Priceline...Penny-Pinching Has Its Price...
Written: Nov 07 '02 (Updated Nov 08 '02)
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Recommended with a serious caveat. You would do well to remember that you cannot make changes to your ticket once you have booked. I recently flew from Baltimore to Oakland. My flight left BWI at 4:20 PM on Tuesday and I arrived in Oakland at 9:05 PM. My return flight departed Oakland at 12:50 PM on Wednesday. Obviously, this was useless. Furthermore, Delta would no longer allow me to make changes to the flight. I was stuck with a horrible itenerary. Priceline can be good for last minute trips if you are flexible. As long as you are flexible, you can get some great deals on Priceline.
The staff have been fairly accommodating, but they will only let you make a change once, if you are lucky. Be very careful when entering the date. I wound up with a reservation I couldn't use because I once put in the wrong date. After a bit of cajoling, they agreed to let me change the date, but assured me that I could only do this once. Be careful when you hit the "Buy My Tickets Now" button.
Ease of Use
Once you have used them once or twice, you will find it appallingly easy and addictive to use this service. Priceline has been a boon to my last-minute trips of late. The system is easy to use, though you must remember to not check all of the boxes for alternative airports and so forth. You can only re-bid if you make a change to your alternatives. A mere increase in the price of your bid is not sufficient, so you must add, say, and alternative airport. This could be a serious impediment if, for example, you were bidding for a trip to Madison, Wisconsin. The "alternative" airports listed for Madison are Milwaukee and Chicago! It helps to understand the possible pitfalls before booking with them. Also remeber that you may leave the price as it is, and simply change the alternative airports. I have been surprised on a number of occasions with this. The mystery almost adds to the fun, though not always.
Another very important consideration is that you may not book a one-way ticket with Priceline. The site is set up for round-trip tickets only. While you may possibly book a round-trip ticket with them and discard the return portion, the airlines are wily and vigilant about this practice. You could, in some cases, be billed for the full fare of the one-way segments you did use, though enforcement is only sporadic. Computer tracking systems make it much easier for the airlines to find cases like this, and you may fall victim to this, so I would not suggest trying.
Price
As a rule, the prices you can get can be about 40% lower than the average, even as much as 60%, but you will find that ridiculously low bids are usually dismissed out of hand. A bar graph will appear, informing you that you have a very low chance of getting your price. The suggested bid is usually much higher, though not always.
Will I Be Flying on "Bob's Airlines" with Priceline?
Priceline negotiates blocks of seats with major airlines only. Thus, you will not have to worry about flying with a "fly-by-night" carrier you have never heard of. I have received tickets through Priceline on USAirways, Delta, Northwest, United and America West. Southwest is not affiliated with Priceline. Continental is also affiliated with them, but I have never received a seat on Continental in the Priceline lottery.
Congratulations! Your Price Has Been Accepted!
Joy. Your price has been accepted. Now the real fun starts. Scroll down to see what you have actually got here. You will now be flying to wherever with two changes in Walla Walla and Atlanta, not to mention the four hour layover in both cities. Remember that you may not change anything, unless the Airline Gods are truly looking out for you. Even if they are, any unauthorized change will likely come with substantial penalties. For the most part, the airlines will not change anything, claiming righteously that, as part of their "agreement" with Priceline, they can not change a thing. This is rubbish, but the airlines are not likely to deviate from their position. As a Priceline client, you will find yourself at the bottom of the airline food chain. The best you can hope for is that your flight will be overbooked and you may be able to make some changes.
E-Ticket
Your ticket will invariably be one of the computer-generated E-Tickets. I have not found this to be a problem, but if this is an important consideration to you, you may be able to negotiate a paper ticket directly with the airline for a fee.
Personnel
Though you can book through their toll-free number, it is much easier to book with them on-line. I have found that using the toll-free number is a cumbersome way to deal with them. They are essentially set up for on-line bookings, so you may find yourself on hold for an hour or more if you use the telephone lines.
Payment
The site is set up to work with credit cards. I am unaware that they will accept any other method of payment. The credit card information you post on their site is reasonably secure (I have not encountered any problems), and it is stored so you will find the service easier to use after the first booking.
What if Your Bid is Constantly Rejected?
If you place a significant number of bids for the same itenerary, the great computer at Priceline may just get tired of your ridiculous bids and return with an alternative. In some cases, this can still be a good deal. After my $95.00 bids to Las Vegas were soundly rejected, Priceline returned with a price I could live with --$250.00. You will get one chance to accept the alternative (and, no, you still won't know your itenerary until you accept the flight).
When to Book
There are some schools of thought which suggest certain days as being better to bid than others. Obviously, you will find your chances better when flying mid-week than on the weekend, and the flights you will get are often mid-day or late evening flights (you may restrict your bidding to exclude off-peak flying times, but this significantly reduces your chances of having your bid accepted). Trips to popular tourist destinations such as Miami may be harder to come by with Priceline. Unlike some competitors, Priceline does not offer destinations outside the United States or Canada, though Priceline Vacations does offer some international destinations like London and the Caribbean.
Service
Though they did allow me to change one mistaken date on one itenerary, they are unlikely to let you do this more than once. I wouldn't push them on this. Their staff are generally pleasant on the telephone, but I have had one or two who were just short of nasty. I soon found out that I would be stuck with my hopeless trip to San Francisco. They would do nothing to alter the routing or the times.
Overall
If you are flexible, Priceline can be a good way to get yourself in the air on short notice. Far better to pay about $250.00 for a last-minute ticket than $1000.00. With this freedom, though, you must accept the significant risks. Recent complaints about long layovers have caused Priceline to make some adjustments in the routings they will accept in some cases, but there are no guarantees with Priceline.
Priceline
http://www.priceline.com
Toll-free: 866-925-5373
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Thomas Barnes
Location: Washington, DC
Reviews written: 711
Trusted by: 449 members
About Me: Hotel manager in Washington, D.C.
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