anyone use priceline? or any other cheap flight alternatives?

[Kashka-Kat]

What was your experience--did you get a really good deal? Did you end up with a really goofy itinerary like having to sit in an airport for ten hours between flights? Is it possible for 2 people to travel together? I'm wondering what to expect and whether to give it a try.

Any other places to look for CHEAP flights?

[ChoralScholar]

1. First of all,

they won't lay you over for more than three hours.

I like to go get the price from Hotwire, and use that as my starting point for Priceline.

I've been fairly pleased with my results. Also, if you live in a place with only a certain amount of air service, (I fly from XNA - Northwest Arkansas Regional) you can be pretty certain you'll be on a big airline, and not on a red-eye flight.

Also, I think 2 people can fly together, but you have to buy both tickets in the same transaction.

[skyblue]

2. Cheap tickets dot com, travelocity, expedia dot com

Some of these might work. Also there's hotels dot com. No experience using any of these I haven't traveled much in many years.

[bettyellen]

3. travelzoo and skyauction are great if you are flexible about where you are

going. great cheap packages and flights.

otherwise check out hotwire- you'll see which airlines handle the flight you are looking for, so you can check out the airline's own web sites and these guys are also pretty good:

http://airfarewatchdog.com/

http://smartertravel.com/

[hyphenate]

4. Don't get your tickets through priceline

If you ever have to change your plans, you can't do it AT ALL with tickets purchased through them. I lost the cost of tickets from Boston to Los Angeles in November because circumstances forced me to cancel my plans, and they wouldn't even allow for any kind of rearrangement at all.

Expedia has been good to me, but what you might want to do before all else is check the major airlines and see what their lowest fares are. Since certain cities are "hub" cities, you will find that travel between major hubs are cheaper than those that need to go into smaller airports. A trip, for example, from Dallas/Fort Worth (American Airlines' hub) to San Franscisco is going to be cheaper than from Dallas to Topeka, Kansas, even if it is closer.

Try to find the major hub nearest to your destination, and then do some searches on the major travel sites: expedia, hotwire, cheaptickets, etc. Read the restrictions very carefully. You then might want to try the smaller, upcoming airlines. I got a round trip from Boston to Las Vegas this past week on Jet Blue for $218, when the other major airlines wanted $373. And yes, it is changeable, if I need to change my plans, even though it requires a change fee, the tickets are not irreparably lost as the ones I purchased for L.A. back in November.

Also, I suggest you go to a local travel agency and see what they might have to offer. Sometimes they might need to fill a charter plane and can fit you in for less expense. And sometimes they have packages which will not be available online.

My mom and I did a three week trip to Britain/Ireland back in 1992 for about $4,600 total, including all travel, all lodging, all tours, food and incidental expenses. That is an extraordinarily cheap trip in the long run, but we planned for months, got good airfares, Britrail passes, went to B&Bs, and were not fussy about what we ate. It was, by far, a better trip than most people get for twice that price. It just takes planning, and a little desire to experiment if necessary, and we definitely had stories to tell once we got home.

[LynneSin]

5. MIght I suggest Kayak or Sidestep

These aren't travel websites but travel search engines that search all the travel websites (both the all-in-one travel sites like Orbitz, Expedia, etc AND direct from the company website like United, Hilton, USAir, etc.)

They'll return where they found the best price and then direct you to that website

[AirmensMom]

6. I've gotten cheap tickets from expedia and travelocity.

One of them was even non-stop from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles. I've never nad a layover longer than 2 hours and, yes, two people can travel together.

I prefer to fly on Southwest, which doesn't participate in expedia or travelocity. They have some great deals, though, if they fly to where you're going. And "non-refundable" tickets can to into your account for use up to a year if you cancel before the flight. My cat got sick last summer when I was supposed to make a trip, so I cancelled and was able to visit my mom a few months later with the money in my account. I don't know if other airlines do this.

[uppityperson]

7. travelocity through yahoo

don't get mileage, and flights may be limited, but so far they've done ok with me.