Trip.com is an online travel agency that sells flights, hotels, trains and tours from third-party suppliers. For Singapore users the site is run by a Singapore company and its terms are governed by Singapore law. In this Trip.com review for Singapore, the two things that most affect what you pay and what you get back are the currency your card is charged in and the supplier’s cancellation rules.
It suits people who compare prices and read the conditions before paying. It suits travellers who expect to change plans less well, unless they pick flexible rates.
What Trip.com Is and Who Stands Behind It
The Singapore site names its operator as Trip.com Travel Singapore Pte. Ltd., with travel licence number 02943 shown in the footer. Travel agents in Singapore are licensed by the Singapore Tourism Board, and you can look a licence up with the Board.
Trip.com is not a financial institution. It holds no money for you in the way a wallet does, so MAS licensing and deposit insurance are not the relevant protections. What protects you is the contract, your card issuer and your travel insurance.
On the contract, Trip.com’s terms say the site lets you book products from third-party suppliers such as airlines and hotels. Each booking is also subject to the supplier’s terms, which form a separate agreement between you and that supplier.
In plain terms, Trip.com takes the booking and the payment. The airline or hotel sets most of the rules about changes and refunds.
Trip.com Review: Singapore Fees and Currency in the Terms
As at November 2026, Trip.com’s terms and conditions do not set out a booking or service fee clause. The price to check is the total on the payment page.
The currency clauses matter more. From the terms:
- If you prepay online, you pay the amount shown on the payment page.
- If you pay in a currency different from your card’s, your account provider may apply its own exchange rate and may charge a fee for international payments.
- If you pay at the property, the exchange rate may have changed since you booked.
- Trip.com excludes liability for those bank fees and rate changes.
So any foreign currency fee is between you and your card issuer. MAS has also explained that a payment in Singapore dollars can attract an international transaction fee when it is processed overseas. We could not confirm from Trip.com’s pages where its Singapore dollar payments are processed, so check your statement after your first booking.
A Worked Example: A S$1,200 Hotel Stay in Tokyo
Illustration only, using our own figures and fees that DBS publishes for its cards.
| How you pay | What your card may add | Extra cost |
|---|---|---|
| Prepay in Singapore dollars, processed in Singapore | Nothing | $0 |
| Prepay in Singapore dollars, processed overseas, credit card | 1% | $12 |
| Prepay in Singapore dollars, processed overseas, debit card | 2.8% | $33.60 |
| Pay in yen at the hotel with a bank card | 3.25% | $39 |
| Pay in yen at the hotel with a wallet card that states no fee | 0%, at the wallet’s rate | $0 |
The DBS figures are its stated fees for Singapore dollar transactions at overseas merchants and for foreign currency transactions. Other banks differ.
The lowest-cost route depends on your card as much as on the site. A pay-at-hotel rate also carries exchange rate risk between booking and check-in, in either direction.
The short version: Trip.com shows you a price. Your card decides what lands on your statement, and the supplier’s rules decide what you get back if plans change. Check both before you pay.
Refunds, Changes and Customer Protection
Trip.com’s terms say cancellation and change rights vary by product and are shown during booking. Supplier terms generally govern.
Other points from the terms:
- Refunds go to the original payment method unless agreed otherwise, and timing depends on your account provider.
- For flights, unused or partly used tickets may qualify for a tax or fare refund, subject to airline policy.
- Trip.com may cancel a booking, and refunds may not be available, where its terms are breached or fraud is suspected.
- Singapore law governs the terms, and the Singapore courts have jurisdiction.
The terms do not promise a refund timeline. A refund to a card passes through the airline or hotel, then Trip.com, then your bank.
Two further layers of protection sit outside Trip.com. If a charge is wrong or a service is not delivered, you can raise a dispute with your card issuer. For illness, delays and cancellations for covered reasons, the protection is travel insurance, bought before something goes wrong. Our guide to the best travel insurance in Singapore explains what trip cancellation cover does and does not include.
The Drawbacks
An extra party in the chain. When a flight is cancelled, you may deal with both the airline and the agency. Changes can take longer than when you book direct.
The cheapest rates are often the least flexible. Non-refundable means what it says, on any booking site.
Card fees are invisible at checkout. The terms place bank fees on you, and the site cannot tell you what your issuer will charge.
Pay-later rates float. A room priced in yen costs more in Singapore dollars if the yen strengthens before check-in.
Who Trip.com Does Not Suit
- Travellers with complex itineraries who want one airline to own the whole ticket and any rebooking.
- People whose plans are uncertain, unless they pay more for flexible rates.
- Loyalty programme members: hotel chains often do not award points or status benefits on third-party bookings, so check with the chain.
Alternatives To Compare
- Booking direct with the airline or hotel: one party to deal with on changes, and often the same price.
- Agoda: a hotel-led platform with flights and activities. See our Agoda review.
- Klook: stronger on activities, attraction tickets and transport passes. See our Klook review.
Trip.com runs frequent sales and card promotions. They change weekly, so check its own page.
What To Do Next
- Compare the final payment-page total, including taxes, with the airline’s or hotel’s own price.
- Read the cancellation and change rules for the exact fare or room before paying.
- Decide which card to use with the fee in mind. Our guides to how to pay less on overseas spending and the best credit cards for overseas spending show the numbers.
- Check your statement after booking for any overseas processing fee.
- Buy travel insurance soon after booking, and put the trip in your budget planner.
