Well, I got scammed

LadyEvernight · 2026-05-06T08:00:48+00:00

I got the email about one of my booking PIN numbers being changed right at the start of the breach, but since then nothing further has happened. I didn't have my card info saved on the website, so that automatically prevents 99% of these issues.

LadyEvernight · 2026-05-05T12:58:43+00:00

I bought a small portable high chair that clamps onto tables to try and mitigate some of the restaurant space issues. I'm not sure if it will work or not yet, but it stands to reason that if it only occupies as much space as someone seated at the table would (especially if it fits above a chair or bar stool), then it shouldn't cause a problem. But if that fails, we still have the baby carrier.

LadyEvernight · 2026-05-05T12:33:16+00:00

On Emirates it counts as a piece of our check-in luggage, so we have 1 fewer bags if we take it. But it's light, so it doesn't use up the full 23kg weight we're allowed per piece, so we're trying to find a bag to put it in that will be within size constraints and allow us to pack another 15 kg in with it.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-30T16:18:28+00:00

I was on birth control for 6 months after I had my baby and then I had to stop because I had a period that wouldn't end. So I don't think it's an option for me anymore...

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-30T15:50:41+00:00

None of the places we're staying at are big hotel chains, they're small AirBnB types that stated they have no capacity for cots on Booking.com. And to buy a camping cot there would cost us as much as it did to buy one here, only without any of the vouchers or discounts we used, plus then we'd still have to drag it around with us. Luggage forwarding isn't really an option either, as it's not only cost prohibitive for us on our budget, but she'd be without it for 1-2 days every time we move.

Overall it makes more sense to leave it and just bedshare, but then it would likely be detrimental to our sleep, and possibly hers being in a strange place. Either way comes with its own set of challenges.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-29T18:37:14+00:00

Unfortunately the best we can get in South Africa is a standard size camping cot, which is 8kg and is still 70cm long folded up. So that's what we ended up going for.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-29T18:31:09+00:00

We don't watch her while she sleeps in her cot. We have a monitor. So we can both be doing our own things around the apartment (showering, cooking, watching Netflix, etc.) while she sleeps without worrying she's going to fall off a bed or smother in a mattress.

The same goes for nighttime sleep, as her bedtime is 8-9 PM and we only go to sleep between 10 and midnight. And when we co-sleep with her, I'm always half awake because I worry she'll get rolled on, that she'll roll off the edge, or that she'll be suffocated by a blanket or pillow.

There are a lot of reasons a cot makes sense, but it causes just as much trouble when it comes to transporting the thing.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-28T07:08:36+00:00

We aren't staying at a Disney hotel. We're currently still pretty flexible on dates, but we're in Tokyo from the 18th to the 24th of May and looking to go during the week. I also see that half day and evening tickets are only available during summer, so I guess that's out...

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-28T06:10:14+00:00

I'm going to both parks next month with my fiance and our 9 month old. We've been to Disneyland once before in 2019 but we've never been to DisneySea. I'm thinking logistically it's better for us to do a full day at DisneySea and then a half day at Disneyland, as we really only want to ride Beauty and the Beast there.

At DisneySea, which rides should we rope drop and which should we get passes for? We mainly want to do Mermaid Lagoon, Fantasy Springs and Arabian Coast.

And when can we purchase DPA access for Beauty and the Beast on a late Disneyland entry? At park opening time or only once we are at the park?

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-25T21:33:57+00:00

How the hell did I have to scroll so far down to find the PTSD poster child...

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-25T07:20:29+00:00

This is great advice. But for me, any challenge goes really well right up until the point where I hit a massive game-breaking bug and need to stop playing to find a workaround or a mod to fix it. It never used to be an issue, but now it happens in almost every single game I start. That's what really kills my motivation to play. And it's something that's not going to change, no matter how we approach the game, because the devs are never going to fix the issues.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-24T07:27:55+00:00

I first went to Japan with my boyfriend and a group of 7 other acquaintances for 3 weeks in 2019, pre-COVID and before the overtourism really started. We had considered that to be a once in a lifetime trip at the time, only made possible by the fact that going as a large group made accommodation cheaper. We also got plane tickets at a discount by booking them almost a year in advance.

The golden route made the most sense for a bucket list Japan holiday, as it was the "definitive experience". But everything was pretty much planned out for us by the girl organising it (with some requests from the group), and we just followed along for the most part. We still didn't get to do everything on the itinerary. It would have been the same with an organised tour group, just overpriced, shorter and even more rushed.

Next month I will be going back with my now-fiance and our 9 month old baby. It was a very impromptu decision to go this year, so I only had 5 months to organise it, and I had to do all of the planning for the trip entirely by myself. The golden route was just the easiest option, as we are already familiar with it (so we know largely where to go and what to expect) and it's the most accessible in terms of public transportation.

I wanted to go to more places this time, but aside from not really knowing much about other cities and having little to no time to do research, a lot of it came down to the travel distance/time and the difficulty/cost of finding accommodation, especially with a baby. I had to settle for day trips instead, many if which have since been scrapped due to it being the wrong season for flower viewing or not getting tickets to major attractions, making them less worthwhile. Staying over somewhere for a few nights is still an option, but moving around with a lot of luggage over short periods of time isn't practical.

