Looking for great deals on last minute air travel? We’ve all heard the Priceline commercials, but using it for the first time can be a rather scary prospect. As a regular Priceline user, hopefully I can take some of the mystery out of the process!

Save money on last-minute airfares

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Once you go to the Priceline website, there are 2 options when looking at flights. First, you can use the “Search flights now” option to see what the available fares are for your particular flights. After reviewing the flight itineraries and prices, you can either choose one of the listed options, or choose to “Name your own Price”, and possibly get a flight for as much as 60% off of their advertised price.

There are a few things to keep in mind though, when deciding to use the “Name your own Price” feature:

First – you will have to be flexible on your travel times and connections. The website states that your travel may begin anytime between 6am and 10pm, so keep that in mind if you need to be somewhere at a specific time. Often, if you have the flexibility, it is a good idea to add in a day before on your itinerary, to ensure that you will arrive at your destination within plenty of time.

Second – you will not know which airline you will be traveling on until you know whether or not your bid has been accepted. If you love to fly a certain airline and are looking to accumulate your frequent flier miles, you probably don’t want to use Priceline.

Third – you will probably have flight connections, so if you definitely don’t like to change planes, then this isn’t the option for you. And often, the flights you get may not be the most convenient times, which is why you are getting such a discounted rate.

With some significant downsides like that, why would you want to do this? Because sometimes you can really save a LOT of money!

(- – -  Side note from Deanna — On a recent trip I took, standard airfares were showing $950 – yikes! I didn’t want to pay that much, and was traveling on short notice, so went the Priceline route, and got the same trip for $350. Now that’s worth a bit of hassle, isn’t it? – - -)

When you commit to using the “Name your own price” option, you have to give them your credit card number before seeing what flight they find for you. Once you tell them your price and they have accepted your bid, there is no going back – you have just bought a non-refundable ticket. You are also unable to change the reservation, so make sure that your plans are firm before bidding.

Sometimes, people are unsure what amount to start with when beginning the bidding process. The website BidOnTravel.com is a great resource for the new Priceline bidder. This informative website walks you through each step in bidding for airfares, and offers a “Pros & Cons” section that helps you decide whether using Priceline is right for your particular situation. It also gives helpful hints for getting around the “one bid every 24 hours” limitation that Priceline has in place.

What if you’re looking at one of our Adventurous Wench last-minute trip specials, and the published airfares for short notice travel are exorbitant?  Priceline can be a great answer in this case, but you’ll want to be coordinated about it.

If you’d like to use Priceline in conjunction with an Adventurous Wench trip, give us a call first, and we can place a Courtesy hold to save your spot on our trip. This way, you are sure that we’ll still have a spot for you before you book a nonrefundable airline ticket! If you find a suitable flight, then let us know and we’ll finalize your booking. If you aren’t successful at securing a flight, then just give us a call to let us know and we’ll open the spot back up.

In this economy, we’re all trying to save a little money any way we can. Whether you’re an adventurous traveler or just someone who loves a good deal, Priceline is certainly worth a look!

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This is Renee’s first post on our blog, but many of you know her from phone calls and e-mails. If you’re looking at a last-minute trip to the British Virgin Islands, give the Priceline approach a try. Renee’s a regular!
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