. I called Student Universe, asking what would happen. They said there wasn't any alternative flight they could offer. So I asked about a refund because I read through their policy, which had stated that I would only forfeit my payment should I be the one to cancel the flight. They said they would offer a refund after deducting a $40 processing fee. I pushed back because there was no mention of such a fee in their policy, to which they offered a "discounted" fee of $25. I also pushed back again, referring to their policy. After being placed on hold forever, they came back and said they would waive the cancellation fee. I asked when I would receive my money but to which they mentioned that it could take 4-6weeks because the money had been passed to the airline. Before contacting Student Universe, I had actually called Turkish, who had informed me that the flight had been canceled and explained that Student Universe would be responsible for issuing a refund because Turkish had not received any money yet. So I pushed back and told the Student Universe customer rep what Turkish said. He said he understands my frustration and that they had received so many similar complaints and that to be guaranteed a refund, I should go ahead and file a dispute with my bank. I went ahead and disputed the charge. Two days later, Student Universe calls and says I should go ahead and tell the bank that I had mistakenly disputed the charge so they can quickly issue a refund to me. I guess this is because of reputation issues. I told them I would not do that because that would be a lie as the dispute claim was not false, and actually, their representative was the one who told me to file the dispute. Fast forward August 7th, I receive communication from my bank that Student Universe says they will not go ahead to issue the refund because I was the one that canceled my flight. I am baffled!!! Why would they choose to lie? Honestly at this point, should I not be able to find resolve through my bank, I think the next step should be taking them to court. So for anyone looking to use them, please don't. But in the event, you have to use them, keep all documents and record all phone calls because you don't know when you will need it. read more

Would have saved about $100 on a flight to Europe but the hassle is unfortunately not worth it. After some research, I chose to cancel my flight as the airline has been cancelling 75% of their flights in the past two months and I did not want to be stuck with airline credit to a tiny airline. I purchased knowing I had 24 hours to cancel. What they don't show you is the nonrefundable service fee, mine was 10%. The customer service representative got snappy and told me it is on there website. I am sure it is but not spelled out when you purchase. It is likely baked in with the blanket 'taxes and fees' portion and not mentioned unless you dig for it. It is shady business and the customer service representative was rude. You may save money but you will be buying yourself trouble. read more

The negative reviews are true. Recommend always booking direct or at least through a more reputable agency.

I called to cancel my flight. They said since I made a change once because of them booking it to the wrong place at first. I'm not allowed to even get a voucher. They stole my money. NEVER USE THEM read more

Never EVER book flights using Student Universe. They are completely unhelpful. It will take you days to hear back from them and they are very misleading with information. My flight was cancelled by the airline and I will not be receiving any refund. It is a scam. Never ever use it I promise you they do not care about you. read more

I understand there is a worldwide pandemic going on, however I have been on the phone for 3 HOURS AND COUNTING, starting with around 370 people in front of me, and 240 still in front of me as of right now. This is disgraceful. I have tried to resolve my issue with my flight to Italy in 2 previous phone calls and an email and was told to call closer to my departure. Now my flight departs tomorrow afternoon and is very time sensitive. I will never ever use studentuniverse again. The other people I planned my trip with either booked directly from the airline or used other travel websites and had no issues with refunds and had a realistic waiting time to be helped by phone. Extremely disappointed and hope they lose business in the future. read more

StudentUniverse's customer service is AWFUL! I have been trying to contact them for the past few days about a flight cancellation due to coronavirus and no on has gotten back to me. I have DM'ed both their Facebook and Twitter accounts and have not received any response. I have called numerous times and have been on the phone for at least an hour each time. The call has even dropped at least a few times when I have called. I just want to talk to someone about flight cancellations and StudentUniverse is making that impossible! read more

I have spoken to 3 different people and even received an email that stated something completely different than everyone was saying. All of the people I spoke to in regards to cancelling my reservation were not helpful whatsoever. The first person wanted to charge me everything for my flight even though I am canceling days in advance due to financial situations and I lost my job. The second person was willing to work with me and try to mitigate the fees because of my situation and then we got disconnected. Then the last lady I spoke to was completely terrible wanted to charge me more than what the previous lady quoted me because I used a discount code? A discount code is coupon that takes money off. I should not be charged that! This is the worst company to book with for airlines and just in general. Everyone tells you something completely different and has no sympathy. Staff lacks general customer service skills. Would not recommend this to anyone. read more

