Anyone used Priceline.com for airline tickets? We are going to Rome from Atlanta later this year and can get tickets in the $450 RT range. Of course, the deal is you don't know what carrier or route in advance. The Carriers listed seem to be major airlines and the guarantee only one stop. Any info I would appreciate it.

kslanker: If you mean you can get tickets for $450 and not use Priceline, you probably will not beat that price on Priceline. If you do choose to bid, look first at what flights are going from Atlanta to Rome on the days you want to travel. Chances are, the worst flight you see will be the one you get, because no one else much wants it. I used Priceline to London once and figured I would get the Air Canada flight with an 8 hour layover in Toronto, and I did, but it was worth the price I bid. It worked out fine, because we took the bus into Toronto and enjoyed the day, but it might not always work out that well.

Thanks for the reply....I did mean use Priceline. Every other price right now is in the $750 range. I thought about what you said. Delta and Alitalia actually have direct flights to Rome from Atlanta, so if I leave from somewhere else, like Birmingham, that gets me the one stop. Thanks

I didn't understand your comment about leaving from B'ham. Are you saying there's a MINIMUM of one stop?

I've never used them, but have browsed and didn't know that.

Priceline users: help!

I'd take the fare. It's most likely an Air Italia or Delta flight, and I would take it. No doubt. My family has used Priceline before (at least 3 diffent times) and had no problems.
Ciao,Melissa

I'm curious how you know the price before buying the tickets? Because you make a bid with your credit card and you don't know if they take the price until after you've bought it.

Anyway I've never used it internationally but in the USA several times and everything was fine. I've also rented a car from them with no problem. You do have to be pretty flexible. Once I had to stay an extra day because we had an event the same day we had wanted to come home but couldn't be sure the flight would be after that event. And no changing your mind. If they take your bid, you've bought the ticket and it will be on your next credit card bill.

With regard to the price. You actually make an offer of price. They either accept it or not. At that point, you become the decision maker. I think what I have heard here is enough to use Priceline. The "one-stop" thing. At most they say one stop. And you are right about Alitalia/Delta from Atlanta. We actually flew to Rome last year on Delta. Anyway, thanx. Will post experience for others.....just another travel adventure, you have all had them I am sure.

I still don't understand how you know for sure you are getting a certain price before you committ to buying the ticket. Once you make an offer, if they accept the offer, it's a done deal. How do you know for certain you "can" get a ticket from Priceline for $450 unless you've already bid and they accepted?

Hotwire, on the other hand, will tell you the price before you committ to buying the tickets. I usually check hotwire and then bid a little lower on priceline.

On the price. You make a bid for the ticket, say I enter $420. They either accept or deny. If they accept then the price is $420+taxes.....they tell you total and then you can go forward with deal.

I think once you make the price and they accept it you are going to buy the ticket. I just did a dummy attempt and the priceline quote says

Priceline tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable and non-changeable. You must fly on the flights assigned to you. Upgrades and standbys are not available and if any part of the ticket is unused it has no value after ticketed departure time.

If an airline accepts your price, we'll immediately lock-in your price and purchase your tickets

SO your decision is MADE when you put the bid in, NOT when priceline tells you if they accepted.

I am confused on Priceline. Have they changed their policy? Do you mean that you bid, the accepted, but then gave you the option buying the ticket? I have used it three times in the past, and each time, I bid, they accepted, and my credit card was charged, then I saw exactly what I had bought. Once they accepted, my credit card was charged a non-refundable charge whether I liked what I later read was my itinerary or not. It was a gamble. The new way just sounds like another way to buy a ticket. Do you mean that they accepted your bid, showed you the itinerary, and then asked if you wanted to continue with the deal?

Carol: After I wrote my previous message, I did the same thing as you and did a dummy purchase. It very clearly states, as it always has, that the ticket will be bought if the bid is accepted. Then, and only then, do you see what you bought. I hope kslanker reads this before she proceeds. I still don't understand how she knows she can get tickets in that range. I have bid before and couldn't get a ticket at all cheaper than the advertised ticket prices. Priceline denied everything I put in until I got to within a few dollars of the going price and gave up. The other problem to check out in advance is whether those "one stop" tickets fly into JFK and out of Newark in too short of a time to do the travel between. I backed away from Priceline on trip when Expedia showed such a trip on its list of trips to London.

I wonder if kslanker is confusing Hotwire with priceline. Hotwire will offer you a price- you don't bid, but you can decide if the price is okay before you buy it. You still don't know what airline or times it is.

I've never used Hotwire or Priceline. Do you wait til the last minute to get the best price?

check www.biddingfortravel.com.
This is a website dedicated to showing you the ropes of Priceline. This is a very informative sight that might help you. Above all make sure you realize that you are purchasing a fare that is quite restrictive. Make sure that you can work within those restrictions.

I use priceline often. I research the fares on orbitz & cheaptickets.com, then bid about 1/2 the price. If the bid price isn't absurdly low, but there are still no tickets available, priceline will tell you the next lowest fare available & you have a choice as to purchasing.

Advice - don't pick an airport you would hate to travel from/to, and be prepared for long layovers. However, for international flights (where there are less options than for domestic) you can be pretty sure you'll be getting a flight you would normally get on your own.

I'm not sure if this applies to kslanker or not, but one way you can get a pretty reliable idea of what things are going for on Priceline is to go to biddingfortravel.com and check their message board. People there post their "accepted" and "rejected" bids. By going to this site and studying the info there, you can get a pretty darn good idea of what you can expect to pay for your ticket.

If kslanker sees that 10 people today have gotten tickets to Italy for $450, he/she can feel pretty safe in assuming the same will apply to him/her.

Jennie

Thanks for those who have responded concerning the Priceline quotes. I knew of the restrictions; mainly I wanted to know if the major carriers were in fact used and anyone else's experience.

In addition to that, I learned some things from others posting here and that is good. Thanx