Discount Airfare: Priceline.com
Priceline.com is one of the premier
success stories of the internet. According to them, they are the
#2 most recognizable internet company name right behind amazon.com.
I believe them! No wonder William Shatner always seems to be smiling
(word is he's got lots of stock!).
Our research on Priceline.com
shows that although you'll find all kinds of varying customer reviews of Priceline,
our conclusion is that for what it is, Priceline is a very cool
idea that can save you lots of money, provided you're willing
to abide by the parameters they set. The biggest condition is that you
have to be willing to accept a flight at basically any time of day for the
day you choose. This could be a red-eye! If that won't work for you, don't
use this service! Many of the negative reviews are from people who didn't fully
understand this, although it's right there on the website for you to read.
The next most common complaint was that if you
state your price and they don't find you an airline willing to give you that
price, you'll have to wait 3 days to try again with a higher price. Again,
they make it clear that you have one good shot at it.
Anyway, if your bid doesn't get approved, what
did you lose? Priceline also features a lowest-price search similar to hotwire,
cheaptickets.com, expedia, etc.. We did a sample search for some mainstream
plane trips on this, and found their prices to be right there
with the other discounters.
Actually, it seems the thing that users of Priceline.com
have had the most success with has been the hotel room 'name-you-own-price'.
Lots of happy customers there, staying in beautiful hotels for cheap money,
and according to reviews, they get treated real well at these hotels regardless
of how much they paid for their room. Again, you have nothing to lose if
you take a few minutes to read the conditions.
So, the conclusion we've come to is that if
you're searching the net for the lowest priced airfare, and you have the right
kind of flexibilty, go ahead and definitely give Priceline a shot.
Reviews of other discount airfare companies
CheapTickets.com
CheapTickets.com is one of the
top online discount ticket merchants. If you're scouring the internet
for the best prices on airfare, theirs is a site you should check.
And CheapTickets doesn't only deal in airfare.
Their discounted travel products also include hotel accommodations,
cruises, rental cars, vacation packages, condo rentals, and Last
Minute Trips.
Cheap Tickets has been around for a longer time
than the modern internet - they have been doing business since 1986, and have
succesfully carved a niche for themselves in the online discount travel market.
We did a sample search for some mainstream plane
trips, and found their prices to be right there at the bottom where they should
be. Even checking the airlines' own sites for internet specials, none could
beat the price on CheapTickets.com. Their flight search form is very easy to
use, and one thing that's very refreshing about the CheapTickets site is that
the first price they give you is the full price that includes all taxes, fees,
securtiy fees, etc. No last-second "oh,
and we have to add an extra 40 bucks for security fees, web site service, booking,
processing, shipping, paper-ticket or other fees, or whatever." This
is unfortunately common practice on some airline's websites. One thing, however,
that you should be aware of with not only CheapTickets, but other airfare
discounters as well, is that Southwest Airlines does not come up in results.
Southwest has some great fares and should be checked separately.
Orbitz.com
Orbitz was formed by 5 major Airlines - American,
Continental, Delta, Northwest and United - to join forces and create a low-fare
finder website that would compete with existing online low-fare-search websites.
Well, it appears to have succeeded. Orbitz is
one of the most popular online low-fare finding websites, and offers a low-fare
search that encompasses more that 455 airlines.They also provide the same search
function for hotels, rental cars, cruises and vacations.
From our extensive survey of Orbitz users, they
get very high marks. Our sample check of some mainstream cross-country and
local flights came up with rates that were as low as or lower than their online
competitors. The flight-search interface was as user-friendly as any others
out there. Some folks seem to prefer the Orbitz interface, while other reviewers
prefer other sites. If you ask me, there's not a whole lot of difference between
them. Orbitz also offers a low-fare guarantee, where they'll give you 50 bucks
if you can show them where someone else is offering a price more than $5.00
cheaper for the same flight.
Customer
reviews for Orbitz are in the main positive, with most users stating
that they would indeed use Orbitz again, or recommend it to others. As in other
low-fare websites, Southwest doesn't come up on the Orbitz results, so be sure
to check Southwest's site for their rates, as their fares are very low and
worth checking.
Orbitz is also a very convenient place to get rental
cars, hotels and even book a cruise or a vacation. Orbitz covers a wide
array of choices for each, the interface is well laid out, and the prices are
really hard to beat.
Hotwire.com
If you're a bit of a risk taker
and have a little spirit of adventure -- or if you're just happy to be going
someplace and you'll roll with the flow -- definitely try Hotwire. This web
service is useful for travelers who are more flexible with their travel plans
and are willing to tolerate a little bit of uncertainty in order to obtain
the lowest possible price. We're talking about their "discount" or "clearance
fare" rates, and part of the deal is that you have to have a wide window
on your travel times, and be willing to pay before you know exactly which
airline you're flying on (although they list all the airlines they choose
from). In some situations you can also go with their regular rates, which
can be priced pretty close to the discount rates, and where you can select
your exact times and airlines before paying. If you go for the discount rates,
they do offer an option for trip protection for a relatively reasonable fee
before you finalize your purchase.
Like their competitors, Hotwire also offers hotel
rooms, car rentals and cruise/vacation packages. With the hotel rooms, they
have a system where you select from an area of a map, and then choose the Hotwire
rating hotel you want (1star, 2 stars, etc. - they have their own rating system).
You then have to pay before you know exactly what hotel you're staying in,
and the purchase is non-refundable, but on the plus side, they deal only with
major chains, and you're going to get a great price. Here's an excerpt from
a review:
"Every time I've booked through
Hotwire, I have made a point of trying to book the same room through the
hotels web site, and through Expedia, Travelocity, and Hotels.com, and
have never found a price anywhere near what I've found on Hotwire."
So, all in all, Hotwire is an interesting site.