This is my least favorite booking agency! My trip reservation was not any cheaper(USA-China $1500), I really should have booked directly through the airline website. I was misled by the travel search website so I booked through StudentUniverse. Due to a schedule change I had to cancel my flight, both the airline and StudentUniverse charge service fees and change fees, which add up to 500 dollars. StudentUniverse would not refund me a penny, they only agree to keep the money as credits for one year. One year later, I had to make another reservation(same route) even though I knew I might not be able to make it. Then, I had to cancel the flight again to maintain the credits. So in the end I paid $2500! And it turned out that I had no immediate plans to travel, so I eventually still had to give up the credits. If I booked directly through the airline, I would have received a refund of $1100! The lesson is that never book through booking agency unless you are sure to fly even if you are dying. read more

See here for a real review: I have used Student Universe four times for transatlantic flights and had 0 issues. This service is a dream if you are absolutely sure you know what dates you want to travel. You will not find better international prices whether you're traveling from a large hub or a smaller airport. Because Student Universe is able to offer such low prices they have very strict rules. This is a fine trade off to save $800+ on an international flight. Pretty much all of these reviews are bad because people tried to change their reservations and Student Universe is very VERy clear about the fact that changing is very restricted and costly. This is no different from booking with airlines directly, most of the US big three charge you hundreds of dollars to change your reservations, and you should literally never buy an airline ticket with the expectation of getting a refund if you cancel after 24 hours. If you read the fine print of your reservations your trip should be a breeze. If you go in with unreasonable expectations expecting them to bend rules and waive fees for you, you will obviously be disappointed. read more

Buyer beware! The customer service department is utterly useless and incompetent! I booked a 3 leg flight through student universe. Delta cancelled my first leg and put me on a later flight, which would force me to miss my connecting flights. I called student universe 3 times to get the ticket changed to a earlier flight since the change did not happen with my permission and ruins my whole trip. First customer service person said they would look into it and call me back in 48 hours (they didn't). Second customer service person said they would "endorse me" for a flight change and call me back in 48 hours (they didn't). At this point, my flight has still not yet been changed and it has been 2 weeks. Third customer service person actually got the ticket changed BUT did not confirm with the airline records, which means both the airlines and I still see the bad flight on our records and not the correct flight. Fourth customer service person is claiming that they will "call me back" after they can straighten out the records problem with the airlines. All in all, I am still stuck with a messed up ticket/record. read more

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. read more

As a college student, I have always liked student universe for its cheap prices. After being a devoted customer for six years, I will not book with student universe ever again and will not recommend it to anyone anymore. I booked a oneway flight from Boston to Hong Kong with a connection in Tokyo this February. In March I called StudentUniverse to change the date of my flight because I was no longer planning to go to Hong Kong but wanted to save the ticket for Christmas vacation. When I call, a StudentUniverse agent told me that I had to wait for the flight to depart from Boston, which is after 1:34pm, May 15, in order to change the date of the flight--I thought this was strange and confirmed with the customer service agent multiple times--and she ensured me that I was able to change it with a fee of $150 and the price differences. However, when I called on May 15, after my flight had departed, a new agent told me that because my flight was one way, I can only change the second part of the flight AFTER having taken the first part from Boston to Tokyo. The agent then told me that this meant I MISSED my flight and the only option was to book a new one. I was furious and asked him to report this case, since this was a direct result of being given two different answers by their agents, for which he did and told me there would be an investigation for which I will be given an answer within 24-48 hours. After three days, I received no response and called StudentUniverse again, and another agent, who did not seem to be seeing any comment on my case, repeated the entire missing-flight-no-cancellation-policy again with me. After ME explaining what happened to her, she again, told me I would be given a response within 24-48 hours. Four days later, I receive a phone call telling me that I would be given a $200 refund after deducting $400 cancellation fee--because this is the only option I have, after a ten day investigation. Putting aside the poor customer service and the obvious lack of training of their agents, a company that makes their customers pay for their own employees' mistakes--regardless of how good of a offer they can provide--is not going to do well in the long run. read more

