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Frequently Asked Questions
Priceline Vacation Packages
- How can I get the lowest price on a Priceline.com package vacation?
- Does Priceline offer all-inclusive vacations, with meals and activities?
- Can I book at the last minute?
- Will I get a cheaper vacation package if I wait until the last minute?
- What are the advantages of Priceline vacations?
- What are the cheapest days to travel?
- Can I change my dates or get a refund?
- How can I avoiding overpaying?
- Is there a low price guarantee?
1. How can I get the lowest price on a Priceline.com package vacation?
Be flexible for the best deals. Don’t have your heart set on a single destination, date, or hotel. You are looking for a place where the stars have alligned—a cheap airfare with a deeply discounted hotel rate.
Decide what’s really important to you—great weather, nice beach, fine food, horseback riding, etc.—and find a place that offers these at a big discount.
Even if you have your heart set on one destination, you can be flexible.
We can almost guarantee that a place like Maui offers more than one hotel or resort that matches your needs!
2. Does Priceline offer all-inclusive vacations, with meals and activities?
Yes. See the all-inclusive section:
Save up to $500 on your Vacation Package at priceline!
You’ll find all-inclusive resorts in Barbados, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico (Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa), etc.
Knowing the cost of everything in advance may be just the ticket in a place like Barbados, where dining and recreational activities can be extremely expensive when purchased separately.
Nevertheless, be careful. All-inclusive works best when meal choices outside of a resort are either very limited or usually very expensive, as in Jamaica. That is not true everywhere.
3. Can I book at the last minute?
Yes, you can, if packages have not sold out.
However, if you’re going out of the country, be sure to have a passport valid for at least six months after your intended return and, when needed, a visa.
See the U.S. State Department for entry requirements, which opens in a new window. This gives links to appropriate information.
However, reqardless of the requirements to enter another country and what you may have used in the past, you WILL need a passport (or one of its few alternatives) in order to return to the U.S.
And, for a very few package destinations, you may need lead time for vaccinations or pills that are best not done at the last minute. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives up-to-date recommendations.
4. Will I get a cheaper vacation package if I wait until the last minute?
Waiting can be risky, especially at peak travel times such as the December school holidays.
However, when planes, hotels, and resorts aren’t full, discounts can get significantly better at the last minute.
The best way to handle last-minute bookings is to be flexible about where you’re willing to go. If one place is sold out at cheap prices, then travel to another.
Save up to $500 on your Vacation Package at priceline!
5. What are the advantages of Priceline vacations?
Rock bottom prices. They can be amazingly low.
Priceline is the main way airlines, hotels, and resorts sell their excess inventory. It’s a win-win situation: You get an outstanding price and they welcome cash flow.
You can travel on any day of the week and stay as long as you wish. You’re not stuck with certain days. And, you don’t have to put up with often less reliable charter flights.
6. What are the cheapest days to travel?
Tuesday, Wednesday, and sometimes Saturday are usually the cheapest.
When you’re going to a popular vacation area like Orlando or Las Vegas, leaving on Friday tends to cost the most, as does returning on Sunday.
Package prices in places like Las Vegas, Jackson Hole, and Orlando cost most on weekends. But, packages in business centers like Chicago cost less on weekends, except during special events.
7. Can I change my dates or get a refund?
You will pay a penalty for sure. The refund you receive, if any, depends on the airline and hotels involved, as well as when you change or cancel.
Priceline does sell cancellation insurance.
8. How can I avoid overpaying?
Check out the package prices on Hotwire.com, Priceline’s main competitor,
which features many of the same destinations and hotels. Chose one of the build a package options.
9. Is there a low price guarantee?
Yes, and it is the same excellent price guarantee that Priceline give on its hotel rooms:
$25 Name Your Own Price Hotel Guarantee!
The rules are simple: Same hotel, same travel dates, same type of room and view . . . and the price must be clearly available to the general public.
