In the past I've never traveled enough to rack up tons of loyalty points, so that one's out.

A couple of years ago I did the Priceline name your own price thing all the time. If I specified a high enough level of stars and the right geographical location, I was pretty much guaranteed a stupendous deal.

Do you have any great ways of scoring deals? Share!

3/15/2013 3:13:24 PM

I'm definitely a fan of Priceline/Hotwire. I also like to check the cheap hotels shown on those sites directly to see if there are any AAA discounts.

3/15/2013 3:40:10 PM

Delete cookies and browse incognito.

3/15/2013 3:56:14 PM

I usually find promo codes from fatwallet whenever I travel to Vegas.

3/15/2013 4:36:37 PM

Priceline/Hotwire with http://www.betterbidding.com/

3/15/2013 5:36:46 PM

I've been pleased with kayak

3/15/2013 6:09:17 PM

name your own price on priceline is awesome. I used it frequently in Europe, and as it just so happens got a hotel tonight for $75 (about $95 after fees and taxes) on a room that's normally $279 before fees/taxes.

Look at their "areas" and the star levels of hotels they have in those areas and then start bidding low. You only get one more bid if the first gets rejected unless you switch credit cards. I've consistently saved well over 100% on rooms using this but you won't know the exact location, but you should be able to reasonably guess what hotels you're aiming at.

3/15/2013 6:45:30 PM

I'd like to start trying that name your price but I'm so picky about reading reviews and picking hotels in an exact location that it may be tough for me to break that habit.

I usually find 2-3 hotels that I'd like and look them up on every one of the main hotel search sites. And then I call afterward and ask about a AAA discount. I stopped booking online AAA discounted rooms after a couple of times in a row (at different hotels) I was given handicapped rooms or rooms that I didn't specifically book. It could have just been a coincidence but I've had no issues just requesting the AAA discount after booked now.

3/16/2013 8:48:47 AM

Quote :

"I've consistently saved well over 100%"

So they've consistently paid YOU to stay there?

FYI, you can't save "well over 100%".

3/17/2013 12:16:03 AM

actually, i think it's 190%

3/17/2013 8:39:01 AM

Oh, you right. Thanks.

3/17/2013 9:56:34 PM

With complementary grape drank.

Girlfriend and I are gonna see Elton John in Winston Salem in a couple of weeks. It was impossible to find anything with any decent savings via Priceline in W-S, but we booked a room out by piedmont triad airport at Courtyard for 89 with tax and fees ($70 bid on Priceline), which is a little over half the listed rates. Sure, we have to go a little farther, but it's a good deal for Courtyard.

3/24/2013 5:33:58 PM

I'm not sure if this trick still works considering they probably have internet at hotels now, but previously I would always use a credit card that will decline (VISA gift card with $0 balance) and they would not run the card until after I checked out and the housekeepers were cleaning the room, thus getting me unlimited free rooms.

3/24/2013 5:42:10 PM