Having booked through StudentUniverse several times, I would say it's a pretty good website to use if you're absolutely sure of your trip. On one occasion, I had to cancel my flight and reschedule my trip a week later. Called customer service twice to get some info on their refund/reschedule policy and ended up getting bizarre and erratic response both times including long waiting times to get their operators in line. Bottom line: Read the first sentence. read more

They asked a picture for credit card and ID and immediately after my credit card was compromised. I had not provided my card information anywhere else. Beware! read more

After a conversation with communications manager, the company refund my money and gave me $50 dollars credit. Thanks

DON'T DO IT. They WILL scam you, you WILL lose money, they WILL NOT care. I had to change my flight to include my sister who is too young (12) to add on via student Universe. They told me I could have a refund but gave me a $517.99 credit to use with American Airlines. I found a flight on AA's website that worked for us for $460.99 each and was excited when I found the same one on Student universe for the same price. I was going to call them to redeem my credit and schedule my sisters flight through AA (and call to tell them we were together).... well the lady rudely told me that flight didn't exist at Student Universe until I asked her to check again because I was LOOKING at it and had been for an hour. She then happened to find it and told me she could redeem my coupon and my remaining balance would only be $107.97??? Extra money for a cheaper flight?? They made me pay $625.96 for a flight that I could've purchased straight from the website ( and even American Airlines website) for $460.99! I was told that that was for new customers only.... yet I could purchase it on my own for that price but they charged me $110 on top of the $517.99 that I had already paid for a cheaper flight. Way to scam a broke college kid. What a pathetic company. Imagine getting the chance to march in the Rose Bowl Parade and being miserable about it because you chose to try a student friendly booking company. With my luck, the tickets will be fake too! read more

Scam. This company will book your ticket and then hold you hostage. Only when I conferenced in a British Airways agent would they help with a change I had to make due to a student visa requirement. Then they charged me over 300$. After multiple complaints they said they would refund it. Never saw it. Spent 2 days on hold with them. Stay away. Please. read more

All I can say is that you get what you pay for. Service and technology are NOT things you get! As my husband and daughter tried to book her flight for her overseas internship, they found that they were unable to complete it online, forcing them to call. Now, because the trip was booked "manually", they are unable to attach it to her online account. So, when she went to look at her trip online, it states that she has no upcoming trips. That seems like a simple IT fix, to me. Why would they not be able to "manually" enter her trip and connect it to her account online? So, now she must go to each individual airline website to check flights, check in, etc. In my opinion, that completely renders the Student Universe website useless! And...it wasn't even that much cheaper! read more

I am not one to write reviews even if I don't like a companies service but I felt the need to about student universe since their customer service/satisfaction is worse than anything I have experienced. We recently were suppose to travel to Italy but since the coronavirus onset in Italy we decided the best decision was not to go. I have called student universe multiple times and each time my calls have gotten worse, with contradicting answers from six different representatives and two managers. We decided to switch our trip originally when we heard of the rapid spread and I understood that the only change we could make was change in date however no one was accommodating in assisting us to find flights for about the same amount so we do not have a large price difference. I was told to do the research on my own (which I gladly did) and found flights that would be about $200 more per person. My last call on 3/3 had to be the most frustrating call of all. I called (it was The last day to change out flights) and I thought it would be an easy change since I already spoke to representatives who told me just find the flight you want, call back, and we can switch it. Well that was not the case. My call started with speaking to a representative who disregarded everything what I told him- THAT I WAS LOOKING TO CHNAGE THE DATES OF MY FLIGHT- each time he put me on hold, he came back with a different answer. First was that we can get a $150 refund for trip, then a $10 refund, then some other nonsense and I HAD TO STATE TO HIM 3 TIMES I AM LOOKING TO CHANGE THE DATE- I know I can't get a refund for my TRIP. After I was 2 hours on the phone with him (mostly on hold- spoke to him for maybe 5 mins while he kept coming back with nonsense answers), I finally asked to speak to a manager. I spoke to Noah- at this point- I was beyond pissed- who spends that long on the phone and doesn't take into account what their customer was telling them. It's bullshit really. I work in customer service. Well I spoke to Noah, she now tells me that the flights I found aren't valid because the customer actually can't choose a flight from the student universe page. It's actually more expensive because you don't get a discount. WHY WOULDNT SOMEONE STATE THIS BEFORE. I wouldn't of put in a weeks worth of research of finding a new flight if It wasn't even possible. I EXPRESSED MY FRUSTRATION, and Noah told me oh I can give you $20 off your next flight. I am sorry but as a customer who one can not get her $612 back, can't switch my flights accurately due to lack of experience of representatives, and being told amounts of unsatisfying information I believe the company should of been able to do something more. IT IS NOT MY FAULT YOUR AGENTS ARENT TRAINED. I fail to believe that a company as large as yours can't give me some sort of refund or reimbursement, trust me I know how companies like this work. YOU GUYS HAVE NO NEED TO HELP THE CUSTOMER, no one should book through them. And also THIS ISNT A WEBSITE TO HELP STUDENTS. Their flights aren't discounted. They wanted me to pay an additional $500 per person for change in flight. I DONT BELIEVE IT AND THIS COMPANY DOES NOT DESERVE ANY BUISNESS. read more

