Hotwire.com?

[dolphincrazy]

Has anyone used them? what are your experiences with them?
I hate that you can't see flight times and such until you purchase
seems to me you get stuck with crappy flights obviously I wouldn't purchase park tickets until I found out when we'd arrive and when we had to leave. just wanted to know if anyone who used them were satisfied with the results.
Thanks, Maryann

 

[CarolA]

I won't use them for airline tickets just for the reason's you said. NO CONTROL!

However, I have used them for hotels. In any case be VERY sure you have checked out all other methods to make sure you get a good deal. The quotes I have gotten on rental cars and airfares are not that much better then my own deals and I have control there.

 

[dolphincrazy]

Thank you That's what I thought.

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

Dolphin:

I booked my upcoming Dis trip through Hotwire. We got to choose our hotel, but not our flight times.

Our layovers are very short and we're there in time for dinner. We have three full days in the parks, then leave about noon on the fifth day.

TOTAL COST: $618, inc. tax.

Here's what we got:

*** HOTEL ITINERARY ***
Courtyard LBV at Walt Disney
Check-in: Wed, Feb 4, 2004/ Check-out: Sun, Feb 8, 2004

*** FLIGHT ITINERARY ***
Airline: Northwest Airlines
Departing: Louisville Standiford Field (SDF) Wed, 02/04/04, 12:20PM
Arriving: Memphis Intl. (MEM) Wed, 02/04/04, 12:42PM

Connecting
Departing: Memphis Intl. (MEM) Wed, 02/04/04, 1:50PM
Arriving: Orlando Intl. (MCO) Wed, 02/04/04, 4:35PM

Return
Departing: Orlando Intl. (MCO) Sun, 02/08/04, 12:30PM
Arriving: Memphis Intl. (MEM) Sun, 02/08/04, 1:37PM

Connecting
Departing: Memphis Intl. (MEM) Sun, 02/08/04, 2:25PM
Arriving: Louisville Standiford Field (SDF) Sun, 02/08/04, 4:45PM

I Pricelined out car rental. Got a standard size from National for $130.

HTH. I'll let you know how it goes. Would like to arrive later, but the pkg was cheap enough. It's DH's 30th b-day, so as long as we're there in time for dinner @ Boma's, we're OK.

 

[arminnie]

I've used Hotwire a LOT. You do need to check and see what the fares would be if you booked directly with the airline or with an agency. Often the price differential is very small - in that case I would not give up to the option to pick my own times and airline and to earn freq. flier miles.

I often fly to the San Francisco bay area. Listed airfares to SFO are often in the $400 range while a flight into San Jose is is the $200 range. SFO is more convenient for me than SJC and I find that I can often get the $200 fare to SFO on Hotwire. It's worth not knowing my flight times for a $200 savings. I have never gotten a bad flight.

I LOVE Hotwire for hotel purchases. You can usually get a rate at least 50% off the cheapest discounted rate for a hotel. I've never been disappointed.

I've only used Hotwire once for a car rental and it worked out fine. I just usually find that there is very little savings over what I can book directly.