Online travel booking platform Travala has integrated Dash payments into its service.
You can now book 550,000+ hotels in 210 countries using @Dashpay $DASH. Travel to 82,000+ destinations worldwide on https://t.co/CL8FxAXFXS the next-gen online travel agency @travalacom @RTaylor05 #Dash $AVA @coingatecom pic.twitter.com/1pDMCdgLXx
— Travala.com ✈️ 🏨 (@travalacom) December 14, 2018
In an announcement made late last week, Travala indicated that it had added Dash as a payment option to its platform, allowing Dash users to book accommodations at thousands of hotels in hundreds of countries around the world. At present, the service exclusively lists cryptocurrencies as payment options, supporting 45 different crypto tokens, including its own AVA token, and claims an average of a 15% discount over other traditional online travel agencies.
Travel booking can be risky and prone to fraud using traditional payment methods due to the both personal and financial information disclosure required. This was recently illustrated by Marriott’s massive data breach in which the personal information of 500 million guests was compromised, many including payment information. Leveraging cryptocurrency payments for travel mitigates some of this risk.
Dash travel staple CheapAir temporarily removes Dash payments
We're having some issues with our other coin processor but are hoping to bring BCH, DASH and Litecoin back in a couple of weeks.
— CheapAir ✈ (@CheapAir) December 12, 2018
The addition of Dash to Travala comes at a particularly opportune time due to a recent announcement from CheapAir. A popular flight and accommodation booking service, CheapAir has supported several different cryptocurrency payment options, including Dash, making it a mainstay for Dash community members traveling to conferences. However, in a recent tweet, CheapAir announced that, due to an issue with their payment processor, they would no longer be accepting non-Bitcoin cryptocurrency payments for the time being, with hopes of re-adding these payment soon.
CheapAir was one of the many services that integrated Dash payments through GoCoin, an online cryptocurrency payment processor, which partnered with Dash at the beginning of the year. It is not yet known if CheapAir plans to continue to use GoCoin to process payments.
Bitrefill and Rewards.com further simplify traveling on Dash
While several services such as Travala accept Dash for payments directly, other options exist for travelers to spend Dash on travel indirectly. Bitrefill offers a variety of gift vouchers, including for travel, offering additional options for travelers including Hotels.com and Uber. Bitrefill offers a 10% discount for Dash purchases, and delivers vouchers instantly when InstantSend is used, presenting a relatively seamless purchase experience. Additionally, Rewards.com allows online shoppers to earn Dash as rewards points for shopping using referral links, further adding to the savings that can be achieved by using Dash to book travel.
