Just wanted to start this thread to defame Priceline. We have a wedding to go to in San Francisco this summer. My wife got on Priceline to buy the plane ticket for herself and our daughter (near 18 months old now). She managed to find something $50 cheaper than what she was finding elsewhere on the market, so she bought it. Of course, they don't give you the details on it until after you commit. So, after she buys it, she gets the details: flying from Houston, she has a lay-over in Atlanta before flying on to San Francisco. Flying be herself, with an 19-month old, that's going to suck. Of course, that's the risk you take with Priceline. But, they should have some kind of logarithm to eliminate or flag flight-plans that take 3 times longer than they should, for the sake of their business if nothing else. I won't use them again. As way of epilogue, she did call Priceline to see if they could do anything for her. They said no, the tickets cannot be changed, but try seeing if Delta can help. Delta was willing to help, but had no other flights to get her to San Francisco that don't go through Atlanta. So, she's screwed.
Ugh! That's why I wouldn't use them for flights. Too many variables. And for Hotels it has to be a GREAT deal. Again...lots of variables -- but to save $50+ more per night, I'll often take my chances...it helps that I'm not particularly picky. And cars...no problems at all. Last Fall I got a midsized car for $11/day in LA for 3 weeks. Can't beat that. And they upgraded us to full size when we checked in. For $50 on a flight I don't think I would have risked it.
I think Delta is your best bet. Perhaps they can upgrade without charging you. They should understand, seeing that you have a baby.
It does suck, especially on the airline booking. I myself have been screwed by the Priceline a couple of times in the past. But I vowed to exert my revenge on them and I ended up getting a couple of sweet deals back. The better the deals you got from the Priceline the thinner the profit margin (I suspect they could barely make any money with my super deals) it could generate from these transactions. So in a way you get back at them.
i seem to do far better on the airlines' actual websites than on the discount finders like priceline and orbitz.
Dude, call Delta back and see if they can at least connect them through Salt Lake (another Delta hub). They may try to charge you a fare difference but if you get the right agent (no one in the India call centers - just hang up if you get one of them as they can and will do nothing) they might be able to do it for just a change fee. (probably about 50-100 bucks)
I hate priceline, but I love Hotwire. They let you know in advance what your flight will be before you purchase it. I got a trip to Miami for $120.
For flights, airline websites are your best bet. Better than Orbitz etc. For Hotels, Priceline rocks, especially for 4 stars and up. And you can check out which hotel with what successful bid on some websites.
If you don't fly southwest, you could always try http://www.kayak.com . Kayak isn't like Travelocity, etc. that arrange deals and stuff, thus charging you more. Kayak gets results directly from airline websites.
