Priceline for Plane Tickets

[dameodie]

I've heard a mixed bag of stories in reguards to people using Priceline for buying their plane tickets. Here's my line of logic why I want to try it.

-- We know the days we want to travel, but it really doesn't matter too much what time those days we fly. If we get a late flight going out, and an early one coming home, I won't be thrilled but it won't really hurt us either.
-- I know that if I can't get a bid accepted for dirt cheap, we won't fly we'll just drive.
-- I know that the cheapest fare I've found is $69 one-way on Allegiant. But that's before all their fees and taxes and whatnot. If we're going to fly, it has to be cheaper than this to fit into our budget.

Even if I DO get a cheap fare, is it really worth it? I've heard of people getting sub-standard service if they booked through Priceline, to the point of being charged over $1000 because of flight delays and getting put on another flight. No way we can afford that if it were to happen to us.

Any thoughts or insight would be appriciated!

 

[Lewisc]

Flights to Orlando are frequently discounted. You have a $69 fare available. Most of the "experts" on boards like biddingfortravel think passengers can generally do better looking for available discounted fares.

I guess you could first check hotwire. If something looks viable bid a little less (20%?) on priceline.

PL passengers don't get FF miles, won't get any credit if the fares go down and might not be able to standby (even if you agree to pay the normal fee) for a different flight even if regular passengers can do so.

I'm not sure you'll be able to save any money, let alone enough money to compensate for the possibility of bad flight times and/or long (indirect) connections.

 

[dameodie]

Okay, maybe I'm just a complete moron, but I've looked on Hotwire. It looks like every other travel site, where it tells you the fare up front and the times you fly. The cheapest they list is over $200 a person.

I know Priceline does this now too, but they have a very obvious "Name Your Own Price!" link which is how you find the bidding options.

And a $69 fare sounds great, but it's really a $138 fare before taxes. It's really more like $625 when it's all said and done for four tickets. Plus I know Allegiant is one of those nickel-and-dime carriers - there's like a $6.50 charge to book through their website, and I wouldn't be shocked if they do the charge-for-luggage thing to a-la Spirit Air.

I'm using DING as well, but none of the really cheap fares are for the days we need to fly.

So believe me, I've been scouring the net for cheaper fares, just haven't found them.

Things like losing frequent flyer miles don't bother me. I only fly once every year or two.

 

[Lewisc]

I'm also a moron. Hotwire's site still says:

How does it work? Our partners allow us access to their unsold inventory - empty seats on flights, empty hotel rooms, and unrented cars - at big savings. By showing the name of our travel partner after you book, Hotwire can get you travel deals that are significantly below published prices

I can't see how to look for a "flex saver" flight. We both can't be morons. Either Hotwire got rid of that option or they're not showing flex saver flight if one isn't available for your dates. Prehaps a flex saver fare only shows up if one is available, for a price lower then the available "retail" fares.

You can also check the consolidator sites like cheaptickets and cheapoair.

Your Allegiant fare is something like $155 R/T. You might get lucky and get a similar DING with SW but I wouldn't count on getting a fare much lower.

Are you planning on renting a car? Look at SW fares into Tampa.

Okay, maybe I'm just a complete moron, but I've looked on Hotwire. It looks like every other travel site, where it tells you the fare up front and the times you fly. The cheapest they list is over $200 a person.

 

[dameodie]

Oh, I'm not counting on anything. I'm just more looking to see if I can find a fare that would justfy flying over driving. And by that I mean cheaper out of pocket. We're driving straight through on the way down, and stoping for one night on the way back.

I don't honestly think that's going to happen, since we need four tickets. But if it were possible through Priceline I'd at least consider it...

 

[clarrkkent79]

Oh, I'm not counting on anything. I'm just more looking to see if I can find a fare that would justfy flying over driving. And by that I mean cheaper out of pocket. We're driving straight through on the way down, and stoping for one night on the way back.

I don't honestly think that's going to happen, since we need four tickets. But if it were possible through Priceline I'd at least consider it...

The only thing I'd say to be aware of is that you may get a "red eye" flight that puts you at WDW past midnight. In other words, you're check-in may be scheduled for say Tuesday, so you book a Tuesday flight and it ends up leaving at 11pm.