It's perhaps not for everyone, but the deals to be had are potentially awesome.
And if you're looking for last-minute deals, Hotwire shines.
Expedia.com
Expedia is one of the top disount travel sites
on the web. They do tons of business, and they have a loyal following. As with
the other online discount travel sites, Expedia also offers hotel rooms, rental
cars, vacation packages, cruises, and a few other lower profile services.
Their airline ticket interface is our favorite.
There's a nice, easy-to-use drop-down calendar for selecting your travel dates.
The search results are particularly well-presented. They're listed by airlne
and by price, and you can select from all available departure times before
going to the next screen, where you select your return flight and you're done
with that. Expedia's prices were very similar to their competitors, and the
terms are also similar, as far as the tickets not being refundable, and there's
a $100.00 fee for changing itinerary. As stated in other reviews, if Southwest
flies where you are going, and you don't mind their general seating policies,
check their website separately, as Southwest is not currently listed with
Expedia or any of the others.
Their hotel room service is also easy to use. If
you're going to a major city where you know the territory, you can select from
a map an area of town where you want to stay and Expedia will list out the
types of hotels you've specified in that area. If you're going to a town that's
not on their list, or if you're not confident with their map, just enter the
address of the place you're going, and you'll get a list of hotels near that
location. Very convenient. As far as pricing, the prices they give look good,
but as with all 3rd party ticket sources, you should call the hotel before
buying to make sure they're not offering a lower price.
Expedia's cruise interface, like the rest of their
site, is easy to use, and their prices are good, however we found some lower
prices on Orbitz for the same cruise packages. Take a few minutes and
call the cruise lines to check their rates before buying. On
something like a cruise, spend some time shopping around before buying.
The rental car service is also easy to navigate,
and comparable to their competitors. All in all, Expedia's customers are pretty
darn loyal and satisfied. It is a very good website, and the following customer
review sums it up nicely:
"I've examined virtually every reservation
service on the Web, but for the past 10 years, I've nearly always used Expedia.
Why? They're not always the cheapest, but they are always the most reliable.
I've used Expedia for air travel, maps, hotel reservations and auto rental.
They've never let me down. I now belong to their 'preferred customer' group,
and I have no doubts that they would back me up should I have a problem."
Travelocity.com
Travelocity is another of the major players in the online discount
travel arena. If you're searching for a great deal on airfare, hotel room,
rental car, a cruise or a vactaion, Travelocity should be on your list.
Their airfare interface is similar to the competitors, being
easy to use.You'll get a list of available departure times, airlines and rates
from which to choose from, and selecting your favorite option is very simple
and user-friendly. You'll get to choose your seats before you have to pay,
and the price they give you is the whole price including taxes and fees. As
with the other discount airfare companies, Travelocity's tickets are non-refundable,
and they warn you that ticket changes may incur penalties and/or increased
fares. What those penalties and increased fares are you'll have to find out
if need be. At least with Expedia they tell you that it will cost $100.00 to
change itinerary. Keep in mind also that Southwest Airlines will not be listed
in Travelocity's results, so if you don't mind Southwest's general seating,
go to their site and check their rates.
The rental car section with Travelocity produced the best rates
of all the online companies we checked. The selection was also the best.This
may not apply with your trip, but it definitely was a plus with us!
Travelocity's hotel finder is on par with most of the others,
although I prefer the feature on Expedia where you can enter an address and
get the hotels listed by closest to the address. You do get a good selection
from Travelocity, and they have a low rate guarantee with some of the hotels.
As a practice, it is always best to give the hotel a quick call before committing
to see what rates they're offering.
The cruise selection process was a bit more involved than some
of the other websites. You will have to provide a lot more specifics before
geting to the prices, which is no big deal, but by the time we got to the
best-looking price on a cruise package and clicked on it, it was unavailable.
That can be annoying, as then you have to randomly click on the other packages
hoping they won't be sold out. With most of the other sites, if the package
was unavailable, you weren't able to click on it in the first place.
On the whole, we were impressed with Travelocity, as many people
are, and recommend them for any type of travel needs, of course keeping in
mind the fact that tickets are non-refundable. Also be sure to check Travelocity
for last-minute flights.
General Info On Saving Big Money on Airfare Online
One of the huge success stories of the internet
has been find the ability to save lots of time and money on travel - airfare
in particular. For starters, many airlines have internet-only specials on their
sites. In fact, you can subscribe to their newsletter and get alerted to special
rates that are often well below the norm. Southwest for one is great for this
- I have cashed in on their email specials several times. Delta is another,
and the rest are getting into the act one by one.
There are sites like priceline.com, expedia,
travelocity, cheaptickets.com, hotwire and others who constantly check the
major airlines for bargains. And even sites that many people aren't aware of
like Qixo that checks all available sites for the best rates.
There are also ways to save large amounts
of money on airline filghts if you're willing to do a little work on your
own. Many major airlines have a program where you can go down to the airport
and sign up as a standby passenger. If they have a seat left after everyone
is in, you get on the plane for a greatly reduced rate. This is particularly
useful for students wanting to travel cheaply abroad on their summer vacations.
I've seen this work many times. The other little-known way to save on travel
is by signing up as a courier. Courier Travel can get you a flight for almost
nothing and sometimes even free! The
International Association of Air Travel Couriers can get you signed up
for this.
Another way to get free flights or free first
class upgrades is to get bumped on purpose. There is an art to this - learn
more here.
Here's a good link if you want to get the
inside on how the online discount
airfare companies work.
Sources for Cheap Airfare
Quickly check the best airfares from several diferent sites. Consitently
returns some of the best rates.
Click Here to See Hotwire's Hottest New Deals on Travel!
Airfare.com Get
cheap airfare - super easy interface to quickly search for the best rates
on airfare.
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