Priceline for airline ticket?
Don’t do it. With bidding on priceline, you only get to select day of travel you depart and when you are returning. That means you could depart on a certain day and not arrive til the next day.
If you need to be somewhere by a specific time, Priceline is not the way to go. Once you bid you are stuck with whatever flights they give you.
Are there other websites to bid on airline tickets besides priceline?
I would have to agree with the other people and say that travelocity (the home of the roaming gnome!!) orbitz, expedia, and travelzoo are some of the best ones. They really are the real deal and negotiate with airlines to get you better fares than you could probably get yourself. I also put a link to an ehow article below, it’s about student airline tickets but has some good info even if you aren’t a student about those websites.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4764699_airline-discount-student-ticket.html
Has anyone ever bid on flight tickets using Priceline; how does it work?
Are you talking about that Name Your Price option? I’ve used it once to fly out to California for a football game. The price was good and the flight times weren’t that unreasonable. Bear in mind that it’s totally up to the airlines which flight they put you on so they’re going to put you on the ones that they have difficulty selling tickets for.
Who has bid on airline tickets through priceline? If you have, what was your experience…good or bad?
I do all of my flight booking this way I start out at a low price that I know won’t work first, then I work my way up. BE SURE NOT TO BID OVER A REGULAR FARE! Immediately when they find a flight they will give you your itinerary I jump up in down especially when I get a great deal, my son always bounces around while the long wait, while it’s usually only 10-15 minutes while its searching. We make it an event in my family, but it is really great for saving money
Average Bid on Priceline?
I am not a priceline fan. check out this blog about cheap tickets. It should help. and I personally like Kayak.com for my flight info and tickets.
There are several ways to get the best airfare: Try one of the big companies: Travelocity.com., priceline or Expedia.com. The advantage to them is that they show many different airlines and the cheapest prices for both the specific date you want to fly and the dates surrounding that date. In case your plans are flexible. The disadvantage is that you are locked into the fare dates. If you want to change a date due to injury or an emergency, their fees can be extreme.
Try the airlines directly. Either their Web sites or direct telephone lines. Some of the Airlines offer low price guarantees meaning that if you find a cheaper fight on another Web site they may match the price or beat it. Each airline is different though, so you have to check them out individually.
Just remember, if you are going to try to get the cheapest flights, the airlines normally have restrictions. You may have to purchase the ticket 14 or 21 days in advance, there may be no refunds or changes allowed. You really need to know these restrictions. If you try looking for a last-minute flight you will end up paying a lot more, although there are occasional exceptions. I personally, managed a last minute ticket to S.F on the Millennium New Years eve. And received a better price than my friends that had booked a month in advance! But… you cannot depend on this at all.
Usually travel agents do not get the lowest fares and sometimes they tack on a commission. Travel agencies used to be the best way to get the best airfare, but with the Internet, It is now just as easy for individuals to check themselves.
If you call an airline directly (they all have toll-free numbers), be sure to ask them if they have any specials. Often they do have specials, but you have to ask them about them! So be careful about restrictions on tickets. Be aware of charges for overweight baggage and remember that many of the very CHEAP fares you see in the Travel section of the local Papers are fares that are quoted, “without taxes” Taxes can really add up.
Have fun and happy travels.
How does priceline’s name your own price work?
I’ve only used Priceline for hotels, so I can’t speak about airline tickets, but here’s my experience.
You select the city/region that you would like to book the hotel in — they have a map with the boundaries of the neighborhoods outlined, so you have a general idea of where you hotel could be located. At that point you select the minimum grade of the hotel you’d like — 2 star, 3 star, 4 star, etc. In theory you could select a 3 stay and name your price that matched a 4 star — it’s rare, but the possibility that you might get a nicer hotel is there.
You name your price (they will tell you what the average *regular* price of hotels in the area usually cost and you guess from there). A good rule of thumb that I use it to divide the regular price in half and add about $10-20.
At that point it will ask for your credit card info — your card is charged immediately if you “win” your hotel. You cannot back out at that point — the hotel is booked immediately. They ask for your CC info to make sure that you’re serious about booking and not just seeing what’s out there. Once you put in your price, it searches for a few minutes. If your bid is accepted you will be given the info about the hotel immediately — if the bid is rejected, there is a time frame (I think 2-3 days, but I’m not for sure) before you can place another bid in that expect city/neighborhood/hotel grade. You *can* place bids in different parts of the city still before that time — just not the same exact specifications as the original bid.
Here are some examples of my successful hotel “wins” in the past:
Philadelphia – regular hotel price $250/night — got it for $90.
Washington DC – regular $240/night — got it for $85.
New York — reg $300/night — got it for $140.
Boston — reg $200/night — got it for $80.