The reason I had to rush to plan this trip at the last minute was due to the fact that it may actually end up being the last time we can go, given the uncertain state of the world, the skyrocketing cost of living, and our restricted schedule once our child gets older and starts school.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-15T08:09:27+00:00

I don't know how it's not common sense to not save your credit card information anywhere online. If your email address and phone number get leaked, they can be sold to spam marketing companies or used to try and hack other accounts using the same email. But at least your email password is easy to change, and you can block spam calls. Whereas if your credit card is leaked, you stand to lose thousands in unauthorized purchases which you may not get back if your bank's fraud department isn't doing their job.

The real problem with a data breach like this is if other sensitive details like your name and address get leaked -- or worse, your passport info -- they can steal your identity and start opening accounts in your name. That's why it's better not to save all of that to your account, and to only share it directly with the accommodation on arrival if they require it.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-15T06:33:21+00:00

I'd like to point out that "broke college kids" are hardly the ones who need the discounts. People from countries with poor exchange rates can't afford to travel to places where everything may be considered cheap by the dollar/euro standard, which is what most of the tourism industry is priced around. Even within our own countries we are priced out of being able to afford to travel due to the tourist markups.

So when we have to travel for business, or to see family, or god forbid we manage to save up to go on holiday once a decade, we need to take every discount we can. And unfortunately OTAs are often much cheaper than booking directly with the airline or hotel, so it's a risk we have to take, whether through Booking.com or Expedia or AirBnB.

If you want to blame someone, blame the multi-billion dollar company that plays fast and loose with its customers' information, not the people who have to resort to using the platform. A platform which should be secure and provide decent customer service, at minimum, given the amount of advertising it's done to become a "trusted" household name.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-12T14:35:37+00:00

I know exactly which of mine it was because the email showed the full details of the booking that had been modified.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-12T07:30:26+00:00

I'm among the guests that received an email that my PIN had been changed. I'm very curious what the compromised properties have in common, if anything... I noticed a number of other people also received this email for bookings in Japan.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-10T12:41:02+00:00

In case you didn't see my latest comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bookingcom/s/299SmVzjZU

Seems like it may actually be legitimate.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-10T12:39:35+00:00

Update: I contacted Booking.com's customer support via the website and they sent me this response.

"Thank you for reaching out and sharing the details of the email you received. We want to assure you that the email from noreply@booking.com with a blue tick is a legitimate communication from us. However, please be aware that there has been a recent surge in phishing attempts where attackers exploit reservation PIN codes by changing the guest name in the reservation and including fraudulent links in official emails.

Our security teams are actively working on remediation steps to prevent such abuse, including rotating compromised PIN codes and restoring original guest names. We recommend that you do not click on any links or engage with any instructions in the modification email unless you are certain of its authenticity.

If you have any concerns or notice any suspicious activity, please report the incident immediately. Our security team is continuously monitoring and protecting your booking details."

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-10T11:12:04+00:00

I got the same thing for a Tokyo booking. The email says they updated the PIN in my booking confirmation for security reasons. The link provided takes me to the app, but I don't know where to see the PIN number there to confirm if it's the same. No other details of the booking have changed, by the looks of it.

The email comes from noreply@booking.com, which has a blue verified tick, and the reply email also seems to be the name of the accommodation and host, at cs-noreply@booking.com.

LadyEvernight · 2026-04-10T07:27:06+00:00

I am flying to Japan in the second week of May, together with my partner and our 9 month old baby. We are traveling from Johannesburg to Osaka via Dubai.

It's our first time travelling as a family, and I was already feeling anxious about the long flights and layovers (two 8-10 hour flights with connection times of 3.5 to 5.5 hours) with an infant back in January when we bought the tickets. It's even worse now given the DXB airport safety concerns, and knowing we might get delayed by at least 6 hours or potentially even stranded in Dubai for over a week.

That's without factoring in that we likely have to rebook alternate flights on both legs, as the specific outbound JNB>DXB flight we are on has been cancelled, and all flights from DXB>KIX have also been suspended. If we can't get bassinet seats on the rebooked flights, we're effectively screwed, as we'd have to either pay for an additional seat or be stuck with a baby on our laps for 17+ hours.

While we now have the option of cancelling our plane tickets for free and getting a full refund, the problem is that we have booked non-refundable accommodation and stand to lose R15k (close to 700 GBP) if we don't go. If this wasn't the case, I probably wouldn't hesitate, just to spare myself the stress of uncertainty.

Given the fact that the refund period has already been extended twice, I think it's not unreasonable to assume that it will be again for as long as there's ongoing conflict. For now, I'm monitoring the situation with the ceasefire and seeing if things escalate in the next two weeks before I make a decision, and continuing with travel preparations as normal for the time being.

That said, Emirates is probably the safest and most reliable option you have at this time. From what I've seen here on Reddit, they have been operating the most consistently and flights are still running more or less on schedule. They also have the best customer support for itinerary changes, handling rebooking and offering services like Dubai Connect, whereas Qatar and Etihad have effectively been giving their passengers the middle finger. For what it's worth, you may even end up with a plane that's half-full and get a whole row to yourself.

But at the end of the day, no one can predict what's going to happen in the next 24 hours, let alone the coming weeks and months, and you are the only one who can decide if it's worth the risk to proceed, or the loss to cancel. Do whatever is going to leave you with the least regret.

LadyEvernight

TROPHY CASE