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The final stage of a 12 day trip to New York City. I had originally booked the World Center Hotel from July 19-21 for $129 a night, while leaving July 21 open for a day trip to Washington, DC. I decided against the day trip, and could have extended my stay at World Center for another day before I went uptown to stay with family at a conventionally booked hotel. Just for laughs, I either wanted to see if I could either get the same hotel at a lower cost, or expand my horizons and stay somewhere else just for fun and broaden the board's intel if possible. I noticed matches for both Club Quarters and World Center on Hotwire for $127 and $131 respectively. I started the bidding at $110, and received a counteroffer for $130. I rejected that, and used a rebid zone to bid at $115, and then hit. Club Quarters, World Trade Center 4 star Downtown - Financial District 140 Washington Street, New York, NY 10006 Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $115.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $115.00 Taxes & Fees: $31.73 Total Charged to Card: $146.73 So, it looks like Priceline has upgraded CQ from 3.5 stars to 4. I wonder if there is any differentiation between the CQ rooms and World Center rooms. The two hotels share the same physical space. I was going to have to pack up and move to new hotel anyway, so I shouldn't complain about having to do that here. But if I have to go downstairs to checkout, and then go back upstairs after I check back in, I'll be wondering if the hassle was worth the $15 I saved bidding for a room instead of conventionally extending my stay through Priceline. According to the CQ website, if I booked conventionally, the room would have cost $229, all in $266.27, for savings of about 45%. Booked through the PRICELINE link.

Booking for some friends who happened to be in New York the same time I was. Figured that after looking at the amenity set, we were dealing with the TRYP hotel. Free Internet Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Roll-in shower Rate per night: $152.00 Nights: 6 Rooms: 1 Taxes:$93.00 Occupancy tax: $67.62 Fees: $34.39 Subtotal: $1,107.01 Originally looked for a 7 night stay, and tried booking to July 29, but got rejected after it went into the payment phase. Retried with a departure the night before with success on that front, and suggested to my friends that they either book conventionally if they don't want to switch hotels, or be prepared to move hotels. The friends are ecstatic over this hotel win. Lowest price available on the hotel's website had a lowest per night rate of $262, all-in $1,824.87. Savings of just under 40%. Booked through the HOTWIRE link.

Did some research on Hotwire to see what might be available in the Financial District. What seemed to be a match for the 3.5* Club Quarters WTC at $134 was what I was going to base my Priceline bidding. I figured that if I was going to be paying about $125 for the same plac on Priceline, I would place a bid slightly higher at $129 for a 4* hotel. I was hit immediately. World Center Hotel 4 star Downtown - Financial District 144 Washington Street, New York, NY 10006 Offer Price: avg. per room, per night: $129.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $258.00 Taxes & Fees: $61.22 Total Charged to Card: $319.22 On the hotel's website, the lowest priced room was listed at $179, all in $418. Savings of about 24%. Not the greatest deal versus rack, but a reasonably priced room in Manhattan, and I am sure I can extend my stay by a night if I need it. Recent Tripadvisor reviews look pretty good, so I am not unhappy with this win. Booked through the PRICELINE link.

Booked this with a thought of staying in Manhattan at a 4.5 star hotel, and used Brooklyn as a re-bid zone. Started the bidding at $140, and must have messed up somewhere along the way, as somehow I wound up checking off a desire for a 4 star hotel, and was hit at $160. New York Marriott At The Brooklyn Bridge 333 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Offer price: $160 No. of nights: 4 Room subtotal: $640 Taxes and fees: $140.88 Total: $780.88 When all is said and done, I am not complaining. I would have rather stayed in Manhattan, but I have stayed at the Sheraton Brooklyn a couple of years ago, and quite enjoyed the larger rooms and quieter streets. The reviews on Tripadvisor are excellent, and is reasonably close to several subway lines. On the Marriott's website, the lowest price for the same stay averaged at $334, with an all-in price of $1547.06 for a savings of just over 46%. Booked using the PRICELINE link. Mods: May I suggest that you take Brooklyn out of the NYC Airports zone and put it in with the New York City zones? Please edit post if needed.

