The Email Wars

It is nice that someone brought this to light as we have heard this from some ISPs across the country. They contend that it is easier to block delivery of all Airlines and Travel emails as they give the lists, or maybe sell them, to everyone. Not a very friendly practice when you trust them as much or maybe more than you do smaller brands or sites.

Renting a car online may also deliver spam

Airlines and other online travel providers do a better job than other Web businesses in terms of providing easy navigation through their sites, being responsive to inquiries, and having open and honest information about their policies, says a new study by the Consumer Respect Group (GRC), a consulting firm that studies online retailers.

But they perform less well than other businesses when it comes to privacy.

A whopping 74 percent of car rental companies share data collected from online customers with either business partners or third parties, said CRG spokesman George Cohen. If companies share your data, said Cohen, “You can expect more spam and more junk mail.”

Two car rental companies, Cohen said, do not share data: Enterprise and Alamo. Only two major providers, Cohen said, share data without your express consent: Orbitz shares with third parties, and Priceline with other entities within the parent company.

Major travel companies that will not share data unless you agree to opt in, according to Cohen: Northwest, Southwest and Air Tran airlines; InterContinental and Hyatt hotel chains; Travelocity, Expedia, Hotels.com and Cheaptickets booking sites, and Amtrak and Greyhound.