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Top Priceline Alternatives for Travel

Top Priceline Alternatives for Travel

When it comes to finding the top deals for travel, Priceline is a very popular tool that many people use. I use it to find top deals on hotels, flights, rental cars, cruises, and even package deals combining all of these things. However, I look to look around at other travel search tools to compare deals and see if there are other options that Priceline is not offering. Below you will find some of the top Priceline alternatives for travel that I like to look at when planning my trips.

I don’t know about you, but when I travel, I like to ensure that I have the best deal I can possibly find. That is where tools like Priceline come incredibly handy. Whilst Priceline itself can be top-notch for finding a great deal, it’s not the only tool on the market that travel lovers can use to find a great deal. There are plenty of alternatives to Priceline available for travel deals, and today, I’m going to dive into some of my personal favorites.

In this blog post, I’ll discuss some of the top alternatives to Priceline and what you need to know about them. I’ll also talk about the benefits and drawbacks of each option so that you can make an informed decision about which one is right for you.

Bottom Line Up Front

The best Priceline alternatives are sites that offer great discounts on hotel rooms, flights, and rental cars. My personal favorite alternatives are Booking.com, Skyscanner, and Expedia. These alternatives have some of the same features as Priceline but may have some extra features that you won’t find with Priceline.

My Top Picks

Expedia – A handy comparison site with a great loyalty program. I find that the deals on this site are often better than those on Ebookers or Hotels.com.

Ebookers – Similar to Expedia but often have different discounts. It also has a solid loyalty program.

KAYAK – A travel search engine perfect for finding cheap flights, hotels, and car rentals.

Skyscanner – One of my favorite places to find cheap flights, but you can also book hotels and rental cars through this site.

Booking.com – A wonderful travel site for finding cheap accommodation. I always use Booking.com when searching for a place to stay because their range of accommodation options is second to none.

Agoda – Great site for finding cheap deals in Asia. You can find all sorts of great travel deals on this site.

Hotels.com – Another great site for finding cheap hotels.

TripAdvisor – A great place to start your search for hotels, activities, and restaurants because you can read reviews from other travelers.

What is Priceline?

Priceline

So, first things first, what exactly is Priceline? In short, Priceline is a travel booking website that offers deep discounts on hotels, flights, and rental cars.

They are effectively an online travel agency (or OTA) which means they act as a middleman between the customer and the supplier. This business model has been around for quite some time, but Priceline has perfected it and become one of the most popular OTAs in the world.

Priceline’s main selling point is that they offer significant discounts on travel bookings. They do this by negotiating bulk deals with suppliers and then passing the savings on to the customer.

This can result in some amazing deals, especially if you have membership status with the platform. And the higher your membership status, (they have four different tiers), the more discounts you can get! So, there is certainly no lack of incentive to use the platform.

Why Would You Need an Alternative to Priceline?

With all these perks and bonuses, why would you want to find an alternative to Priceline? As with all travel comparison sites, someone is always claiming to have a ‘cheaper deal’. This may be true in some instances, so I like to use multiple travel search engines to compare deals and hopefully find the cheapest option out there without giving up any value.

Selection Criteria

There are hundreds of travel comparison tools on the web, so why did I pick these in particular? Below are a few reasons why I chose these sites over some of the other options out there:

Comparison tools

The comparison tools are why I go to these types of sites to book travel. You should be able to easily filter and search through all of the options in a specific location. I like to save my top choices and then go back through my choices to see the key differences in amenities, price, and location to make my ultimate decision.

Flexible Cancellation policies

Most booking sights have amazing cancellation policies, letting you cancel hotels and rental cars up to 24 hours before your dates and cancel flights 24 hours after booking without any penalties. These are usually the two things I look for when booking travel through these sites.

Loyalty programs

Some travel booking sites have loyalty programs that you can build points to use for travel later. They may also offer a membership where you pay a monthly or yearly fee to get special discounts that go beyond what you would get normally.

Features

Different travel sites offer different things that you can book. Some simply let you book hotels, whereas you can book your entire trip from flights to activities through the site.

Ease of use

Most travel sites take you through the process of booking travel step by step, taking you from your flight to your hotel to your rental car to activities with the click of a few buttons. Some sites also offer options to purchase all of these things as a bundle in one fell swoop. You should be able to book an entire trip in less than twenty minutes with these travel booking sites.

Positive Reviews

Since all of these things are done online without much (if any) human interaction, it can be difficult to figure out if these sites are doing a great job finding vacation options. The only way to really know this is by reading reviews from people who have booked and already gone on their trip through these sites.