Started off the bidding at $70 for a 4 star hotel. Immediately received a counteroffer for $84, which I rejected. I figured $75 would do the trick, and was accepted at that point. Offer Price: avg. per room, per night US$75.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: US$75.00 Taxes & Fees: US$17.24 Total Charged to Card: US$92.24 Lowest available rate on the Starwood's website was $135 CDN ($151.73 all-in). Using an approximate exchange rate of 1.04 CAD to 1 USD, savings of about 37% off the rack rate. Booked using the PRICELINE link.

As far as a Broadway show to see that would be fun to watch and where tickets would be easier to come by on a full price basis, I would suggest "Wicked." It's a re-telling of "The Wizard of Oz" from the witches' point of view. "Mathilda" just opened up to rave reviews, and is the hands on favourite to win most of the Tony Awards coming up. If you wanted to buy discounted and same day tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square (discounts from 20-50% off), I would say Newsies, Once, Annie, and Jersey Boys would be the best ones to attend (and not neccesarily in that order).

Did some research by checking out what Hotwire was offering, and saw that someone would take $29.95 for a standard SUV. I decided to low-ball a big on Priceline at $25, and was countered with $37. Having the luxury of a full month, I could afford to wait for a good deal, but figured $25 was a fair price. The $25 bid was accepted, for an all-in price of $319.04. On Avis' own website, a pre-paid rental was being offered at $450.69 all-in, for savings about 30% on that basis, and $528.46 all-in for a standard rental or 40% savings on that basis. Booked through the PRICELINE link!

The 7 day Metrocard is only valid in New York City on most MTA options (normal bus service and subway). While a Metrocard can be used on PATH, it has be on a pay as you go Metrocard. The NYC system is MTA, the bus service to this hotel from Manhattan is I think only through NJ Transit, and PATH is run by the Port Authority.

Needed another night in Manhattan, as we were doing a late night activity, and did not want to shlep to Jersey City on the PATH to the Westin at an ungodly hour and unsure sobriety level. Noticed a win for this hotel in a recent posting for $115 at the same rate and a match on Hotwire for $134, so I tried to finesse things by starting at $110, and hit immediately. $110 big, along with $30.95 in taxes and charges brought all in price at $140.95. This really works out as we are already staying at the Hilton Garden Inn next door! Booked through the PRICELINE link!

On PRICELINE, you bid and are charged in US dollars. No way around that. As someone who lives in Calgary, I get why you would want to keep it in loonies, but that's the way the ball bounces. You are going to get hit with at least another 2-3% surcharge on your Canadian credit card for a foreign currency transaction on top of the normal markup they charge. From my most recent Hotwire experience, HOTWIRE will let you pay in Canadian dollars if you pay using your Visa or Master Card. That said, all they do is take whatever they use as the prevailing exchange rate, and present the final price to you in loonies. It is still better than what TD, BMO, or whoever you bank with. What I have found to the best in terms of paying for hotels on PRICELINE as a Canadian and if you book more than few times a year or regularly shop in the US is to get a BMO US dollar Master Card. They have the lowest annual fee of all the banks that issue a US credit card ($25), and will rebate that the next year if you spend more than $1,000 on it. You can then buy US dollars at the normal markup to pay your bill.

This was going to be the third and possibly last stage of a 9 night stay in the New York City area. The first three nights, I had to book conventionally in Manhattan due to the fact that I needed to stay in the same hotel with a couple of New York rookies for the first stage, who wanted to be guaranteed two beds in their room, and I'm the tour guide. The second stage was booked earlier with a priceline win at the Westin in Jersey City for 3 nights at $100. I noticed on Expedia.ca that the Hyatt in JC was offering prepaid rooms at $209 CDN. With that knowledge and having $5 of Priceline bonus cash per night, I started the bidding at $120, and increased my bid by $5 each time with a rebid zone, before being accepted at $135. Hyatt Regency Jersey City On The Hudson Jersey City - Hoboken - Weehawken 2 Exchange Place, Jersey City, NJ 07302 Check-In: Mon, Jul 16, 2012 Check-Out: Thu, Jul 19, 2012 Bonus Cash: Per Room, Per Night $5.00 Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $135.00 Nights: 3 Room Subtotal: $405.00 Taxes & Fees: $76.47 Total Charged to Card: $481.47 When I went to Hyatt's website, the lowest cost option was $169/night, all-in $578.49, for savings of only about 17%. That said, I'm not complaining, as I had been trying for the past three weeks trying to book within the zone. I had actually been rejected a day earlier at $165/night as a maximum bid, so I still think I'm still ahead of the game. It would have still been nice to remain at the Westin to avoid a move, or possibly get the W Hoboken just for laughs (just because I've never stayed there), but I've been at the Hyatt a couple of times earlier, so zero complaints. This will also make an easier trip for both members of our party to get to our respective early morning airport departures via PATH (one going to EWR, the other to LGA). Booked through the PRICELINE link!

