Priceline is a scam

A friend just tried Priceline for ORD-NRT ticket. Having done extensive
research he knew the lowest price on his dates was JAL ($499, +tax).

Just for the heck of it, he tried priceline. They showed a JAL price of
"from $704 + tax". He made an offer of 499 plus tax, just for fun,
aware and nervous that his experiment could cause him to end up with a
bad connection. After a lot of blinking dots, priceline said his offer
wasn't accepted.

Relieved, he called JAL and booked the flights for $499 +tax.

Ajanta Nobody wrote:
A friend just tried Priceline for ORD-NRT ticket. Having done extensive
research he knew the lowest price on his dates was JAL ($499, +tax).

Just for the heck of it, he tried priceline. They showed a JAL price of
"from $704 + tax". He made an offer of 499 plus tax, just for fun,
aware and nervous that his experiment could cause him to end up with a
bad connection. After a lot of blinking dots, priceline said his offer
wasn't accepted.

I don't see how that leads to the conclusion that Priceline is a scam.
They're a travel agency. Sometimes they have the best price, other times
they do not. They do not claim to always have the best price.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

"Ajanta" wrote in message
...
A friend just tried Priceline for ORD-NRT ticket. Having done extensive
research he knew the lowest price on his dates was JAL ($499, +tax).

Just for the heck of it, he tried priceline. They showed a JAL price of
"from $704 + tax". He made an offer of 499 plus tax, just for fun,
aware and nervous that his experiment could cause him to end up with a
bad connection. After a lot of blinking dots, priceline said his offer
wasn't accepted.

Relieved, he called JAL and booked the flights for $499 +tax.

Priceline is a scam because you found a ticket cheaper somewhere else, for
this ONE trip? Priceline isn't required to be the cheapest for every
itinerary. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. If you don't like the
price they accept, then don't use Priceline. My experience is that
Priceline works better for hotel reservations.

It is up to you to find the best choices for your trip.

By the way, ORD-NRT for $499 return is a great price.

There are a lot of bidding strategies for Priceline out there....I get the
idea that your friend is traveling quite some time in the future. If so, PL
doesn't yet have bidding access to lower pricing than the price just paid.

In my experience, bidding more than 4-6 weeks before traveling is useless.
My best experience with PL was bidding 2-3 days before traveling....that can
bring real 'fire sale' pricing if the airline wants to fill seats.

Miguel and Blake :

OK, maybe scam is a strong word, but what am I to think of a major
travel agency whose quote is 40% above what is freely offered to
anybody on an airline's site? See

http://www.japanair.com/e/promotions/superf.php

and navigate to the bottom.

: By the way, ORD-NRT for $499 return is a great price.

I agree, although once I got $349 +tax. Was never able to repeat that,
but what a memory. That too was JAL.

wrote:

: There are a lot of bidding strategies for Priceline out there....I get the
: idea that your friend is traveling quite some time in the future. If so, PL
: doesn't yet have bidding access to lower pricing than the price just paid.

He is going next week. The fare is near the bottom of the page at

http://www.japanair.com/e/promotions/superf.php .

: In my experience, bidding more than 4-6 weeks before traveling is useless.
: My best experience with PL was bidding 2-3 days before traveling....that can
: bring real 'fire sale' pricing if the airline wants to fill seats.

Well, looks line the airline has brought out "fire sale" pricing, but
priceline is not in the loop :-)

I've always found them pretty good for hotels. I put in what seems to me to
be an overly hopeful price, and someone always seems to go for it. I've
saved massive amounts over the years, although it got harder when they
stopped taking foreign credit cards.

ant

ant wrote:

: I've always found them pretty good for hotels. I put in what seems to me to
: be an overly hopeful price, and someone always seems to go for it. I've
: saved massive amounts over the years, although it got harder when they
: stopped taking foreign credit cards.

Seems reasonable as there are many, many more hotels than airlines in
the competitive arena.

Ajanta Nobody wrote:
OK, maybe scam is a strong word, but what am I to think of a major
travel agency whose quote is 40% above what is freely offered to
anybody on an airline's site?

The airlines are always having specials that are only offered directly
through their web sites.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

Miguel Cruz wrote:

: The airlines are always having specials that are only offered directly
: through their web sites.

Agreed, although this is not an internet only fare, you can book by
phone, and also get it at Travelocity.

The following agency doesn't seem to know about 499 JAL fare, but they
have a $529, which is a softer blow than $700:

http://www.jtbusa.com/enhome/s-chi1.asp .

My friend was quite excited about $469 AA mentioned on this page (as of
today, I am sure the page changes), but it was all sold out.

To be fair to to Priceline, maybe they didn't have the 499 fare but
would have accepted a higher offer like 529. We can never know. And
their business model is based on us not knowing. :-)