Priceline’s Name Your Own Price tool discontinued its well-known tool without much fanfare. With the uptick in travel prices—along with everything else—it comes at a time when people could really use those extra savings. But there is good news. Priceline has a new savings tool called Pricebreakers. Though Pricebreakers doesn’t let shoppers name their own price, they can still save a decent amount of money using it.
Below, we break down the differences between Priceline’s Name Your Price and Pricebreakers tools, and explain how you can still save. But before you book your next vacation, be sure to check out Groupon Coupons’ collection of Priceline coupons for the latest deals.
Differences Between Pricebreaker and Name Your Price
- Name Your Price was a bidding tool that allowed shoppers to bid a price on a hotel, rental car, or flight—if accepted, that was the price they paid. Pricebreaker offers three similar hotel options and one discounted price. Customers do not know which hotel they are booking until the confirmation has gone through, but the discounted price applies no matter what.
- Pricebreaker is for hotels only. At one time, Name Your Price could be used for hotels, rental cars, and flights—each was discontinued separately.
How Does Priceline Pricebreakers Work?
With Pricebreakers, customers search for a hotel on Priceline.com like normal. When the options appear, just click the “pricebreakers” button in the top bar to be taken to a page with new booking options. Priceline groups together three similar hotels—each with a similar price, rating, location, etc.—and shows a single discounted price. (This discount varies but can be up to 50% off the normal retail price.)
All three of the hotels are available at the discounted price, but the catch is you don't get to choose which specific hotel you want. If any of the options don't work, there's an option to browse by amenities, location, and amount saved and replace one of the three hotels. After checking out, you will immediately receive a confirmation letting you know which hotel has been booked. You’re guaranteed one of the three options.
A few things to note about Pricebreakers:
- The listed Pricebreaker price does not include taxes and fees. There may be additional fees required depending on the hotel or resort.
- Cancellation policies differ depending on the hotel’s policy, but overall it is unlikely you’d be able to get a refund without trip insurance. You can select the “free cancellation” option when searching for hotels, but it usually bumps up the price.
- Promotional codes do not work with Pricebreakers because it is already discounted.
Savings Tip: if you log into Priceline with your email and do some searching without booking, you’ll likely get an email reminding you to book with a discount code about a day later.
You Can’t Name Your Own Price Anymore But You Can Still Save
Now that Name Your Price is no more, there are still loads of ways to save big with Priceline. Alongside Pricebreaker, there are also Express Deals and Priceline VIP discounts. With Express Deals you can book hotels for up to 60% off, but the catch is that you won’t know the hotel until after you check out—similar to Pricebreakers but you aren’t guaranteed one of three hotels.
Priceline’s VIP program is a free rewards program that automatically gets you up to 10% off bookings. And the more you use it, the more you save. When you book multiple trips, your discounts increase! Read about the whole program and its benefits here.
