Cozy up to Priceline and bid

I regularly say use priceline.com and name your own price. However, every time I travel I find that the prices through Priceline are phenomenal.

I just wrote about saving money on a Courtyard by Marriott in New Jersey. Now on a trip to Chicago for graduation of a friend’s son at Northwestern, I scored another great deal on a rental car.

Avis rented me the car through Priceline for $20 a day!!! The lowest price through Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity or through the car rental companies was in the mid-$30s.

Think Priceline when you travel.

I don’t use them for airfares because one never knows whether the flight leaves at 6 a.m. or 6 p.m. (For flights to Europe, Priceline works fine, since almost all flights leave in the evening from the U.S.).

With rental cars and hotels, Priceline is an absolute joy and I always save money. Check Hotwire first and then bid about 20 percent lower. Or, go to biddingfortravel.com to see what others have as winning bids. With a little investigation and bidding, you’ll save a bunch of money.

Priceline’s last minute deals

just drove from DC to Boston this weekend and wanted to stay along the way on Friday night. I calculated about where I would be after a 3-hour drive and came up with Somerville, NJ. Eventually, I booked my hotel room on Priceline.com and got what I thought was a great deal.

Previously, I checked with hotwire.com and found places for around $59 and a Hampton Inn for $69 a bit out of my way. Kayak.com and hotels.com showed nothing much different. I decided with listed prices hovering between $60 and $80 that $50 would be a fair bid. I really didn’t care where I stayed, but wanted to only spend $50.

Priceline wasn’t a simple game of bid and get. I tried to get a 3-star property for $50 and was told that I would need to up my bid by another $14 to get that room. (This was a one-time courtesy by priceline according to popup screen.) I decided to keep trying in the vicinity.

I dropped my hotel desires down to a 2-1/2-star category and added Basking Ridge to my geographical selection. Then I pushed “buy my hotel room” and got a confirmation back from Courtyard by Marriott just off the Interstate. Perfect.

I don’t anywhere else where you can bargain with hoteliers like Priceline. I love it.

Tripso is talking about other hotel bargains based on advanced purchase, but I like Priceline.

Supreme court: Unlock cell phones

The U.S. Supreme Court, by not taking action, has let stand a lower court ruling that says cell phone companies, namely, AT&T and T-Mobile, must allow their customers to unlock their cell phones.

The specifics of the rulings and the repercussions are not finalized yet. However, Verizon and Sprint, both have decided to unlock their phones after the initial contract period. AT&T and T-Mobile, however, operate GSM phones that are far more mobile than the Verizon and Sprint CDMA technology.

This makes a world of difference to travelers. If our GSM phones are unlocked, even after the two-year original contract, we would have freedom to slip new SIM cards into our phones when traveling and save a load of money on basic calling, especially on receiving calls while overseas — its free to receive.

There are going to be far more questions that will be wrestled with by the companies and lawyers regarding the iPhone because of its relationship with AT&T, but in terms of basic calling, GSM phone users will be eventually be free to use any SIM card they desire.

Hotwire deals without bidding

Just got this from Hotwire. Normally, I’m a Priceline guy because I love bargaining, but these are some great deals with which to start naming your own price. Heck, with prices like this, there is almost no need to bid. Buy and hit the road.

Have you ever thought it would be fun to take a last minute trip over the holiday weekend but thought you couldn’t afford it? Well, there’s no time like now to make it happen.

For example, if you live in driving distance of Las Vegas, you could jump into one of these car rentals from Hotwire:

• Los Angeles (LAX) — $9.95/day – weekend rate
• Seattle (SEA) — $10.95/day – weekend rate
• San Diego (SAN) — $11.95/day – weekend rate

Then, book a room in Las Vegas:

• 4 Star, Downtown, $99
• 4 Star, Near Strip East, $129
• 3 Star, North Strip, $66

And you would still have enough mad money for a show, gambling, or even a visit to the Elvis-A-Rama museum.

Avoid the $25 excess baggage charge

I know a lot of folk who will be forking over $25 more dollars to fly since all the major airlines have now instituted that service fee for the second checked bag. Here is a secret that the major media seems to have missed — the fee isn’t for anyone.

I found an American Airlines list of people who do not have to pay the fee. Some are obvious such as those with First or Business Class tickets, but the fact that passengers with tickets purchased prior to May 12, 2008, don’t have to pay will be a complete surprise to most passengers.

Take note. IF TICKETS WERE PURCHASED PRIOR TO MAY 12, 2008, THE PASSENGER IS EXEMPT FROM THE CHARGE. Check out these exemptions.

This is from an American Airlines FAQ page–

Not all customers will be charged a service fee to check a second bag. Exemptions include:

*Customers who purchase First and Business Class tickets
*Customers who purchase tickets in Y, B, and H fare class inventories
*AAdvantage Executive Platinum, Platinum, and Gold members
*ConciergeKey members
*oneworld Alliance Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby members
*Customers flying in the same reservation record (not applicable to group bookings) as an AAdvantage Executive Platinum, Platinum, or Gold member, oneworld Alliance Emerald, Sapphire, or Ruby member, or ConciergeKey member regardless of fare type
*Customers who buy a ticket before May 12, 2008 or who fly before May 12, 2008
*Customers originating on AA codeshare flights not operated by American Airlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection on a ticket purchased through American
*Customers connecting to an American flight from another airline, including AA codeshare flights operated by another airline
* Customers traveling on an international itinerary, e.g. points beyond U.S., Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada
*Customers traveling on Government fares
*Military personnel on active duty
*Anytime AAdvantage Award tickets, First and Business Class Award tickets, or First and Business Class upgrades confirmed prior to check-in