they dont keep their promises and are not a reliable company, they can't even properly address the national COVID emergency as well as their partner companies. read more

I used student universe to purchase some flights and then corona virus happened. Okay, I understand that is not their fault. I had to have student universe communicate with the airline directly about whether I could get a refund, so beware if you ever need to communicate with the airline directly you cannot and have to go through this whole process. Again, not their fault so fine. My boyfriend and I had student universe request refunds for our flight which was cancelled BY THE AIRLINE. They said it can take up to 2 months for the airline to respond, fine. After 1 month I call to check if they have heard back and they say not yet. One month later, my boyfriend got his refund and I still haven't. I call again, and they tell me they never made a request for me. What incompetent staff is working there that the first time they said they are requesting it for both our flights and then the second time I call they tell me they haven't heard back, fail to mention they never made the request in the first place! SO THEN they made the request and let the airline know my travel partner has been refunded, which again I had to wait 2 more months and then I got an email saying they are offering me credit- not a refund. I call again to ask why the airline is only giving me credit when my boyfriend got his full refund. The person I talked to said that the airline still has not answered and that the email was simply stating I have an option to get credit if I want (did not sound that way in the email at all whatsoever) and honestly the staff is so incompetent that I don't know if I even believe that. The person I spoke to would not let me speak to the supervisor. I understand some things are not their fault and the fault of the airline, but the incompetence in handling this was horrendous. Never again will I use this site. read more

StudentUniverse is great when everything goes perfectly. However, I had a problem with a canceled flight because of problems with the San Francisco airport. I call United, and they tell me since I booked through a third party, everything needs to be done through Student Universe. I call Student Universe, they tell me they can't do anything and that United took over the ticket. I call United, they tell me I have to call Student Universe. Student Universe says no, I have to call United. So I was sent on a rat race of about 8 back and forth calls, until I finally got frustrated enough and someone from Student Universe FINALLY was able to do something and I got my full refund of the ticket price. However, they won't refund me the travel insurance I paid for or seat selection. They say all the add-ons are non-refundable, however, they don't make it clear when you're about to book your ticket. So I find it unfair. read more

Such a scam! I was charged $120 to cancel my ticket and was not told about this anywhere on the site. I would go as far to say this is a -5 star rating. Would not recommend this to anyone read more

Do yourself a favor and DO NOT book through Student Universe! Don't even buy your ticket from a third party source, buy directly from the airline. During the COVID-19 pandemic Student Universe refused to refund me back my money that the airline canceled on its own! Under federal guidelines concerning COVID-19 and flights, if an airline cancels t they have to refund you, but since I purchased from them, I have to deal with Student Universe directly. They have lied directly to my face over the phone saying my flight wasn't canceled when it was. Have led me on for 3 months as I continuously called to get updates. They are NOT equipped for emergencies, they prey on students looking for flight deals, and make up rules and regulations to serve their interest. It is not worth the hassle, to save a couple of dollars, most of those flights that are "cheap" have extremely long layovers. DO NOT DO NOT use Student Universe! read more

I chose to book through Student Universe due to see the extremely low rate they offered. After a pending transaction, 30 minutes with a customer service rep on the chat box, and 2 hours on the phone with a rep and a supervisor, I was booked for more than double the price and unable to use the promo code I was given because I had already used it in the pending transaction. The customer service is absolutely horrendous and being on hold for "3 to 5 minutes" for over an hour. They did nothing to compensate for my time lost and for the increased price due to their incompetence. It was not worth the hassle and I will never book through them again and highly advise against using their services. read more