Tip #1: Be Flexible
Priceline.com
is best for people who aren't picky about when they travel or other
itinerary details, and who are willing to accept more legs in a flight, etc.
The more relaxed you are in these areas, the better your chances of having
an offer accepted by one of Priceline's partners. In other words, if
you are all about the Benjamins and saving money (who isn't these days?) then Priceline may be
for you.
According to Priceline's ads, you may even save up to 40 percent on
your hotel, and up to 60 percent on your airfare, if you're willing to be flexible (click
here for more info).
Tip #2: You get what you pay for.
In other words, be realistic about your bids, and you'll
have far better chances. Don't expect to get First Class plane tickets
and stay at a Marriott Hotel on New Years Eve in Orlando, all for 10 or
20 bucks. Make it realistic- start with a low bid, maybe 30 percent
off a coach fare or the rack room rate, but offer what you think is fair for
both parties, and you might be very pleasantly surprised. You probably
won't win any deals if you bid more than 50 to 60 percent off the going
rate. Research prices first at a search engine on this page, or try
our Search Box Center.
If your initial offer is not accepted, don't give up- each
time your bid is declined, try adjusting your price slightly higher by, say
five or ten percent. Hopefully you'll find a deal for at least 20 or even 30 percent off
this way.
Who knows? It just depends on demand at the time.
If the previous Disney vacation fantasy appeals to you,
try checking some individual travel sites like www.dollar.com
or
Marriott.com website first for rates,
then do some homework about when you want to go
see Mickey and ride the Hulk Roller Coaster. Then, place your Priceline bid accordingly. If all goes well, you just might be wearing mouse ears and
drinking
Mai Tais
by the pool on New Years Day.
Tip #3: Use the 'Off-Peak' option when you bid
Ask yourself this: Are you traveling during a peak travel
day or period? Try not to, if at all possible. Can you be
flexible with your departure/arrival days and hours? If so, your chances are far better at getting a
good deal. And if you're trying to find an available plane ticket, car
or hotel during heavy travel seasons, your chances will be far better if you
select off-hours when bidding.
It's always better to travel when other people aren't,
which of course usually means a red-eye flight (flights that leave late at
night or early AM, and then arrive in early the morning or afternoon).
Also, travel days are important factors in bid approval- Try entering travel
dates when most people are working and you'll have much better luck.
And forget Mondays- Most airline agents now consider this a 'second' Sunday
as many people take Friday and Monday off to create a four day weekend.
For best results, try departing on a Tuesday or Wednesday, stay through at
least one Saturday night, and return on a Wednesday or Thursday, and you'll
have much better luck. Check out the definitions of 'Off-Peak' times
at
Priceline.com for more info.
These travel tips not only work great
at Priceline.com, they're good for regular airline and rental car websites as
well. Try it out by grabbing a quote at www.dollar.com
for a car rental, Spa Finder Homepage
for a spa retreat or America West Vacations
for a full package with air, and then check out Priceline.
Remember, it's always
better to check in several spots first before placing a bid- start your offers low, but be reasonable
about how much you want to bid and when you want to travel.
Tip #4: Don't
waste your bids
In case you missed one of
the first three tips above, here's the best advice we can give you when
bidding at Priceline: First check the lowest published rates at travel sites like
Expedia.com,
Orbitz.com
,
and
Travelocity.com. They all have excellent tips and travel advice as
well. You may also want to check:
Cheap Tickets,
Hotwire.com
,
or
Site59, they also have great tools for checking out deals.
Remember, it's free to
check prices based on your itinerary at these sites. But
when you place a bid at Priceline, it's very important to be committed to
the deal- Use a reasonable (yet miserly) price to start with, or you may be
wasting your chances.
Why is this? It's
because of a built in anti-abuse feature of the Priceline system: Once
you've made an offer at a certain price at one airline, car rental agency or hotel
chain, if rejected, that particular
deal may not be checked again for a certain period of time (72 hours). Double-check their site for possible updates on this, as
websites can and do change their policies.
Priceline also operates LowestFare.com, so if your bid
is not accepted, try here:
Tip #5:
Priceline is great for Last Minute Air Deals!
So what is the best place to look for last minute deals?
Well, if you have a ton of frequent flyer miles saved up you could cash
these in. This method once saved 'yours truly' here about $2000
dollars on a flight that really should have cost only about $300 (I won't
name names). Of course, I was traveling on a moment's notice, and the
airlines knew they had me over a barrel. Thank goodness for those
double-miles! This is why so-called 'bereavement fares' make many
people grit their teeth and stare at their phones in disbelief. Flying last minute is supply and demand in
it's worst form.
You ever notice, that unlike a
fireworks stand at 10 pm on the Fourth of July or a tree-lot on December
24th at 11:59 pm, the air carriers just aren't as willing to make a deal at
the last second? Could be just me...
Well, if
you and your bank account HAVE noticed this then turn to priceline.com.
Last minute air travel is their specialty, and unless you have enough
frequent flyer miles to fly from Baltimore to Sydney, Australia for that
emergency client deal, then you better give them a try.
Airlines seem to be a lot more willing to bargain with you when you have a
large company like
Priceline.com acting as a third party on your behalf. Now you are
bringing some clout to the table- this time, when your offer is presented as
a bid for a seat that the airlines know they may not sell, they suddenly see
you more as an informed customer than as a last minute gouging opportunity
for them. Why? They know if they don't take you up on your offer
(if it's reasonable), another airline probably will, and they may not sell
the seat you were interested in.
Bottom line: When
traveling last minute, it is almost always better to use a travel auction or
website like
Priceline.com, as opposed to simply walking in to a flight counter and
saying 'Hi, I'd like to buy a ticket'. If you purchase a flight by
walking up to the desk, they know they have you over a barrel. If you
have the time, check online a night or two before you travel- your wallet
will thank you.
We even found a special link for last
minute Priceline deals- check it out below:
