Most of my travel is international, so using Priceline is very risky. Why? Because some airlines inc

T here are quite a few websites where you can get great airline ticket prices online. Some of them include Expedia universal studios orlando hotels , Hotels.com , Kayak.com , Travelocity , and Priceline . Some of these sites may have slightly wider availability for certain airlines or airports, but for the most part, they offer deals that are within a few dollars of each other.
However, universal studios orlando hotels Priceline has one feature that sets it apart from the other sites the Name Your Own Price option. You can use Priceline the same as these other sites and purchase universal studios orlando hotels tickets immediately, or you can save over 40% on your airline ticket by bidding on a lower ticket price by using the Name Your Own Price option. While saving 40% on your purchase sounds universal studios orlando hotels great, it may not be the best option for everyone. If you choose the Name Your Own Price option, you won t know your airline or flight time until immediately after you make your purchase and the tickets are non-refundable.
Choose universal studios orlando hotels Your Flights and Times. The most commonly used option is choosing your flights and times. This option is basically the same as all the other discounted travel sites. You search for tickets based on the time and date and choose the option that best meets your need. It s important to note that tickets purchased through Priceline and most other discount travel agencies are non-refundable and non-transferable, universal studios orlando hotels though you may be able to exchange them through the airline for a fee. Most flights purchased this way are eligible for frequent flier miles.
Name Your Own Price. This option can save you a lot of money, but you need to have flexible travel plans in order to take advantage of these offers. When you select this option, you choose the date and airport(s) you are willing to travel from. Then you enter a bid price (name your own price), enter your credit card information, and click submit. Once you do this you have made a binding offer on the ticket and if the bid is acceptable to the airline, they will sell you the ticket. The only issue is that you will not know which airline you are flying, flight times, or even the airport you are flying in and out of (if you selected multiple airport options) until after you buy the ticket. Priceline s Name Your Own Price is only a good option universal studios orlando hotels if you have flexible travel universal studios orlando hotels plans!
Be flexible when you plan your trip. The Name Your Own Price feature doesn t give you any say over what time of day you ll be flying, the airline, or the airport if you select multiple options. The goal with this ticket option is to buy the cheapest ticket possible.
Check Priceline s prices. universal studios orlando hotels First, determine the parameters. Enter the desired departure universal studios orlando hotels and arrival airport(s), desired departure and arrival times, and number of layovers (try limiting it to one or fewer). universal studios orlando hotels Use the Priceline price as a baseline for your search and your bid.
Check fares on the Internet or by calling the airlines. universal studios orlando hotels Some airlines offer special deals through universal studios orlando hotels their websites that the online discounters don t have access to. You may be able to find a better deal there than with Priceline. If so, go ahead and reserve it, then try to beat it with Priceline s Name Your Own Price feature. Most airlines will allow you to cancel your reservation within a certain amount of time at no cost. Note: Don t go to these sites over and over and research the same round trip because their computers will pick up that someone wants to take that specific trip and that may trigger a price increase for a period of time. So just open as many tabs as you need.
Name Your Own Price at Priceline. Submit your bid at Priceline universal studios orlando hotels . Make sure it is below the price offered by the airlines and Priceline. Double check before submitting! Make sure you are satisfied with all the parameters and your bid price before you submit. You will be required to enter your credit card information when you submit your bid. If the price is acceptable Priceline will automatically purchase the ticket on your behalf. You should hear back from Priceline in about an hour or less. But while you hunt around, you may want to make a conventional reservation. You can always buy that ticket if your Priceline bid isn t accepted.
Don t submit unrealistic bids. Priceline may not allow you to submit a second bid for the same trip if you bid too low the first time. I usually start at a price around 50% and then increase it in $25 increments until it is accepted.
Fees and taxes. Your bid price does not include fees or taxes, so your $250 bid may cost you almost $300 by the time you purchase the ticket universal studios orlando hotels (don t worry, Priceline will give you an approximate total before you submit your bid). And don t forget that some airlines charge for checked bags, so keep that in mind.
You can also use Priceline s Name Your Own Price feature for other travel deals including hotels, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, tours, and more. I chose to use the airline example because I needed to buy an airline ticket this week. In many instances you can save 30-50% on your total bill. For more information about these deals, visit Priceline .
