When we travel a lot, we are always looking for the cheapest airfare. Everyone I know is always recommending that I use Priceline. I never do. I have tried on many occasions, but they NEVER have the cheapest fare for me.
Last week, I was looking for a flight for my mother from Paducah, KY to Santa Fe, NM. On Travelocity, the flight was $257. On Priceline for the EXACT same flights, $596.
Whenever I have tried to bid on the ticket, my offer is turned down. I am then asked to raise my requested price to one that is WELL OVER the amount of a ticket through Travelocity or Expedia. Usually by several hundred dollars. I am not sure what they are going for here, but it surely can’t be the goal of selling me a ticket. I have emailed them on several occasions to find out why this is happening and have not received a single reply.
I also find it invasive that, since the day I requested a ticket for Santa Fe, ads from Priceline come up every day on my browser telling of the great deals I can get on a flight from Paducah to Santa Fe.
In the past, I have first checked Travelocity or Expedia for a baseline price, then gone to Priceline to see if I could get it cheaper. I no longer even bother. It seems to me that the original idea of naming your own price for flights is no longer valid or even possible. In the last 6 years, I have never been able to get a better price through Priceline. Now naming my own price is just extra time added to my search for a good flight.
Note: The fares in this article were accurate at the time of posting. However, since airfares change constantly, I won’t guarantee that they are accurate now.
Diary of a Nomadic Traveler 