SOURCE: Yapta, Inc.

September 23, 2008 06:00 ET

Yapta.com and PriceProtectr.com Partner to Offer Price Assurance to Online Travelers and Retail Shoppers

Partnership Helps Consumers Save on Two Largest Segments of Online Spending

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - September 23, 2008) - Yapta.com, Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant, today announced a marketing and content partnership with PriceProtectr.com, a leading provider of online price protection for retail shoppers. The partnership includes cross-promotion and an exchange of respective price tracking widgets that provide the ability to track prices on purchased airline tickets and purchased retail products, presenting consumers with additional ways to leverage various price guarantee programs and save money.

"In today's economy, shoppers are savvier than ever when it comes to their purchases and rely on price guarantee programs to assure they're getting a good deal," said Tom Romary, president and CEO of Yapta.com. "Partnering with PriceProtectr will give Yapta's audience of savvy travelers the opportunity to track the price of their retail purchases in addition to their airfare. Meanwhile, shoppers that use PriceProtectr will have the opportunity to track their airfare purchase and have Yapta alert them when they're eligible for a travel credit from their airline. The partnership is a natural fit for both of our audiences."

Yapta.com is the only travel shopping Website that delivers a unique combination of price assurance and transparency to the majority of travelers that buy their tickets directly from airline Websites. The site tracks the airfare on specific flights and alerts travelers when the price of those flights drop or fall within a desired spending limit. Yapta also tracks the airfare on tickets that have already been purchased and alerts travelers when they're eligible for airline travel credit per the "guaranteed airfare" policies of most major U.S. airlines. Since the launch of Yapta in May of 2007, Yapta has alerted travelers to nearly $70 million in airfare savings.

"Travel and retail account for the two largest segments of online spending -- so partnering with Yapta will enable PriceProtectr to serve more consumers that are looking to maximize the value of their dollar," said James Wallace, CEO of PriceProtectr.com. "With the holiday shopping and travel planning season upon us, consumers will find immediate value in using PriceProtectr to track all of their purchases online and have the peace of mind that they got the best deal possible."

Most large retail stores offer their customers a refund for the difference in price if the item they purchased becomes available at a lower price within a certain period of time. PriceProtectr.com tracks prices on items from more than 140 retailers and alerts consumers if the price of a specific item drops and provides detailed instructions on how to get a refund from the retailer. The site also spotlights an item each day that has reported the biggest price drop. To date, PriceProtectr.com has alerted consumers to $1.3 million in retail savings.

About Yapta.com

Yapta.com was founded in January 2006 with the mission to help air travelers receive the optimal value out of their online travel planning. Yapta enables travelers to find their ideal flights, track airfare prices and be alerted via email when fares drop or fall below a desired spending limit. Bringing to light pro-consumer "guaranteed airfare" policies offered by many airlines, Yapta also helps travelers obtain airline travel credits when the price decreases on tickets that have already been purchased. Yapta is used by hundreds of thousands of travelers and many small businesses to not only save on airfare, but also to record personal flight preferences, previous flight searches and mileage account information that can be used to economize future travel planning. For more information visit www.yapta.com, or to try the service, simply forward your airline e-ticket confirmation email to flights@yapta.com.

About PriceProtectr.com

PriceProtectr.com, based in Silicon Valley and New York City, is a free, easy service that tracks prices for consumers. Covering over 140 major retailers, Price Protectr alerts users about low prices on what they want to buy, and about how to get money back if a lower price becomes available after the purchase. To date, PriceProtectr.com has monitored pricing on more than $26 million in retail purchases for its members, alerting them to more than $1.3 million in savings.