Name Your Own Price isn t for everyone. I don t recommend using it if you absolutely need to be somewhere at a given time. But if you have the flexibility in your travel schedule and want to save a lot of money, Name Your Own Price may be a good option.
Ryan Guina is the founder and editor of Cash Money Life. He is a writer, small business owner, and entrepreneur. He served over 6 years on active duty in the USAF and is currently a member of the IL Air National Guard. He also writes about military money topics and military and veterans benefits at The Military Wallet .
Kate: Fees are always something to consider before making a purchase. Priceline showed me the final price of my tickets (including fees) before I made the purchase, and I thought that was their policy. I haven t used them for international purchases in several years though, so things may have changed.
Most of my travel is international, so using Priceline is very risky. Why? Because some airlines include the fuel surcharge in the ticket price, while others classify it amongst the taxes and fees that get added on. Picture a $400 ticket with $400 surcharges v. $600 ticket with $150 surcharges the second ticket costs you less, but Priceline will give you the first one. Otherwise, I d happily use their service!
No, Southwest and some other airlines don t participate in these deals. So it always universal studios orlando hotels pays to shop around. Our local airport doesn t have Southwest, so I usually use Priceline or one of these other discount sites.
A year ago I used Priceline s Name your own price option for a round trip ticket from Oklahoma City to Frankfurt Germany I bid $250. I was accepted. I flew American Airlines, had no hassels, universal studios orlando hotels and even after taxes and fees the ticket only came to $489, which was $500 cheaper than I was being quoted on other websites. Did I mention that my flight date was 2 days before the departure date? Yes, I had flexible travel plans as far as times of departures and arrivals on both ends of the flight and maybe it only worked because I was bidding so close to flight time that the airline was just trying to fill an empty seat since the plane was going anyway and they were most likely not going to sell the seat for that flight, but I was actually suprised to see my bid was accepted. Happily, suprised.
One thing I like to do there is to start with a low bid that 30-50% universal studios orlando hotels below retail for a midsize car or 2 star hotel, except I put the bid in for a luxury car, or 4 star hotel. This usually gets rejected, but sometimes I get lucky (I once got a Cadillac CTS for $20 a day in Vegas). When it gets rejected, you can rebid the same amount if you change universal studios orlando hotels the class of car or star rating of the hotel, so I ll go resubmit the bid for a Premium or 3.5 star hotel, then on down the line until I get a hotel/car that is accepted.
I am an expert with the Name Your Price option. For the past few years, my friends and I would go out in Philadelphia and use this option the morning of the day we are going out in the city. We usualyl enter in about 70 bucks for the room and end up getting very nice hotels. The closer to the evening hours you do it, the better chance of getting a cheaper price as hotels are just trying to get rid of rooms for whatever they can get. Amazing!!!
Six years ago, my wife and I decided we were going to get out of town for a weekend. We kept plans very open but we decided we were definately going to Montreal. Right before we got in the car for what we thought universal studios orlando hotels would only be a day trip, turned into a great weekend! As my wife was putting the suitcases in the car (She always packs just in case), I jumped on Priceline.com and threw in a bid for a hotel. I wanted to suprise my wife if I could on a low budget. I put in that we wanted a 3 star hotel for $50.00 and it went through! My wife was stoked when I told her! You see, we don t make much money and it was hard to just pick up and go.
Then, that first night at the hotel, which turned out much better than we had imagined (They took in your bags, had a gorgeous fireplace in the lobby, very elegant indeed), I decided universal studios orlando hotels since we saved good money the first time around that I d try Priceline again so we could extend our stay; hopefully for the same price or better. I put in for a 4 star hotel for $40.00 never thinking that it would get accepted. It went through. We drove 2 or 3 blocks after we checked out the next morning from the first hotel and checked into an even better hotel and we were catered to more than the previous hotel, and we paid less!!! We had just had our first child (actually we brought Little Jon with us too!) and we needed a great experience on a very low budget. I recommend Priceline. I also recommend putting in a low dollar amount in and aim high. Hey, you never know!
I am confused, and cannot universal studios orlando hotels find a straight answer, Let s say I bid $ 400 for an international flight. The next page shows 400+50 of taxes+7 of processing fee. If my offer is acce