My Top Priceline Alternatives

Are you ready to have a look at some of the top alternatives to Priceline? These Priceline alternatives are all sites I have used to book my travel, and I hope you will find them helpful when making the perfect vacation plan. Here are my eight favorite alternatives to Priceline:

Expedia

expedia

Expedia is one of the world’s most popular online travel agencies, and it’s easy to see why. They offer a huge range of flights, hotels, rental cars, and even activities and attractions!

Once you’ve booked a hotel through these guys, they’ll often fill your inbox with great deals relevant to the trip you’ve just booked – which can be incredibly helpful if you’re already looking for attractions and little extras to make your trip extra special.

You can also find some great deals on Expedia if you know where to look. For example, they often have package deals, which can save you a lot of money if you book multiple things simultaneously.

They also have member’s only deals (a little bit like Priceline), which give you exclusive discounts if you sign up for the app.

Pros

  • A huge range of flights, hotels, rental cars, and even activities and attractions.
  • It has the option to bundle flights, hotels, and cars for the ultimate deal.
  • Member’s only deals give you exclusive discounts if you sign up for the app.

Cons

  • The sheer size of Expedia can be a little overwhelming and make it hard to find the best deal.

Ebookers

Ebookers

Ebookers is another personal favorite of mine. I tend to check them every time I have built up quite a few bonus points through the app to use on my net booking. This feature of Ebooker’s app will give you additional discounts on trips when you build up points from using Ebookers over time. I currently have enough to give me a significant discount on the next trip I book, so it’s well worth signing up if you book a lot of travel.

Ebookers is also similar to Priceline in that it offers a whole range of different things, not just hotels. This site can compare flights, rental cars, and even insurance, so it’s a great one-stop shop for all your travel needs!

Pros

  • Ebookers offers a loyalty program that gives you additional discounts the more you book through them.
  • You can compare a whole range of different travel products on Ebookers, making it a great one-stop shop.
  • You can find holiday rentals as well, like Airbnb.

Cons

  • Their customer service can be a little questionable.

KAYAK

KAYAK is a great option if you’re looking for a bit more flexibility in your travel plans. With KAYAK, you can search for flights, hotels, and rental cars all in one go. The thing I really like about this site is that you can also search for ‘multi-city’ options. This means that you can compare prices and itineraries for multiple destinations all at once, which is great if you’re trying to plan a trip with lots of different stops.

KAYAK also has some great features, such as the ‘Explore’ feature. This allows you to search for flights worldwide (literally) from your chosen departure city. If you’re feeling spontaneous or want to see what deals are out there, this is a great option!

Pros

  • It offers a great range of flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities.
  • Often has package deals, which can save you money.
  • It has a member’s only section with exclusive discounts.
  • You can search for things in multiple destinations at once.

Cons

  • You don’t get any loyalty discounts with KAYAK, as it’s more of a search engine.

Skyscanner

Skyscanner

Skyscanner is another fantastic option for finding cheap flights. In fact, it’s one of my personal favorites that I always use when I’m looking for affordable airfares. One of the great things about this site is that you can search for an entire month of deals. This means that you can see the cheapest flights available for your dates, even if you’re not sure exactly when you want to travel.

Skyscanner also has a great ‘Everywhere’ feature. I use this frequently when I’m looking to go away on a certain date, but I don’t know where I want to go yet. It means I can search a whole continent or the whole world and see which destinations are within my price range without having to do a million different searches. I love this feature and find it super handy!

They have a really user-friendly interface and allow you to search for flights, hotels, and rental cars all in one go. However, you can not search for activities and attractions on this site.

Pros

  • Great flight price comparison tools
  • ‘Everywhere’ feature is really handy
  • Skyscanner is one of my personal favorites for finding cheap flights

Cons

  • You can’t always book flights directly through Skyscanner. You may have to be redirected to the airline’s website.
  • Sometimes, the price on the ‘Everywhere’ feature differs from what you see initially.

Booking.com

My favorite place to find good hotel deals is Booking.com. This site always comes up with great prices, even for last-minute bookings. If you’re willing to be a little flexible with your dates, you can often find some incredible deals. For example, I once found a hotel room in Paris for just £50 per night!

Like Priceline, Booking.com also offers many different options for things to do in your chosen destination. So, if you’re looking for activities and attractions, this is a great place to start your search. They also have a membership program that gives you further discounts.

The thing that I find sets Booking.com apart from other travel comparison sites is that they usually have way more options, and I mean way more! They have over 850,000 hotels across the globe listed on their site, but they also feature apartments, holiday homes, and villas, much like Airbnb or HomeAway. This gives you much more selection, and the apartments are often much more affordable than hotels. This is ideal if you’re traveling with family or as part of a larger group.

