Priceline Bidders, Don't Forget Bonus Bux!!

[Purseval]

If you bid on Priceline chances are you could get some extra cash to bid with, usually $5 per day for up to 5 days added to your regular bid. But, you will not get your bonus dollars unless you do the following:

1. Log into your Priceline account
2. Either use the dropdown list under My Profile and choose My Rewards or click on My Profile and you will see the rewards tab in the window that opens up.

If you do have a reward listed you have to click on the reward and start your bidding in the window that opens. You will know you are getting your bonus dollars when you see it in you bid. It should look something like this:

Your Bid: $50
Bonus: $5
Total Bid: $55

Other things you should know about the bonus rewards:

1. You need to bid on a 2* or better for a 2-night minimum, a 1-night stay is inelegible no matter what level you want.

2. This is a one-shot deal, so make the most of it. For example, if you wanted to spend 3 days in a 3* then move to a resort for another 2 days you can't split the bids even though it is 5 days. Once you bid with your bonus dollars and win that's it.

3. If you win a bid with bonus dollars then use the option to extend your stay the bonus dollars do not apply to the extra days, even if you have bonus dollars left. Example: you win 3 days at a resort for $100 + $5 bonus, for a winning bid of $105, and Priceline asks if you would like to extend your stay at the same rate. You say yes, and put in for another day. The price they will quote is $100 for that extra day and it will be either accepted or rejected on that price, not the $105 you won with.

4. Don't get into the mindset that you have to spend your bonus dollars. If your trip is 3 months from now and your bonus dollars expire at the end of September you may actually get a better rate by letting the bonus dollars expire and bidding closer to your vacation date.

Hope this helps, I can share my tips on bidding strategies if anyone is interested.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I have not gotten any PL bouns money in years! I just bid on Saturday too. I had none then & still have none I bid on a 2.5* for Orlando 9/27-30th and got Country Inn & Suites for only $31 I needed something cheap since I am going up 3 months in a row...
I will be visiting family who are flying in from NY. They are staying onsite Disney.

 

[Purseval]

That's a good price and Orlando actually has some pretty nice 2.5* hotels. We stayed at Resorts International on International Drive near SeaWorld last time we were down and we'll be at that Ramada Celebration this time. Budget travelers have it made in Orlando. Bonus dollars are like lightning strikes, completely random. Make yourself 2 or 3 Priceline accounts to increase your odds of getting bonus money, we have at least 4 different accounts. All you need is a different email address.

If you happen to see these bids and think "Wow, I can spend Christmas at WDW for only $31/night", think again. You will still save a bundle over onsite hotels, just not as much. My 2.5* in February cost me more than I'm paying for the 3* hotels this time around because now we're at a quiet time after Columbus Day and in February we booked our 2.5* hotel on Valentine's Day.

We also won all of our bids this time in the Kissimmee area, not that we didn't try very hard for Universal Studios area. In fact Universal was always our first choice but we never got a bid accepted. Why, you ask? Because Universal Studios is closer to International Drive, which is where the Convention Center is located. That zone is busy not because of theme parks but because of conventions, something you have to keep in mind when making your bids. In our case the 10-15 minutes on the highway easily justifies the low price we paid.