How to use Priceline to get best deals?
Priceline is 100% legit and I have saved money by using Priceline hacks. Read details in this Priceline Review 1. Depending on when you are booking hotels, either use Pricebreaker or Express Deal or Priceline Tonight only Deal 2.Get an additional discount by using coupons 3.Get coupons from Priceline directly in your email 4.Become VIP and get the best rate Easier said than done?? Not exactly, keep on reading for detailed steps on how to take advantage of the points mentioned above.
Table of Contents
Priceline Ratings
| Trustpilot | ★ ★★★ ★ |
| ConsumerAffairs | ★ ★★★ ★ |
| ReviewBlogTravel | ★ ★★★ ★ |
In this Priceline review, I will be evaluating Priceline deals and their offerings.
I have been using this online travel booking website for checking price for flights, hotels, car rentals before the final booking.
I found some interesting hacks about this company along with some very good deals!
When to use which Priceline hack to get the maximum benefit?
Sometimes you may get overwhelmed with so many options, I do.
So here is my cheat sheet to decide when to use which hack. You may refer it as is or make your own decision by reading details of each hack further down this post.
| Hack # | Hack Name | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Priceline Pricebreaker | You are booking hotel stay 2-3 months in advance |
| 2 | Priceline Express Deals | You need to travel within 15 days, applicable for both Hotel stay and Flights |
| 3 | Priceline Tonight Only deal | You need a Hotel stay tonight |
| 4 | Priceline VIP | You want best rate on Priceline without going through various options |
| 5 | Priceline Name Your Price | This is no longer supported by Priceline |
| 6 | Priceline With Option Of Cancellation | Do not use any of the deals, use standard booking or buy a third party travel insurance |
Along with my experience, I will also be sharing my hack to get additional discounts on this platform, so keep reading if you want more discounts on your travel!
What is Priceline?
It is an online travel agency (both web and app) that offers you deals on your travel-related purchases like cheap hotels, cheap flights, rental cars. You can book your travel from www.priceline.com
Booking Through Priceline : Flights
Note: Priceline does not support infants on International flights. So if you are traveling with an infant, better book directly with the airline.
Read details on No Support for Infants by Priceline on International flights
It is a flight aggregator service that has a business agreement with the actual flight providers like Delta, American Airlines, etc, and offers cheap tickets if you book it from its website.
Its airfare is based on the demand and supply situation. It does provide better rates as compared to the actual flight providers in most cases.
Priceline offers two options for flight bookings:
1. Standard booking on Priceline Flights
You select the flights by entering Origin, destinations, dates and select a flight that is convenient for you.
These flights cost almost similar to the offerings from other platforms.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| You select the airline of your choice. | You do not get the cheapest flight. |
| You select the time most suitable for you. | |
| Depending on the option you selected, you may change/cancel your flights |
2. Priceline Express Deals on Flights
Priceline Express Deals for flights offers flights at cheap rates. These deals will save a lot of money for you.
| Pro | Con |
|---|---|
| You save almost 10% to 40% on airfare | You will have to accept any airline that is available. |
| The flight timings are not very convenient. | |
| The actual airline and flight details will be disclosed only after you have made the payment. | |
| It’s not refundable. |
For details, read: Priceline Express deals Flights Review
Booking Through Priceline :Hotels
It has a full range of hotels for its customers. You can opt for premium hotels or motels at a cheap price.
It’s important that you check the customer’s ratings before booking as Priceline does not recommend or certify any hotels, it just serves you as per your need.
Priceline Hotels and motels are not actually its property but as an online agent, it helps you get the best rate.
There are two ways in which you can book hotels in Priceline:
1. Priceline Hotel Room Standard Booking
These hotels are like booking on any other website. You search the hotel by name or location, see the name, specifications, and price.
If everything is to your liking, you go ahead and book the hotel. The flip side of this method is you do not get the cheap price.
2. Using price saving tools provided by Priceline
You will find some very nice tools provided by this website/ mobile app that will get you the hotels at a cheap price.
Priceline offers the following tools to save money on hotel bookings:
i. Cheap Hotels with Priceline Express Deals
Missed booking hotels months in advance to get the cheap rates? No Problem, try Priceline Express Deals
These are the last moment deals (normally available for booking within one week) and are a great way to get discounts when prices are high at all other places.
The catch is you will aware of the area/location you may get the hotel and the exact name of the hotel will be disclosed only after making the payment.
You get hotels at cheap rates as compared to hotel booking without this tool if the name of the hotel is not very important for you.
For details, Read: Priceline Express Deals Hotels Review
ii. Priceline Pricebreaker
In this tool, you will get one hotel from a list of three. The catch is that name and location of the hotel will be disclosed after payment is done.
This is an excellent tool to get cheap hotels if you are fine with the three locations of the hotel.
For details, Read: Priceline Pricebreaker Review
iii. Priceline VIP
This is the Priceline loyalty program, free for all. As you book hotels in Priceline, you climb up the levels and get additional facilities.