I don't know where you are flying from, but I know that from Seattle, with the late flight and time change, we'd miss a good chunk of our trip by taking a flight like that.

You may also meet resistance for a refund/reschedule if weather related events happen. (Although Priceline was nice enough to cancel a hotel reservation due to a 2004 hurricane in Orlando with a $30 fee)

 

[Lewisc]

Are you staying at a WDW run resort? Disney provides free transfers (DME) from MCO.

Fly into Tampa or Sanford (Allegiant doesn't fly into MCO) and you'll have to rent a car. I don't think it's possible to purchase 4 airline tickets, and pay for a car rental, for less then the cost of gas, tolls and miscellaneous other expenses.

Are you eligible for DME? Will the cheapest DING fares be low enough? If not don't waste your time looking. I'd be surprised if you can find a fare under $150 and I'd be shocked if you could find one for under $125.

Oh, I'm not counting on anything. I'm just more looking to see if I can find a fare that would justfy flying over driving. And by that I mean cheaper out of pocket. We're driving straight through on the way down, and stoping for one night on the way back.

I don't honestly think that's going to happen, since we need four tickets. But if it were possible through Priceline I'd at least consider it...

 

[dameodie]

That's the other big thing holding me back - a rental car. We can fly into wherever, but renting a car for almost two weeks is more than I like to think about as well.

Ah well. If Priceline can't beat the low-cost air fares, then it won't be worth it to even try.

 

[Lewisc]

Forget the airfare. Renting a car for two weeks is probably going to cost more then the gas it will take to drive down.

Use mapquest to figure out how many miles you have to drive. Figure out about how much money you'll be spending on gas. If you're driving from the NE add in tolls. Add in an extra $100-$200 to cover one night motel, some allowance toward your car expenses (half an oil change?) and some food.

My guess is there isn't an airfare available that will satisfy your objectives.

That's the other big thing holding me back - a rental car. We can fly into wherever, but renting a car for almost two weeks is more than I like to think about as well.

Ah well. If Priceline can't beat the low-cost air fares, then it won't be worth it to even try.

 

[dameodie]

Probably not. This doesn't keep me from trying however!

I've done the math for gas cost to and from $400 to $500 ($3.25 a gallon to $4 a gallon, 22 MPG, 2700 miles R/T. Maybe $5 in tolls on the way back, since we can't bypass Chicago (have to stop at my sister's to pick up the dog). One night in a motel on the way back, which is about $60 (already reserved). I'm trying to work a lot of the car snacks into my regular grocery budget, though we'll probably stop for fast food maybe once or twice each way.

So, even if it's over $600, the $350+ for a rental car once we get there would still push it over the top.

I have a budget of $150 a day, including travel days, for "out of pocket" expenses. So that automatically gives us a budget of $600 for travel (Sunday-Monday to get to FL, Saturday-Sunday to get back to WI)

And who knows - gas has gone down like 20 cents here in the past week or two, and with playing around with AAA's TripTick feature, it seems that most other places we go through, save northern Illinois, have cheaper gas prices than here. Sooo... even if gas is $3.50 a gallon here come August we may very well pay less going through KY, TN, and GA.

 

[Lewisc]

$600-$350 for a rental car = $250. Divide that by 4 and you're looking for R/T airfare of $62.50. Even less if you have to include the cost of getting to your local airport.

Not going to happen, even with Priceline. Great airfare is double that. Spending a day to drive down and two days to drive back may not be that big a deal with a 2 week trip.

edited to say your $350 cost for a car rental is potentially doable but is low for your dates.

So, even if it's over $600, the $350+ for a rental car once we get there would still push it over the top.

I have a budget of $150 a day, including travel days, for "out of pocket" expenses. So that automatically gives us a budget of $600 for travel (Sunday-Monday to get to FL, Saturday-Sunday to get back to WI)

And who knows - gas has gone down like 20 cents here in the past week or two, and with playing around with AAA's TripTick feature, it seems that most other places we go through, save northern Illinois, have cheaper gas prices than here. Sooo... even if gas is $3.50 a gallon here come August we may very well pay less going through KY, TN, and GA.