Started the bidding at $85, and used rebid zones at $90, $95 and $100 before getting hit at $110. The Blackstone Renaissance Chicago Hotel Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area 636 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605 Check-In: Mon, Jun 25, 2012 Check-Out: Wed, Jun 27, 2012 Offer Price: $110.00 Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $220.00 Taxes & Fees: $43.96 Total Charged to Card: $263.96 On the hotel's website, the best price available was $289/night, all in $672.79, for savings of just under 61%. Booked through the PRICELINE link.

I was looking for a one night stay in the city I live in for a staycation without kids. I could have gotten a 4* hotel in downtown Calgary for probably $75-80. I lowballed a Priceline bid at $70, and was counteroffered at $88. Because my wife really wanted to stay here for our getaway, and the amenities and other indicators pointed towards this hotel, we decided to not take the chance of getting any of the other downtown Calgary hotels (not that I would have complained other than the Delta Bow Valley). Amenities listed: Indoor pool(s) Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Spa Services Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom The Hyatt's website lowest cost option was $149 Canadian a night, all in $167.28. Hotwire's Canadian equivalent was $92.84 a night, all-in $112.36. Savings of about 33% when all said and done. Booked through the site's HOTWIRE link.

Don't be so cheap. There are only a few hotels I would want to stay at in downtown Edmonton, and this would be one of them. I would try $85-95 for a 4 star hote, and you'll likely get the Westin. It matches up on Hotwire at $103, and I have bid 20-10% less than HOTWIRE, and have succeeded in getting the Westin each time.

Saw that there was a match on Hotwire for this hotel at $86, noting that they rated this as a 3.5* establishment. Spent a few days doing singular bids for a 3* in the YWG zone from $70-75 with no luck (and no rebid zones), assuming that Priceline graded it as a 3* hotel. Did some more digging, and found that PL rated this as a 2.5* hotel, so I restarted the bidding at $73 and lowered my star level, and was hit right away. Fairfield Inn & Suites Winnipeg Airport 1301 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3G 0G1 Check-In: Mon, Jul 9, 2012 Check-Out: Tue, Jul 10, 2012 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: US$73.00 Taxes & Fees: US$20.33 Total Charged to Card: US$93.33 The lowest price available on the hotel's own website was $144/night, all in around $168.00 in Canadian dollars (and assuming parity between the loonie and the greenback). Total savings of about 45% in the end. Booked through the PRICELINE link.

Bidding for a 9 day stay in the New York area for 7/10-7/18, and then a room either in Jersey City or somewhere around EWR. Seeing as how this is a trip where staying in one location was not a requirement, I started playing around with different date combinations to try and get the most low-cost option. After researching the board for winning bids, found that the weekend in Jersey City was going to be achievable. I started the bidding at $100, and was hit right away. Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $100.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 3 Room Subtotal: $300.00 Taxes & Fees: $57.06 Total Charged to Card: $357.06 Lowest price on Starwood's website for the same stay was $171.75, all-in $587.39, for savings of about 40%. Booked through the PRICELINE link.

When I talked about certainty about staying downtown and being on the C-Train, I should have clarified that to say that the Priceline hotels downtown would give you certainty being near the C-Train. IN NW Calgary, there is a cluster of motels collectively called Motel Village that is no further than a block away from the Banff Trail C-Train station that would take you to the Stampede grounds. There are also a couple of hotels near Canada Olympic Park that may meet your needs on a price basis, but COP is on the western outskirts of town, and you should have a car to get around. The hotels around YYC are not too bad either, but there are C-Train stations nearby if you have a car. They're too far to walk to.

