David Rowell has a new four part piece on the basics of Priceline, very good read if you aren’t already an expert.
I’ve linked to some good explanations in the past (e.g. here, here, and here and those are probably worth reviewing as well.
Hit the comments if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer. And don’t forget to earn a 3% rebate on your Priceline bookings.
[…] true novices who aren’t familiar with what Priceline is all about (if that describes you, see this). But it’s a useful site for simplifying things for sure. […]
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Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
Generally good overview of Priceline.
My primary disagreement is the statement in Part 1 of the Priceline series:
“Minus = No frequent flier/guest credit
A small minus is that you probably won’t get any credit for your stay added to any frequent guest/flier program.”
Loyalty Traveler argues this is no small minus. On the contrary, this is a major minus of Priceline bookings.
A Priceline booking may give you a $200 room for $100. Two room night bookings saved you $200 and the Priceline booker spent $200.
A frequent guest may have paid $400 for the same two room nights, but received a complimentary suite upgrade as an elite frequent guest for a $350 per night value and earned a free room from the hotel loyalty program after completing the two paid stays for an additional $350 room night.
The frequent guest spent $400 for two room nights and received $1,050 in hotel value with three deluxe hotel room stays.
The Priceline member spent $300 for 3 hotel nights and probably received one of the lowest category rooms at the upscale hotels for a $600 total room value.
The loyal frequent guest spent $400 for 3 hotel nights and received 3 high category upgraded rooms for a $1,050 total room value.
Frequent guest hotel loyalty may ultimately cost more than Priceline, but can ultimately be a much better hotel value for the money spent.