Expedia Van Lines Service and Pricing Review 2020
Bottom line: Expedia Van Lines has nothing to hide when it comes to pricing, plus it has a slew of add-on services and amenities worth checking out.
Expedia Van Lines offers an extensive list of add-on moving services (from custom crating to home freezer transport), plus it’s up-front when it comes to pricing—both things that set it apart from its competitors.
For example, Expedia includes its tariff sheet in every quote—so you’ll know how much it costs to transport a grand piano or pack a plate before you commit to the company. (This level of transparency is not common with most full-service movers.)
With background-checked movers and GPS tracking, Expedia Van Lines is an impressive, dependable full-service moving company we think is worth your call.
Pros
- One month of storage included in every move
- Price-matching policy
- Background-checked movers
- GPS tracking
Cons
- Conflicting pricing information between tariff sheet and website
- Limited customer reviews available
How much does Expedia Van Lines cost?
Expedia Van Lines’ long-distance move prices seem to be in line with those at other nationwide, full-service moving companies like United Van Lines and Atlas Van Lines. You can expect to pay anywhere from $800 (to move belongings from a small apartment a few hundred miles) to $20,000 (to haul a huge home’s worth of stuff across the country) depending on your home size, the total weight of your load, and how far you’re moving.
Expedia’s local moves can get expensive (though still in line with competitors), since you’ll pay for every hour of the movers’ time. You’re likely looking at paying at least $400–$500 for two to three movers for a minimum of four hours.
Expedia also has a minimum load size of 2,000 pounds.
The good news: the average one-bedroom apartment load shakes out to about 2,000 pounds, so unless you’re moving out of a closet-sized studio in the heart of New York City, you likely meet this minimum weight.
Expedia Van Lines pricing
Prices for Expedia’s local moves are way easier to calculate than those for long-distance trips—in part because local jobs are charged by the hour.
Long-distance moves have a myriad of factors that affect the overall cost, making it hard to predict how much the whole shebang will set you back.
Let’s dive in.
Expedia local move pricing
Like many full-service movers, Expedia has a 4-hour minimum for local moves. This means that no matter how much stuff you have or how far you’re going (next door or across town), you’ll pay the hourly rate of $100 per hour for at least four hours.
All labor services, like packing, are also billed hourly. You can expect this minimum to be anywhere from $200 to $500, but it’ll vary depending on where you live, what time of year it is, yadda yadda. And, of course, you’ll pay for every additional hour beyond the minimum.
If you’re moving locally, it’s pretty easy to crunch the numbers.
The following quote reflects a basic move—no extra packing services, no extra movers, etc.
Expedia Van Lines local moving rates
| Local move |
| San Diego, CA |
| 60 |
| 7,070 |
| 6,300 |
| 2 |
| $400 |
| $514.75 |
Data as of 09/22/19. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
FYI
FYI
Expedia Van Lines considers any move under 300 miles a “local” move.
Expedia long-distance move pricing
Expedia’s prices for long-distance moves start with a flat-rate minimum. If your move is less than 300 cubic feet, your flat rate is $100. Anything more has a flat rate of $250.
On top of that, Expedia charges are based on distance traveled and volume moved. In general, the further you’re moving and the more stuff you have, the bigger the check you’ll sign.
Pricing also varies depending on where you’re moving to and from. Expedia has different rates for different parts of the country (more on that in a minute). In general, the easier it is for Expedia to reach you, the cheaper the rates are—and vice versa.
After that, it’s all a matter of when you’re moving and the number of add-on services (expedited shipping, for example) you pile on.
Sound complicated? It is. Prices for long-distance moves are harder to calculate since they involve more cost factors. If you want to get a clearer idea of how much your move will cost, you’ll need to get an in-home estimate with Expedia.
Expedia Van Lines regional rates
| States |
| FL (within 100 miles of Expedia’s main office in Miami) |
| DC, VA, FL, MA, CT, ME, PA, DE, NJ, NC, SC, GA, WV, NH, VT, RL, MD |
| CA, UT, NV, AZ, NM, CO, TX, OH, KS, OK, MI, WI, IL, MS, IN, LA, AR, AL, MS, KY, TN |
| MT, WY, IA, MN, NE, SD, ND |
| OR, ID, WA |
Data as of 09/22/19. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Heads up: Expedia Van Lines has some conflicting information about the areas it serves. Its website says that the company doesn’t operate in Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii, yet it offers pricing for Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.
