“The juiciest awards await those ballsy enough to play chicken with the Frequent Flier Programs and wait them out for a last minute booking (within 24 hours of desired flight date). With goose eggs on both F and J availability on just about every key route Delhi to Cleveland in all three alliances 7-10 days out, magic happened once the witching hour of less then a day’s notice struck:
- EY F/J via AUH/JFK using AA
- CX F/J via HKG/JFK using AA
- SQ J via SIN/EWR using BD/CO
- AF J via CDG/ORD using AF/KL
- CO J via EWR or BOM/EWR using CO
- TG J via BKK/LAX using BD/UA”
I know last minute award bookings are a strategy for ‘outliers’ like me, but there is ample proof that it indeed works.”
Thanks, Steve, for the examples.
Priceline Last Minute Car Rentals Using Name Your Own Price
Steve’s last minute strategy is working with car rentals as well. I needed a few cars for our trip to Hawaii. I tried bidding more than a week in advance and was told $88 per day had a good chance of being accepted. I was thinking of renting the car, not making a monthly payment every day. I was bidding $22 mid size on Kona and Kauai.
When I hit the one week from rental date the prices fell more in line with my thinking. $22 per day was easily acceptable to Priceline by just waiting them out. Same can hold true for hotels as well.
Just out of curiosity, is anybody using the Priceline Name your own Price feature for flights? I haven’t heard or read about any successes with this lately. I know it is a pain not knowing your flight times, but if feasible to some, it could save some of our gang some money. Any successes to report in the comments section?