The beauty of this is you get the cheapest hotel rates, without searching for it!!
For details, Read: Priceline VIP Review
iv. Priceline Tonight only deal
Missed booking hotel room for any reason, you may get a better deal on Priceline Tonight Only deals.
It is available only on iPhones with US numbers.
For details, read Save Money on Hotel Room booking with Priceline Tonight Only Deals
v. Priceline Name your price
This feature is no longer supported by Priceline.
It was a bidding tool where you could have bid on a particular hotel with a particular price in your mind. If you win the bid, you got the bed else it’s on the road 😅
Read details on Priceline Name Your Price 2023
Booking Through Priceline :Rental cars
Priceline has tie-ups with all major car rental service providers and acts as an aggregator. You can either book the car directly from the service providers or via the Priceline website or app.
You may get better deals than the actual providers as that’s the business model.
Car rentals by Priceline are also one of its major sources of revenue. It aggregates over all the major rental car providers and brings the best rate for you.
It provides filters like Recommended & Lowest Price to help you choose.
Before Covid, Priceline had Express Deals on the car as well, but now I am not able to find it. Instead, they are promoting VIP member rates.
I could not confirm from Priceline if this is a stop-gap or they are actually keeping car rental out of this.
Insurance will be charged extra if you need one. If you have comprehensive insurance in your personal car, most of the time it can be used here as well.
I know people who do not want to mix the two. God forbid, in case there is any mishap during the long drive it will be taken care of by this extra small amount you paid and will not reflect on your ongoing insurance.
Priceline review team: It actually makes sense in keeping Car rentals out of Express Deals as why will anyone bother who the provider is as long as they are getting the car of their choice!!
Read the full review Priceline Car Rental
Priceline rental car coupons can be applied to get additional discounts. The coupon code is not on all the bookings, in some bookings you can avail of the only rental car agency’s coupon.
Booking Through Priceline :Cruises
Oh ya, this company is everywhere, even cruises.
- Click on the menu on top which says CRUISES,
- Select your destination,
- Select all cruise if you are not bothered about any specific cruise,
- Enter days you want to spend
and Priceline cruise will display a list of great offers in Cruises. All the cruise options are available!!
Priceline Cruise Exclusive Coupons
Signup with Priceline with your email id and get exclusive coupons for your Priceline cruise, all free!!
Priceline Cruise Phone Number
You can call the Priceline and get help in planning your trip if you have queries that are holding you from booking your Cruise
1-800-735-8000
Priceline Cruise Deals
Priceline keeps on coming up with many deals and discounts that can save you some money.
- Look for flash sale/ last minute cruise deal while booking your trip.
- Enroll in email coupon for free
- Get Priceline VIP for the best rates
Priceline Cruise Cancellation Policy
You can call 1-800-735-8000 and speak with the helpdesk if there are other alternatives than cancelling your ticket.
Do note that there is a cancellation fee of $100 per reservation that will be credited to the card used for booking.
Also, the processing fee deducted while booking is non-refundable.
On top of this, if there is any cruise cancellation fee that will also be deducted.
Checkout this video for suggestions on to book with direct cruise or via travel agents.
Booking Through Priceline :Bundle+save
As the name suggests, it brings all its services in one bundle and you get great savings in one bundle instead of looking it at a different place.
On its website itself, the advertisement shows savings of $600+ with its bundle!!
You can go with any of the following bundles:
- Flight and hotel
- Hotel+Flight+car bundle
- Flight + car Combo
- Hotel + car
Priceline Coupon:
Like many other businesses, Priceline sends email and exclusive deals if you have registered your mail id there.
The emails have promo codes/ coupon codes exclusively for you. This is also a good way to get a good deal here.
The coupons can be applied to all its services like flights/Hotels/car rentals
How does Priceline make money?
Priceline has the following businesses under one platform which earns money for it. The business model is that of a “service aggregator”.
With this model, it provides cheap hotels, flights, etc to its customers and earns money for itself!
Does Priceline have a customer service number?
Priceline Help page can work as general customer service unless you need to have your specific query resolved.
For generic help, call 1 (877) 477-5807
Priceline Customer Support Phone number
Priceline contact – Other options
Phone numbers, chat, and text support is available to contact the helpdesk.
Priceline phone number
Once you have booked with Priceline, it will have the customer service phone number but if you are looking for generic telephone numbers, the Priceline review team compiled the following data from their website.
Priceline 800 number
1-800-735-8000
Priceline chat
On the Priceline website help page, there is an option of Chat with Priceline. I think it is a better option as calling the helpdesk can involve a long wait time.
Priceline Text support
One more option to connect with customer care is Text with Priceline at 33296
Priceline credit card
Another good way to get loyalty points is by using the Priceline Visa rewards card.
You earn 10k bonus points after spending $1k on purchases in the first 90 days which is equivalent to a $100 statement credit!!
