Country price gaps
Fares and room rates are often set market by market, tied to a currency or a local promotion. One seat on one flight can carry a different figure depending on the country the site places you in.
Plenty of sites charge everyone alike, and no country wins every time. Once tax, a booking fee and the currency conversion are added, a cheaper headline price can end up costing more.
A fair comparison, step by step
Note the price on your regular connection first. Next, connect through the other country, open a private window, and walk the booking up to the final screen before paying. Compare those totals, not the headline price.
Saved cookies and a signed-in account change what a site shows you, too. Compare from a private window, or signed out, for a cleaner result.
- Write down the total on your normal connection
- Connect through the country you want to test
- Private window, same page, totals with every fee
Checking out on a hotspot
Booking a room on airport Wi-Fi? Start VPNPass before you open the site, so sign-in and payment pages travel through the tunnel.
Plus and Pro also stop known phishing pages, which covers fake web stores and those parcel text messages that lead to fake delivery sites.
Before you pay
Not every card works in every country, and some stores insist on a billing address in the same region. A purchase from an overseas IP can also make your card issuer hold the payment until you confirm it.
Look at the store's own rules, too. A few say you may only buy in your home region, and after-sale help or a refund might be handled under the region where you paid.