Hotwire and Priceline are consistently the cheapest travel options.
It is important to remember that both of these sites are opaque travel sites (you do not know some exact details when you book) so you must have some flexibility. If you are unfamiliar with the opaque travel websites you should read an introduction to opaque travel websites.
How To Get the Best Price Between Hotwire and Priceline
Step One: Go to Hotwire. Type all your information and initiate your search. You results are now your pricing standard. Let’s assume you are booking a hotel. You know you can get a 3 star hotel for $79.50 with taxes and booking fees. That might seem like a great deal, but one more website check could reduce that price.
Step Two: Once you have your Hotwire price standard, go to Priceline and be sure to click on the “name your price” tab. At this point you decide what price you want to suggest, but just make sure the price and fees come to less than $79.50. You might just knock off $10, or you could do more if you wish. You will have opportunities to change details and revise your offer if you want. If you can get the hotel for cheaper with Priceline, great! You have officially found the lowest price. If, on the other hand, Priceline cannot get you anything for your Hotwire price, just go back to Hotwire and make the booking there. Enjoy the trip. It will be easy because you will have a cheap, but very nice hotel.
Before You Decide Between Priceline and Hotwire
Even though I am specifically speaking about Hotwire and Priceline, don’t forget to check Sidestep and Expedia to see if you can grab a great deal with a hotel’s posted price. Nine out of ten times you will be better off with either Priceline or Hotwire, but just in case this is the one time – check.
4 Extra Suggestions on How to Reduce Your Air Travel Fares
- Start planning early – the more time you have, the more likely you are to find a great deal. This is especially true during busy holiday seasons. If you plan your trip at the last minute you will pay dearly. My advice is to book your tickets as soon as possible.
- Be flexible – often the more options you have (i.e. I can leave on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or I can leave in the morning) the more likely you are to find a great deal.
- Commit some time – the emphasis is on “some”. You do not need to get to every site, but check out three or four key sites (www.sidestep.com, www.expedia.com, www.hotwire.com, and www.priceline.com).
- Be smarter than the computer (check prices between each major hub) – computers are amazing in that they can find endless scenarios for booking your tickets. But the truth is that they can only do what you tell them. Remember with airline tickets 1+1 does not = 2. When booking tickets if you have a stop somewhere you can sometimes save if you book one set of tickets to the first city and another set to the other city. Sometimes buying two tickets is actually cheaper than one.
Which site usually gives you the best price – Priceline or Hotwire?
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