This document defines the policies and practices that this website (""SmartFares"") uses to protect your personal information. Our goal is to protect all the information that you provide us whenever you contact us or use this web site (""Site""). By visiting or using the Site, you are agreeing to these terms & conditions:
SmartFares may update this Privacy Policy at any time in the future. You can check when this Privacy Policy was last revised by referring to the ""Last Updated"" legend at the top of the page. Any changes to our Privacy Policy will become effective upon positing of the revised Privacy Policy.
We receive and store every information that you enter on our Site or give us by telephone, e-mail, fax, or in any other form. 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.
When you book travel and other arrangements for someone else through SmartFares, we will ask for the personal information and travel preferences about that individual. You should obtain the consent of other individuals prior to providing SmartFares with their personal information and travel preferences, as any access to view or change their information will be available only through your account.
We also may periodically collect 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 update our records and to facilitate proper delivery of travel information; and statistical information that helps us understand your potential purchasing preferences.
We automatically save 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. Our aim behind collecting this automatic information is to help customize your user experience.
When you visit our Site, we may assign your computer a cookie (a small, unique identifier text file). For example, whenever you sign in as a SmartFares registered user, 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. Please note that member IDs, passwords, and any other account-related data included in such cookies are encrypted for security purpose only. 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. Also, if you refuse to accept cookies from SmartFares, you may not be able to access many of the travel tools offered by SmartFares.
Third-party advertisers, such as those we use to advertise 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 SmartFares 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.
SmartFares uses responsive billing information (such as cardholder’s 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; to provide you all the information related to your 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 your interest in 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 SmartFares; to reward you as part of any reward and recognition program you choose to join; to solicit information from you in the form of 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.
SmartFares 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 SmartFares, 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 SmartFares, 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 SmartFares. 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, include credit card processing, customer service, marketing, and fraud prevention. These companies have access to personal information which is required 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 identify 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 to evaluate their practices before providing them 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 and 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 SmartFares, 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 our 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.
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 SmartFares' 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 SmartFares.
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 SmartFares, you will not be able to access portions of our site.
We want you to feel confident about using SmartFares to plan and purchase your travel, as we are committed to protect the information we collect. While no Website 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.
SmartFares 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.
If any part of the SmartFares 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.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy (or your travel planning or purchases), please e-mail us at [email protected].
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.