If you live in any of those states, be sure to call and ask if you’re in Expedia’s service range.
Ready to get a quote?
As of this writing, Expedia’s online quote form simply offers contact info for the company, but if you call the number you can get more information.
Expedia Van Lines features and services
Expedia has all the services we’d want in a good long-distance mover—and then some. For instance, some companies don’t have GPS tracking (or any other way to know that your shipment is en route). Expedia does.
It also offers cleaning services to remedy whatever state of madness your new or old home is in. Here are some of Expedia’s services we think are worth a mention:
- Custom crating
- Specialty item transport (piano, hot tub, etc.)
- Long- and short- term storage
- GPS tracking
- International moves
- Cleaning services
Why we recommend Expedia Van Lines
It includes a tariff sheet with your quote
No moving company is going to be perfectly transparent about its pricing. But Expedia Van Lines is the first company we’ve seen to include a detailed bill of lading (a.k.a. a rundown of everything that goes into your final price) with individual quotes.
Other moving companies will share bills of lading with its customers, but few (if any) share set rates for services the same way Expedia does.
That said, Expedia’s tariff sheets are super long and at times very confusing, but they do provide exact figures on everything from the cost to pack up a piano to the cost of bubble wrap.
Here are some fees you may encounter in your move with Expedia:
Expedia Van Lines standard fees
| Cost per item |
| $25 (per mover) |
| $118.35 |
| $48.70 |
| $28.00–$44.10 |
| $25.00 |
| $150.00 |
| $375.00 |
| $122.75 |
| $450.00 |
| $100.00 |
Data as of 09/22/19. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
To see every possible fee, you’ll have to read the full 50-page tariff sheet (or get on the phone and ask a rep), but we’re not complaining. We’ll take as much information as we can get.
Free storage in every move
Let’s say your new house isn’t ready on move-in day (even though your contractor reassured you multiple times that it would be). Where are you going to temporarily store your stuff?
Or what if you get to your new home and there’s less space than you thought? You’ll need time to figure out where to put that extra box of baby books or Christmas lights.
If you move with Expedia, you get a month of storage—for free. We think this shows that Expedia understands the pain points of moving and that it wants to make the process a li’l’ bit easier for you.
Plus, no matter your scenario, the option to stash your things in short-term storage can be a lifesaver—even if you simply need more time to unpack!
A price-matching policy
Expedia will match any quote from other 5-star full-service moving companies—saving you money and ensuring that you’re getting the best deal out there.
Expedia Van Lines has a lot to offer—from its wide availability to a long list of specialty moving services—and its price-matching policy means you can get these perks for no more than what you’d pay with another company.
We think this policy shows that Expedia genuinely wants your business and isn’t interested in ripping you off (which is absolutely a problem in the moving industry).
Our recommendation
Between Expedia Van Lines’ up-front pricing and extensive list of services, we’d recommend giving the company a shot. Of course, service quality will vary depending on which location services your move (and, let’s be real, the work ethic of your movers), but Expedia overall seems promising.
Our favorite thing about Expedia Van Lines? Its honest pricing. Based on how transparent its folks have been with us, we’re impressed—especially in comparison to other moving companies we’ve worked with in the past.
Here’s when you’d especially benefit from moving with Expedia:
- You’re moving more than a 1-bedroom apartment.
- You’re moving long-distance.
- You need storage after your move.
- You’re moving on the East Coast (where Expedia’s rates are cheaper).
Ready to hit the road?
See if Expedia’s prices match your budget—and if it’d be a good fit for your move.
Other long-distance mover picks
If Expedia doesn’t sound like the right fit for you, we have a few more long-distance moving companies we recommend.
Allied Van Lines
Thanks to a slew of à la carte services, Allied is great for customizing your move (e.g., you can opt for partial packing or custom crating on only a few household items).
Atlas Van Lines
Atlas background checks its movers, offers shipment tracking options, and has franchises in every US state (even you, Alaska and Hawaii!). So whether you’re in Kansas or California, Atlas can be of service.
Have you ever moved with Expedia Van Lines? We want to hear about your experience! Tell us all about it in the comments section below.
About Julia Campbell
