priceline name your own price and payment questions

[k_reile]

I was going to try name your price on 2 1/2 star hotel rooms (Highest star in that area) in Mackinaw City,MI. There are only 2 of these hotels and i am ok with either one of them. Anything under these stars seems scary to me and have not had the best reviews.

My question is do they take the full payment out right away so I do not have to worry about any holds on my checking account (Do not have a credit card) and I do not want them to take out more than needed (read about horror stories) and want to make sure my money will be available while we travel. It will only be for one night.

If they do keep holds on your checking account then i will either put it on my mom's cc which I am an authorized user or maybe buy visa gift cards that are free at my bank since I am a customer?

Any ideas if they will put holds on or just charge me right away which I am fine with paying for it right away!!

Thanks!

 

[disneyfab]

I have always used a debit card and the money was immediately placed on hold and withdrawn within a day or so.

Also, check out www.betterbidding.com if you want to try to narrow down with hotel you will get .

HTH.

 

[disneychrista]

Once you win your bid, they will charge your card/account.

 

[DOOM1001]

Yep,once they accept your bid you get the hotel and they take the payment.Another thing to watch out for is even though you're bidding on a 2.5 star hotel they could upgrade you which may or may not be a good thing.That happened to me twice bidding on a 2.5 star hotel in Orlando.Betterbidding shows 3 2.5 star hotels in this one area which I would have been fine with either one as they were all very good brand hotels with breakfast included.I bid on this area for 2.5 star hotels 3 times,the first time I got one of the three hotels betterbidding shows and I couldn't have been happier with the hotel,however the next two times I tried it I ended up getting a 3 star hotel which even though was a good place,breakfast wasn't included,parking was a mess and overall in my opinion wasn't as good as the 2.5 star hotel I previously won,I tried it again hoping to get the 2.5 star hotels and ended up getting upgraded to the same 3 star hotel again which leads me to believe that it may just be a ploy to get you thinking you're getting an even better deal by getting a 3 star hotel when in reality the 2.5 star hotels are better.

 

[DisneyBill]

What's that saying about fool me once shame on you, twice shame on me?

I've had that same thing happen in areas where there is often a surplus of 3+ star hotels that I either don't wish to stay in, or the extra costs irritate me. So now before I bid on the 2&1/2 stars, I bid really low on the 3+ stars to have my bid rejected. Then go back and bid on the 2&1/2 stars. So far no unwanted upgrades.

 

[DOOM1001]

What's that saying about fool me once shame on you, twice shame on me?

I've had that same thing happen in areas where there is often a surplus of 3+ star hotels that I either don't wish to stay in, or the extra costs irritate me. So now before I bid on the 2&1/2 stars, I bid really low on the 3+ stars to have my bid rejected. Then go back and bid on the 2&1/2 stars. So far no unwanted upgrades.

Yeah,I was a longtime Hotwire user and then I tried the Priceline name your own price deal which aside from the upgrade thing I like,but I've gone back to using Hotwire and Travelocity secret hotels which so far I like as well.

 

[jsgrand0]

I was going to try name your price on 2 1/2 star hotel rooms (Highest star in that area) in Mackinaw City,MI. There are only 2 of these hotels and i am ok with either one of them. Anything under these stars seems scary to me and have not had the best reviews.

My question is do they take the full payment out right away so I do not have to worry about any holds on my checking account (Do not have a credit card) and I do not want them to take out more than needed (read about horror stories) and want to make sure my money will be available while we travel. It will only be for one night.

If they do keep holds on your checking account then i will either put it on my mom's cc which I am an authorized user or maybe buy visa gift cards that are free at my bank since I am a customer?

Any ideas if they will put holds on or just charge me right away which I am fine with paying for it right away!!

Thanks!

It is charged right away, however, when we did this a couple years back, when we checked into the hotel...we had to give them a card for a "deposit" hold equal to one night's stay...not sure if it was just that particular hotel, and actually we got upset about it and they didn't do it....

 

[swilshire]

when we checked into the hotel...we had to give them a card for a "deposit" hold equal to one night's stay...not sure if it was just that particular hotel, and actually we got upset about it and they didn't do it....

Being ask for a deposit is extremely common. In fact, it's rare that this ISN'T true. All the more reason to keep one credit card, even if you never charge anything on it.

Sheila

 

[jsgrand0]

Being ask for a deposit is extremely common. In fact, it's rare that this ISN'T true. All the more reason to keep one credit card, even if you never charge anything on it.

Sheila

yeah, good point...I know it is good to have one, but we use our bank debit card or cash for everything...

 

[k_reile]

but they will not charge anything on that credit card since you have already paid?? right?? I have my mom;s discover which i am an authorized user on so that would not be a problem. I still havent booked anything yet! Will have to do that in the next couple days since we are leaving on fri afternoon!

 

[Green Tea]

but they will not charge anything on that credit card since you have already paid?? right?? I have my mom;s discover which i am an authorized user on so that would not be a problem. I still havent booked anything yet! Will have to do that in the next couple days since we are leaving on fri afternoon!

Right. If you get a room via Name Your Own Price, the card they swipe at check in is just for incidentals. Though in some areas you might have a resort fee or a parking fee in a city.

 

[DOOM1001]

yeah, good point...I know it is good to have one, but we use our bank debit card or cash for everything...

Does your banks debit card have a visa or MasterCard logo on it because that's what I've used to check in to hotels for almost 20 years now,pretty much every hotel just looks at it like a credit card,there could be some that have an issue with it but I've never encountered it.Whenever I book a room on Hotwire or Priceline I use the debit card,then when you check in different hotels do different things,many of them swipe the card and have a deposit of maybe like $25-$50 charged to the card,if nothing is charged to the room the money is put back a couple of days after your stay.I've recently stayed at a hotel that just gets an imprint of your card at check in,they don't charge anything at check in.As someone else said nicer hotels might also charge a resort fee.