Priceline, should I?

[lillady]

I'm wondering if I should try Priceline for airfare for our November trip? I've heard airfare is best to purchase on a Wednesday, and wouldn't you know I was gone last Wednesday(for a couple days) and received an "alert" email that my goal price was available through travelocity...........
And the airfares seem $$$$$ this weekend I've been pricing them.....so maybe I'll try this Wednesday before I go through priceline?
I would add one day onto our "timeframe" in case through priceline, it would happen to leave really late or something......

Please let me know if you've used priceline for airfare.........

 

[Maria]

I´ve used Travelocity and priceline once. Use it ONLY if you are 200% sure that you will not have to change ANYTHING on your schedule. When I used it, I didn´t care of the day or time of the flight, I just wanted a cheap one! :animwink:

 

[Holly]

I'm always too chicken to use Priceline - but a lot of my friends have.

I'm the kind of person that needs to know the *particulars* - not knowing exact flight times would drive me up a wall.

That and the fact that I'm a super bad flyer and won't do connections unless it's absolutely unavoidable - friends got GREAT prices to Boston last year ... but they had 2 connections. I couldn't handle that.

 

[lillady]

Thanks Maria for the input, I'm very tempted....gonna wait till Wed and see.....

Holly, to be honest I haven't flown since I was 15
and when you say connections bother you, you mean switching planes at different airports? Is that what "connections" mean now?

thanks,

 

[Holly]

Yep, having plane changes = connections.

Good luck on your flight search!

 

[DVCgirl49]

I wouldn't do priceline to get a flight if I were going to WDW. Because you can't pick the times for the flights, it could be anytime of the day. The flight they give you could be at like 6pm and you could wind up not getting to WDW til like 9 or 10 pm and you've essentially lost a day of vacation that you could have been out playing in the parks. Personally I like 1. going to WDW on the earliest flight of the day, so you get the most ofut of your vacation, and 2. knowing when the flight leaves and arrives before I pay for it! I have done priceline once before to book a flight from Albany NY to Norfolk VA and was hoping for a morning flight to maximize beach time, what I got was a flight that leaves Albany at 5pm, change planes and a 2 hour layover in Philly, and arrive in Norfolk at 9pm. Not what I'd hoped for! But if the other options are just too expensive, and you just want a cheap flight and don't care about time of day or how many stops/connections, then it is okay.

 

[DVCgirl49]

Oh, try seeing if Southwest flys out of your airport, they have very good prices! www.southwestairlines.com

 

[Holly]

Originally posted by DVCgirl49
Oh, try seeing if Southwest flys out of your airport, they have very good prices! www.southwestairlines.com

I absolutely LOVE Southwest! My absolutely most favorite airline ever!

 

[lillady]

I tried looking into southwest.....
I could fly out of there, if I drove 3 hours away
(versus my preferred 1 hour airport)
But thought with so many "Great deals" about southwest going around I should look and see if it warranted the drive.....

but looked like from Kansas City, MO
to Orlando
was about 99.99 each way
before taxes/surcharges, etc

I know I've seen prices lower than that through my more local airport......just not at the moment.....haha

 

[Holly]

When I was checking out fares for Southwest a few weeks back, I found a RT fare for $251 per person - I've seen cheaper too. All the other airlines I checked out were around the same (or more) so I decided to book Southwest.

I went back two days later to the website and discovered that the availability was gone - and I ended up paying $311 per person RT. I'm glad I booked though - they're up to $351 per person now.

So if you see a good deal - jump on it ... it might not be there tomorrow.

 

[Nut4Disney]

I always use Expedia.com and find it cheaper than the others. It is much cheaper if you leave on a Tues. or Wed. though.

 

[bgraham34]

I have used priceline, and was happy with it because I was very flexible. Basically in college at the time. Now since I work i cant use them. Dont want to waste any time.

 

[FanofDinsey1981]

Originally posted by bgraham34
I have used priceline, and was happy with it because I was very flexible. Basically in college at the time. Now since I work i cant use them. Dont want to waste any time.

agreed. I am a college student, and I use priceline all the time. if you don't care what time of day, use it.

just an idea of how we have saved money... I stayed 3 nights in a downtown hotel chicago for 50 bucks a night. a regular room would cost around 300 bucks a night. if it is the same for airlines, I think you will bea very happy person!!

 

[lillady]

Well, I researched and researched........
checked through travelocity and expedia(which always seemed to be higher for me) several more, different times.......

Finally decided I would have to give up wanting to travel out on a Saturday and returning on a Saturday......was consistently 125.00ish EXTRA a ticket for my days.......

So I switched to fly out on Monday before Thanksgiving
coming back Tues. after Thanksgiving......
AND with my "Entertainment book card/discount"
saved 15% on Northwest(directly called them)
for three tickets for 598.35!!!

I'm happy because I was starting to get panicked.....

I don't understand though, when I've played with "almost buying " tickets on Travelocity, the tickets always jump about 40.00 (with extra surcharges/taxes), this didn't seem to happen through Northwest. I asked her twice if she was sure that was the final total????

Our first trip to Disneyworld!!!(Can't you tell , I've really rambled on )
Looking more and more real!!!!!
Thank you EVERYONE
I have benefited so much from these boards!

 

[seabelis]

I have used priceline a couple of times and to be honest with you, by the time they add on the taxes to your accepted bid price, you really don't save much money if any at all, plus you have no control over flight times. I would stick to travelocity or expedia. You can also check jetblue.com if they serve your area. They are generally $60 each way, but they do not serve all airports.

 

[Tramp]

...I always book directly with an airline and usually get good prices...I need a non-stop flight and I like to travel early morning...6am or so. We go directly to the hotel, they hold the bags and off we go to the parks.

You don't really save a lot of money if Priceline finds you a great flight that arrives at 9pm and then you have to spend extra money to sleep there that night.

 

[isnet396]

Why Priceline can burn in hell

Back when the internet was new, my dad started a website called Pricegenie.com . Its still belongs to him, its just blank, and will show you a 404. You would tell it a product you'd be interested in, and it would find the cheapest place(s) to buy it at via email. Now, it was relatively small, since most companies didn't have the internet back in 1994. Anyway, on of my dad's consultants was a powerful guy from Conneticut. He leaked the info to someone, and 6 months later, priceline was born, and my dad's site was put out of business. Now, its not like he was unemployed, or something. He's a full time lawyer. In fact, I'm sure if we sued, we could have quite a few $$$!


Ian