Privacy Policy

This document defines the policies and practices that SmartFares ("SF") uses to protect your personal information. Our goal is to protect personal information you provide us whenever you contact us or use this web site ("Site"). By visiting or using the Site, you are agreeing to these policies and practices.

1. What information do we collect?
2. How We Use Your Information
3. With whom we share your information?
4. What are your choices with respect to the collection and use of your information?
5. How we protect your information?
6. Children's Privacy
7. External Links
8. How You Can Contact Us
9. What about phishing?

SF may update this Privacy Policy in the future. You can tell when this Privacy Policy was last revised by referring to the "Last Updated" legend at the top of the page. Any changed to our Privacy Policy will become effective upon positing of the revised Privacy Policy.

1. What information do we collect?

   • In General

     We receive and store any information you enter on our Site or give us by telephone, e-mail, fax, or in any other way. This includes information that can identify you, including your first and last name, telephone number, postal and e-mail addresses, and, in some cases, billing information (such as credit card number, cardholder name, and expiration date), ("personal information"). We also may request information about your traveler preferences, including meal requests, seat selection, frequent flyer/hotel/car rental program information, and ticketing options. You can choose not to provide information to us, but in general some information about you is required in order for you to register as a member; purchase products or services; complete a traveler profile; participate in a survey, contest, or sweepstakes; ask us a question; or initiate other transactions.

   • Passenger Information

     When you make travel or other arrangements for someone else through SF, we will request personal information and travel preferences about that individual. You should obtain the consent of other individuals prior to providing SF with their personal information and travel preferences, as any access to view or change their information will be available only through your account.

   • Information from Other Sources

     We also may periodically obtain information about you from our business partners and other independent third-party sources and add it to our account information. Examples of information we may receive include: updated delivery and address information, which we use to correct our records and to facilitate proper delivery of travel information; and demographic information, which we use to better understand your potential purchasing preferences.

   • Automatic Information

     We automatically collect some information about your computer when you visit the Site. For example, we will collect your IP address, Web browser software (such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer), and referring Web site. We also may collect information about your online activity. One of our goals in collecting this automatic information is to help customize your user experience.

   • Cookies and Other Web Technologies

     When you visit the Site, we may assign your computer a "cookie" (a small, unique identifier text file). For example, whenever you sign in as a SF member, we record your member ID and the name on your member account in the cookie file on your computer. We also may record your password in this cookie file, if you checked the box entitled "Save this password for automatic sign-in." Note that member IDs, passwords, and any other account-related data included in such cookies are encrypted for security purposes. You can always choose not to receive a cookie file by enabling your Web browser to refuse cookies or to prompt you before accepting a cookie. Please note that if you refuse to accept cookies from SF, you may not be able to access many of the travel tools offered by SF.

   • Information Collected by Third-Party Advertising Companies

     Third-party advertisers, such as those we use to serve ads on our behalf across the Internet, may use cookies and other methods to measure the effectiveness of their ads; to analyze, modify, and personalize advertising content on SF and other sites; and to provide ads about goods and services we hope will be of interest to you. We do not have access to or control over cookies or other features they may use, and the information practices of these advertisers are not covered by this Privacy Policy.

2. How We Use Your Information

   SF uses sensitive billing information (such as cardholder name, credit card number, and expiration date) for the purpose of completing the travel purchases you make. We use other information about you for the following general purposes: to provide you with the products and services you request; to provide you with travel confirmation and updates; to manage your account, including processing bills and providing travel notifications; to communicate with you in general; to respond to your questions and comments; to measure interest in and improve our products, services, and Site; to notify you about special offers and products or services that may be of interest to you; to otherwise customize your experience with SF; to reward you as part of any reward and recognition program you choose to join; to solicit information from you, including through surveys; to resolve disputes, collect fees, or troubleshoot problems; to prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities; to enforce our Terms of Use; and as otherwise described to you at the point of collection.

3. With whom we share your information?

   SF may share your information with the following entities:

   • Suppliers, such as hotel, airline, cruise, or car rental companies, or activity providers, who fulfill your travel reservations. Throughout SF, all services provided by a third-party supplier are described as such. We do not share your email address with these suppliers unless they need it to fulfill the travel reservation you have made through SF, and we restrict their use of this information to that purpose. We do not place limitations on our suppliers' use or disclosure of your other personal information. Therefore, we encourage you to review the privacy policies of any travel supplier whose products you purchase through SF. Please note that these suppliers also may contact you as necessary to obtain additional information about you or to facilitate your travel reservation.

   • Third-party vendors who provide services or functions on our behalf, including credit card processing, customer service, marketing, and fraud prevention. These companies have access to personal information needed to perform their functions but are not permitted to share or use the information for any other purpose.

   • Business partners with whom we may jointly offer products or services. You can tell when a third party is involved in a product or service you have requested because their name will appear with ours. If you choose to access these optional services, we may share information about you, including your personal information, with those partners. Please note that we do not control the privacy practices of these third-party business partners and recommend you evaluate their practices before deciding to provide your personal information.

   We also may share your information:

   • In response to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process; to establish or exercise our legal rights; to defend against legal claims; or as otherwise required by law. In such cases we reserve the right to raise or waive any legal objection or right available to us.

   • When we believe it is appropriate to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal or suspected illegal activities; to protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of SF, our customers, or others; and in connection with our Terms of Service and other agreements.

   • In connection with a corporate transaction, such as a divestiture, merger, consolidation, or asset sale.

   We also may share aggregate or anonymous information with third parties, including advertisers and investors. For example, we may tell our advertisers the number of visitors a Web site receives or what are the most popular vacation destinations. This information does not contain any personal information and is used to develop content and services we hope you will find of interest.

4. What are your choices with respect to the collection and use of your information?

   • You can provide us with the information necessary to provide you with the travel products and services requested according to the terms defined in this Privacy Policy and SF's Terms of Use.

   • You can choose not to provide us with any information, although it may be needed to make travel purchases or to take advantage of certain features offered on SF.

   • You also can add or update information on the Member pages or close your account as you choose.

   • The Help portion of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. Please note that if you refuse to accept cookies from SF, you will not be able to access portions of our site.

5. How we protect your information?

   We want you to feel confident about using SF to plan and purchase your travel, so we are committed to protecting the information we collect. While no Web site can guarantee security, we have implemented administrative, technical, and physical security procedures to help protect the personal information you provide to us. For example, only authorized employees are permitted to access personal information, and they only may do so for permitted business functions. In addition, we use encryption when transmitting your sensitive personal information between your system and ours, and we employ firewalls and intrusion detection systems to help prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to your information.

6. Children's Privacy

   SF does not sell travel or other services for purchase by children. Should a child whom we know to be under 13 send personal information to us, we will use that information only to respond directly to that child to inform him or her that we must have parental consent before receiving his or her personal information.

7. External Links

   If any part of the SF Web site links you to other Web sites, those Web sites do not operate under this Privacy Policy. We recommend you examine the privacy statements posted on those other Web sites to understand their procedures for collecting, using, and disclosing personal information.

8. How You Can Contact Us

   If you have questions about this Privacy Policy (or your travel planning or purchases), please e-mail us at privacy@smartfares.com.

9. What about phishing?

   We do not and will not, at any time, request your credit card information, login name, or password, in an insecure or unsolicited e-mail or telephone communication. We will only call or e-mail you in response to your inquiry or request for service. Identity theft and the practice currently known as "Phishing" are of great concern to us. Safeguarding information to help protect you from identity theft is our priority. For more information about Phishing, you may want to visit OnGuard Online at onguardonline.gov/phishing.html, or the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/spam.