RFI: priceline's "name your price" option

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I've had really good experiences with this. There are whole sites dedicated to the science of this and how to get the best deals. biddingfortravel.com is one of them.

― Jeff-PTTL (Jeff), Wednesday, 27 June 2001 02:56 (twenty-four years ago)

10 minutes seems a bit fast, dont prices fluctuate?

i will never understand prices on realty, cars, and airline tickets.

― AaronK (AaronK), Wednesday, 27 June 2001 02:57 (twenty-four years ago)

I've never used it for airfare. Its too sketchy. You might end up with a redeye or something extremely inconvienent. Hotels and rental cars are a different story though. I went to Texas about a year ago and stayed in 3 consecutive 4 star hotels, not spending more than $50 for any of them (the most expensive being the Rennaissance Worthington in Ft. Worth, with both the Hyatt Regency Dallas and Austin being merely $40). Repeated again in Montreal where I got a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Select for $65 (Expedia and the HI site had it for $120 or so) and again in Vancouver where I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Burnaby for $40 a night. So yeah, the hotel option is ridiculously great if you can pick up a deal. Rental Cars I can usually knock about $5-7 a day off the price too.

I'm with Jeff: USE BIDDINGFORTRAVEL. It will not lead you wrong.

― Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Wednesday, 27 June 2001 03:36 (twenty-four years ago)

four years pass...

has anyone used this? does it work? is it sketchy? what's the deal exactly?

thx

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:03 (twenty years ago)

i dunno, but the last time i did it i named a really stupid price, like £20, and then it came back with a reasonably priced flight (that i could choose not to take)

i think you can find better deals elsewhere though.

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:04 (twenty years ago)

I have used it with some success, but it does not seem to be giving up the goods like it used to. I tried it out for my flight to the UK this year and it proved a poor substitute for patient use of search engines.

― Adam In Real Life (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:05 (twenty years ago)

I get the feeling they have quite poor administration - one year we got London-Chicago return flights for around $1000 and they NEVER took the money from our credit cards!

― Adam In Real Life (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

Anyway, it's not sketchy as long as you are comfortable with the prices/times as you define them, the more flexible you can be, the better.

― Adam In Real Life (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:07 (twenty years ago)

I used it a few years ago to get a flight to the US. I got the days I wanted and the airports I wanted, but a 7am flight on the way back. However, I only paid £194 including tax for the flight, so I was pretty chuffed.

Here's a trick they used. I put in my maximum amount (£125 before tax) and the website said "most users put in a higher max price than this - would you like to change it?". I clicked "no" and, sure enough, I got muh deal!

But I wouldn't do it again - these days, being able to choose the precise details are more important to me than saving a few bucks. Okay, maybe I'd use it if I could get a HUGE discount, but otherwise no.

― Markelby (Mark C), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:13 (twenty years ago)

is the thing where it says "get a psp for pennies"?

― ambrose (ambrose), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

I found a place in London for $120US per night (I forget the name of the hotel - but a 4star in Earl's Court) .. and when I was checking in, someone without a reservation came to get a room and they told him it was £180/night. So, seemed like a good deal to me - at least that time.

― geyser muffler and a quarter (Dave225), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

Where are you going, s1ocki?

― Adam In Real Life (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:15 (twenty years ago)

principessa is going back to her home state for a couple of weeks!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

― Adam In Real Life (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:53 (twenty years ago)

so this is generally ok then?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:54 (twenty years ago)

no hidden catch besides having to wait around all day at the airport? no chance you WON'T get a flight?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:55 (twenty years ago)

ok i put in $50 and it spat out a low price (90 something), but then there's this:

If we find an airline that accepts your price, we'll immediately purchase your tickets on the credit card you provide to us.

what's with the IF? when do you find out?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

The "catch" I guess is the possibility of getting shitty seats on a 6am flight on your chosen date, maybe a stopover or two. You can protect yourself against these things by being specific about them, but your chances of then getting a cheap flight decrease exponentially.

It usually takes about ten minutes. It's pretty nailbiting stuff!

― Adam In Real Life (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 July 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

right... that stuff doesn't really matter as long as the flight is cheap, haha!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 18 July 2005 17:00 (twenty years ago)

then bid with confidence.

― Adam In Real Life (nordicskilla), Monday, 18 July 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

and pride!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 18 July 2005 17:06 (twenty years ago)

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