As a Calgarian, I would say you would be very hard pressed to find anything that meets your wishes. The only certainty where you will be able to take the C-Train to the Stampede grounds would be to stay downtown. There is only one real public transportation option from the airport (a PRICELINE EXPRESS bus downtown), and the whole airport area encompasses a huge area, as is the south part of Calgary. The downtown hotels are usually full during Stampede, and this year, it is going to be extra hard because Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement for one night to do a full concert on the 12th to mark the Stampede's centennial. You may need to consider booking a hotel and pay rack if you do indeed what to be here during Stampede. I would say the best way to economize is to book a hotel as far away from the Stampede grounds as possible, perhaps go out of town to Airdrie, Okotoks, or even as far as Red Deer or Canmore (near the Banff townsite). Rent a car, and if you were wanting to commute to the Stampede grounds, park your car at any of the Park n Ride LRT stations.

We targeted the only 4* hotel in downtown Edmonton, and saw a match on Hotwire for $114. Started the bidding at $85, and received a counter offer of $104. Refused, and used rebid zones at $90 before being accepted at $95. Taxes and fees took the total price up to $113.27. The lowest price on the Westin's website lists a room at $229 a night, total $252 if booked conventionally, for savings of around 55%. Booked through the PRICELINE link!

Bid $120 on the first attempt, and accepted immediately. Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area 1 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601 Check-In: Sat, Mar 31, 2012 / After 04:00 PM Check-Out: Sun, Apr 1, 2012 / 12:00 PM Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $120.00 Rooms: 1 Room Subtotal: $120.00 Taxes & Fees: $27.34 Total Charged to Card: $147.34 Lowest price room on the hotel's own website was $249+taxes a night, total $289.84, savings of just under 50% a night. As always, booked through the PRICELINE link.

Spring break trip for my teacher sister-in-law, and targeted this hotel from the beginning. I saw a match for this on Hotwire for $126 a night, and started the bidding at $90. Used rebid zones up to $120, and found that the hotel was not going to budge from their Hotwire price, so I pretty much matched the Hotwire price. Pan Pacific Seattle 2125 Terry Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121 Check-In: Sun, Mar 25, 2012 Check-Out: Thu, Mar 29, 2012 Offer Price: $125.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 4 Room Subtotal: $500.00 Taxes & Fees: $91.92 Total Charged to Card: $591.92 As is my wont, I always check the hotel's website to see what I would have gotten had I booked directly. Best price available on the hotel's website all in was 813.54, so savings of about 28%. Not the best deal, but we'll take it! Booked through the site's PRICELINE link!

An impromptu trip to Spokane planned by friends with little notice for the Canadian long weekend, and they had no desire to play the Priceline game. Three nights at $63, plus taxes and fees of $36.86, for an all in cost of $225.86. Posting only showed two amenities: Fitness centre and high speed internet. It had a 90% satisfaction rating from Hotwire customers. We were thinking that this was more a match for the HI Express in downtown Spokane. Booked through the HOTWIRE link.

You may be hard-pressed to have the hotel accept your Dad's own credit card, even if you have his written permission. From their point of view, you could have stolen the card, forged a permission letter, and then put a ton of room service charges on the card. Your Dad could potentially dispute the charges after you got back, saying he never authorized it, leaving either the credit card issuer or hotel holding the bag. If you have a ton of lead time, I would apply for a credit card of some sort in your own name, or have your Dad add you as a supplementary card holder to his account. The hotel may ask for a sizable cash deposit in lieu of a credit card.

Bid this over 3 days as standard SUV the only vehicle we wanted. Rejected bids at $25 and $27 before being accepted at $29. Standard Sport Utility Vehicle (Unlimited Mileage) Pick-Up Location: Avis Rent a Car JOHN WAYNE-ORANGE COUNTY AIRPORT In-Terminal, Walk to car Pick-Up Date: October 19, 2011 - 12:00 PM Drop-Off Date: October 27, 2011 - 9:00 AM Your Offer Price: $29.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 8 days(7 days and 21 hours) Subtotal: $232.00 Taxes and Fees: $63.44 Total Charges: $295.44 Lowest Published Price: $735.12 Total Savings:* $439.68 (You saved 60%) The lowest published price at Avis is as listed. Booked through the forun's PRICELINE link.

My go-to place whenever I am in New York is Patzeria, on 46 Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue. Can't tell you how many times I have squeezed myself on one of the three benches against the wall for a slice of "lasagna pizza." A lot of regulars from the theatre community go there before they go to work.