Priceline Visa credit card is provided by Barclays, hence many know it as Priceline Barclays card.
Read more about Priceline Rewards Card
Priceline stock
Priceline is publically trading in Nasdaq. Previously it was traded under the ticker “PCLN” but now its ticker is “BKNG”
Priceline cancellation policy
Like other aggregator service providers, Priceline also does not have its own hotels/cars/flights. It just connects you to the actual provider by offering a better rate.
So unless you have opted for free cancellation (which will bump up the cost of your booking), all the cancellations are dependent on the actual service providers’ cancellation policy.
To cancel the Priceline car rental reservation, you need to select this option at the time of booking itself.
For details, read Priceline Cancellation Policy
Priceline Review team’s take on its refund policy- you will be better off doing something better with your time than chasing them for a refund!
Vacations from Priceline
By collaborating with Amusement parks and other attractions, Priceline created a vacation package. Check its website for the latest vacation packages.
Priceline Disneyland Tickets
Priceline does have a link that will direct you to the Disney website but if you are expecting discounts on tickets, you may be in for a disappointmnet.
Priceline will help you save some money if you plan to stay at a hotel nearby Disney.
For more details, do read Priceline Disneyland Tickets
Priceline login
You can log in to the Priceline website by sign in with your Google or Facebook or apple ids or your email id.
If you do not have an account yet, you can create one by providing your name, email address, and creating a password.
Note: Do not forget to signup for exclusive Email-only coupons!!
Priceline Hotel, Flight & Car app:
You can manage your whole travel experience by installing the Priceline app, it’s available for both iOS and Android.
The easy-to-use app is really helpful. Priceline offers some app-only deals as well like “last-minute deal”!!
Is Priceline legit?
Of course, Priceline is a legit business being publicly traded in the USA NASDAQ. It came into existence in 1997.
Its parent organization is Booking Holdings inc and its headquarter is in Norwalk, CT.
My verdict, Priceline is a legit, safe and reliable website. Like any other business, there may be some hiccups faced by some but in my case, I got good hotels at a great price, every time!!
Priceline military discount:
Active military personnel, retirees, and their family members can avail of exclusive discounts on Priceline.
Why Priceline is so cheap?
Aggregator businesses have their own rules to do business. That is Priceline’s business model that is able to give cheap rates via its online and mobile app platforms.
Priceline Competitors
Priceline is not the only one in the business of providing better rates, there are more like Expedia, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Hotels.com,pricebreaker.travel,price-breaker.com etc
The bottom line is, all are in the same business applying the same business logic. Sometimes you may find one providing more discounts than others.
How to change currency in Priceline?
Once you hit the search button by entering your criteria, on the top right hand side you will see a dropdown where you can change the currency.
FAQ:
What is the Priceline refund policy for hotels?
Unless you specifically select a refund at the time of booking, Priceline does not refund. The same is true with its Express Deals and Pricebreaker.
How to get Priceline cheap tickets?
You can use Express Deals or VIP loyalty programs to get cheap tickets. You can also use coupons to get additional discounts.
What is the Priceline airline cancellation policy?
Any air tickets booked under a deal is non-refundable. Some flights may provide an option for refundable tickets but you will have to select that option at the time of booking the flight.
How to get a Priceline discount code?
You can create a free account with Priceline and can get your own discount code in the email.
How to get Priceline name your own price hotel deal?
Priceline has stopped its Name your own price (NYOP) for all its services. Sometimes it’s also called Priceline “bid your price” or “pick your price“, no matter what the name is, it no longer exists.
Is Priceline safe for hotels?
Yes, I have been using its hotels every time I go out of state with my family and did not face any safety concerns. Having said that, do check the Hotel ratings before booking. Priceline is only an aggregator and just facilitates hotel bookings for its customers.
What happens to Priceline’s missed flight?
If you bought tickets as part of the deal, there is no refund. In other cases, you can reach out to customer care but the Priceline Review team is not very positive about the outcome.
What is Priceline’s random hotel?
There is nothing called “random hotel” in Priceline though Priceline Express and Pricebreaker offers random hotels*
Is Priceline a scam?
This company is listed in the stock market and has been around for a very long to be a scam. So no, it’s not a scam website.
Does Priceline offer a military discount?
Yes, Priceline acknowledges the service offered by military personnel and offers a discount as a gesture to thank them.
Is Priceline publically traded?
Priceline is publically traded in NASDAQ, its ticker is “BKNG”
Like to watch a video instead of reading text, this one is for you!!
Conclusion:
Priceline Review teams verdict-Priceline is one of the top online platforms providing cheap hotels, flights, car rentals.
With the Priceline hacks mentioned in this post, you can get additional discounts!
Click the link to get other non Priceline options to Save money on Hotel room bookings
Priceline.com wikipedia Priceline Hotel,Flight and Car -Apps On Google Play Priceline LinkedIn
Read more money-saving hacks while traveling on NoFrillTravel