Southwest vs. Name Your Own Price

[SKTiger]

Southwest would be $220 each for 2 people from Jackson, MS to Orlando. Anyone have experience naming your own price for a better deal?

 

[kokomos]

My better deal is driving 12 hours and less than 300 in gas. Were a family of 4 + whoever wants to tag along. I haven't used Priceline for flights in over 10 years. It took us 8 hours from Jan- Mco due to a long lay over in Dallas. My niece was able to get SW tickets for 120 each way for past sept trip from a 3 day sale but I'm assuming your going before then since SW is leaving on June.

 

[CC12005]

For only $220 I wouldn't take a chance on a name your own price deal. With Southwest you get 2 checked bags per person included. You would most likely have to pay at least $50 round trip for each checked bag. You will have control of your schedule rather than getting stuck with a possible 9 hour flight or whatever Priceline decides to throw at you. If the price drops on Southwest you can get a credit for the lower rate to be used within a year. For a significant savings, it may be worth a try, but for such a low price point I wouldn't chance a blind, non-refundable auction. Just some things to consider if you are not familiar with the newer airline tactics of nickel and diming you.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm not anti Priceline but I wouldn't use them for flights since it leaves all choices out of your hands. Their only obligation is to get you there and back on the dates you request. It doesn't state they have to give you non stop flights or even just 1 connection. They could easily give us 2 or more connections and have it take 10 hours and there would be nothing I could do about it. They could have you flying home at 6am instead of sleeping in a little and relaxing by the pool til noon waiting for ME to pick up. I'd rather pay a little more and book SWA, or any airline directly, for that matter. I prefer to have control over our flight choices. It would have to be a phenomenal price to let them ship me all over creation, like $50 pp RT.

I would use PL for hotels but only if bedding for 2 is needed since that's all they'll guarantee. We're a family of 4 so if we want to book through an opaque website, we use Hotwire. They allow me to search for rooms that will sleep 4.

hth.

 

[SKTiger]

Thanks for all the help! I just booked with SW and like you said, love the choices. We'll get there early on our arrival day and leave late for departure. Thanks again!

 

[johde]

I've used priceline quite a bit for hotels but like others have said, I'd be a little bit leary about it for vacation travel. Like others have said, you have no control over when your flight departs and when it arrives at it's destination. Also, from what I understand, priceline tends to work best for last minute travel when all the regular airline rates are sky high. For example, business travel, emergency travel for a funeral. You're flying in the day before. You don't really care when you arrive you just want to avoid paying the last minute fares.

 

[MillauFr]

I'm not anti Priceline but I wouldn't use them for flights since it leaves all choices out of your hands.

Agree. Priceline is great for rental cars but not for flights.

You might end up with a lousy flight with a long layover.

 

[Green Tea]

I'm not anti Priceline but I wouldn't use them for flights since it leaves all choices out of your hands. Their only obligation is to get you there and back on the dates you request. It doesn't state they have to give you non stop flights or even just 1 connection. They could easily give us 2 or more connections and have it take 10 hours and there would be nothing I could do about it.

This isn't right. You elect options. You have to agree to more than 1 connection. You have to agree to fly on a non jet aircraft. I'm pretty sure they guarantee length of layovers to not exceed a certain length. But you can't pick your times other than if you agree to fly during non peak hours which could put you on a flight BEFORE 6 am, I think. The timing can just on a short trip, arriving late and leaving early.

The price you found sounds reasonable to me. Do you have Allegiant anyplace nearby? Compare with that.

If you really want to pay less figure the $220 per ticket, then figure how many bags you want to check, and add that mentally to whatever you are bidding. You might get flights for less, but know you lose the ability to plan for the time of day you fly, and you will have bag fees on the airline they get you on.

 

[ellone]

Southwest would be $220 each for 2 people from Jackson, MS to Orlando. Anyone have experience naming your own price for a better deal?

Go with SW. Especially since Orlando is a hub for them so you can end up with direct flights. For me less time dealing with airports is a big plus.

 

[wiigirl]

Agree. Priceline is great for rental cars but not for flights.

You might end up with a lousy flight with a long layover.

x2

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

This isn't right. You elect options. You have to agree to more than 1 connection. You have to agree to fly on a non jet aircraft. I'm pretty sure they guarantee length of layovers to not exceed a certain length. But you can't pick your times other than if you agree to fly during non peak hours which could put you on a flight BEFORE 6 am, I think. The timing can just on a short trip, arriving late and leaving early.

The price you found sounds reasonable to me. Do you have Allegiant anyplace nearby? Compare with that.

If you really want to pay less figure the $220 per ticket, then figure how many bags you want to check, and add that mentally to whatever you are bidding. You might get flights for less, but know you lose the ability to plan for the time of day you fly, and you will have bag fees on the airline they get you on.

Thanks for clarifying. It's been a really long time since I looked into it. All that uncertainty turned me off.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Another reason not to use Priceline Name Your own Price - no frequent flyer miles.