Visit Priceline (See References). Search for airfare, hotels or car rentals for where you're traveling. Skim through Priceline's listings and jot down the average cost. If you're searching hotel rooms, write down the average cost for each star-level.
Click "Name Your Own Price." This is a Priceline feature that allows you to bid for hotel rooms, airfare and car rentals. Name Your Own Price is almost always cheaper than buying anything at retail or even at a discounted price.
Enter a price that's about 40 percent lower than the average cost if you're searching for airfare or car rentals. If Priceline cannot find tickets at the price you entered, you cannot submit another request for 24 hours, unless you change part of your request. For example, if you select a new airport or agree to make two connections, you can try again. You cannot submit a new request by entering a new price.
Type in a price that's about 60 percent lower than the average cost if you're searching for a hotel room. The 24-hour rule applies to Name Your Own Price for hotels, too. If you cannot find a hotel room for the price you entered, you can change the requested star-level, location or date and try again immediately. Priceline sometimes offers to search again if you increase your price by $15.
Look at vacation packages instead of using Name Your Own Price. If you plan on flying and booking a hotel room, you might find a better deal by looking at Priceline's vacation packages.
