Is bidding on airfare worth it?

[unleashedmaniac]

I'm looking at going from Sacramento (SMF) to London (LHR) in April/May. The cheapest flights I could find were about $800 out the door. I was thinking about naming my own price, but I'm a little leary about what I might get as far as tickets.

I don't mind having a stop and a short layover, but I don't want to least Sacramento and go to North Carolina for a 12 hour layover and then fly to London (total travel time 24 hours)... Anyone have good/bad experiences bidding on flights? I'm flexible on the time of day, but I really don't want to get stuck with a 12 hour layover. (A ran a search on priceline and the cheapest flights has a 12-13 hour layout).

Also, what would be a good starting bid? 25% off, 30% off, 40% off the normal price?

Thanks.

[unleashedmaniac]

I also had another question about Europe and wanted to get some insight by the other BB members. I've been told that it's better to use your credit card for purchases instead of changing large amounts of US dollars to Pounds or Euros. People say that you get the actual daily exchange rate and you don't lose a bunch of money by doing a currency exchange. I called my credit card company (chase visa) and they give you the actual exchange rate, plus a 3% service charge. Are they any better credit cards to use over there?

Thanks,

James

[thereuare]

From PRICELINE's help section, current at time of posting:

Destination region Avg.* connection times booked by priceline (hours) Longest* connection times booked by priceline(hours)

Africa 3.9 8

Asia 3.0 8

Australia 2.5 8

Canada 1.5 4

Caribbean 1.5 4

Central/South America 2.3 5

Europe 2.3 6

Mexico 2.3 5

Middle East 3.4 7

South Africa 4.5 12

(emphasis added)

So from the above, the average connection time is 2.3 hours, with the longest permissible being 6 hours.

With the above noted, in the current airline environment, deep discounts are far and few between, but they do happen, so if you have the time and are flexible in your plans/itinerary, it can be worthwhile to try... just don't expect too much, imo.

Let us know if the above conditions are acceptable and we'll take it from there.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Romelle]

There is extensive discussion on credit card usage on www.flyertalk.com. The #1 post in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/4...-thread-16.html might be a good start.

I think the Chase rate you quote is a good one. I use a Chase card for larger purchases, and a money card from a credit union that doesn't have any surcharges for walking-around-money.

I'm certainly not an expert on the subject, but I think the "actual exchange rate" you mention is called the "bank-to-bank" rate.

Romelle

[unleashedmaniac]

Thanks Thereuare.... that is good information... I searched most of the flights on regular priceline and most of the flights have a 1 to 4 hour layout, then it jumped up to 12-13 hours. So, I think that it's worth a try. I'll let you know how things work out.

James

[unleashedmaniac]

Thanks Romelle, the link you provided is a great resource.

James