Pros

  • More selections than Priceline
  • Offers apartments, holiday homes, and villas in addition to hotels
  • Very user-friendly interface
  • Great membership program with additional discounts

Cons

  • You may have to be flexible with your dates to get the best deals
  • It may not have as many last-minute deals as Priceline

Agoda

Agoda

 

I find Agoda much more affordable when traveling to Asia because deals in this part of the world are much cheaper on this site than on others. Compared to Priceline, Agoda is a great option if you’re looking for a bit more flexibility with your travel plans as they don’t have any strict cancellation policies.

You can also compare flights, hotels, apartments, homestays, and attractions, making it easy to find everything you need for your trip in one place. Like many of the other travel sites on this list, Agoda offers a membership program where you can earn points for future bookings. You can also take advantage of their ‘price guarantee’, which means they’ll refund you the difference if you find a better price elsewhere.

Pros

  • Great for booking hotels in Asia.
  • Flexible cancellation policies.
  • Price guarantee that matches cheaper prices found elsewhere.

Cons

  • Agoda adds the booking tax after you go through to the checkout, so the price you see isn’t always the price you pay.

Hotels.com

Hotels.com

This is another great option for finding hotel rooms, and I often use this site alongside Booking.com to compare prices. Hotels.com has a really user-friendly interface and allows you to search for flights, hotels, and rental cars all in one go.

You can also take advantage of their ‘Secret Prices’, which are exclusive deals you can unlock by signing up for a free account. If you book ten nights with them through any hotel, you’ll get one night free! Like many of the other sites on this list, Hotels.com also offers a loyalty program where you can earn rewards for future bookings.

Pros

  • User-friendly interface.
  • You can search for flights, hotels, and rental cars.
  • Secret prices and exclusive deals if you sign-up for free

Cons

  • It can be cheaper to book directly with the hotel

TripAdvisor

Everyone has heard of the travel behemoth TripAdvisor, and it’s good for more than reading a bunch of suspicious reviews. They’ve also got a great hotel booking service that often has some incredible deals.

TripAdvisor’s interface is really user-friendly and makes finding what you’re looking for a breeze. You can search by destination, dates, activity, or attractions. You can even compare prices with other travel sites to make sure you’re getting the best deal. They act as more of a travel comparison site than an OTA and will usually direct you to one of the sites listed above to purchase the cheapest deal. Nonetheless, they are still a great option and definitely worth checking out!

Pros

  • It tends to have great prices, even for last-minute bookings.
  • You can also read reviews of hotels as you search.
  • No membership is required.
  • You can search across multiple sites to find the best deal.

Cons

  • Not as many hotels listed as some of the other sites on this list.
  • Tripadvisor will direct you to a different site to book.

FAQ’s

Question: How do I Find Cheaper Travel Options?

Answer: You can find cheaper travel options by using a site like Priceline or Booking.com, which allows you to compare prices on flights, hotels, and rental cars all in one go. You can also filter your search results by price, distance from the city center, and customer rating.

Question: Are Booking.com and Priceline the Same?

Answer: No, Booking.com and Priceline are not the same. Booking.com is a site that allows you to compare prices on flights, hotels, and rental cars all in one go, whereas Priceline is a site that specializes in finding discount travel rates. Priceline is more like an online travel agent, and Booking.com is simply a travel search engine.

Question: Is Orbitz a Good Travel Site?

Answer: Personally, I’ve never actually used Orbitz for travel, but I have heard that it is just as good as Priceline. Orbitz is known for its customer service, with great cancelation policies and the ability to change travel itineraries. Other than that, it is extremely similar to Priceline.

Question: Why is Skyscanner so cheap?

Answer: Skyscanner can be cheaper than other options if you don’t have a planned destination. This site is unique because it looks for the cheapest deals worldwide rather than in only one location, which can drastically change travel prices depending on the time of year or days of the week. If you are looking for a specific destination and time, Skyscanner will most likely be no cheaper than other sites.

Conclusion

So there you have it, my top picks for the best alternatives to Priceline. Priceline is a great site for finding discount travel rates, but now you have a range of sites to search for the best possible deal. Of all these sites, my favorite Priceline alternatives are Skyscanner, Booking.com, and Expedia, because they offer a good selection of affordable travel options and have user-friendly interfaces.

Remember, these are just some of the many great alternatives to Priceline that are out there. If you’re looking for a cheaper, more flexible option for your next trip, check out all these sites to see which one you have the best luck with. You might find exactly what you’re looking for in an unexpected place! I hope this guide has been helpful and that you can now find the best travel deals for your next trip! Safe travels! 🙂

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