Seeing as I worked customer service for Priceline, here is your guide to getting out of the reservations, so long as the date of the reservation hasn’t passed:
Name Your Own Price Reservations (where PCLN chooses your itinerary):
- Airline: If you don’t like your flight times, and just booked the flight, just claim you entered in the wrong name, and you’ll only be charged $7.45/ticket, and they’ll cancel it (so long as the airline is NOT Jet Blue, Spirit, ExpressJet, or Air Tran). If it’s been more than a day after you booked the reservation, you can claim miscarriage, or missing child. No documentation is required, and they’ll cancel it for you!
- Hotel: If you call and say someone died, just say a family member died, and find a funeral home in the phone book and give the name and phone # of the funeral home, they’ll claim “upon verification, your reservation will be cancelled”, but they don’t verify any information, you’ll get a full refund.
- Rental Car: Claim that you meant to book a one way reservation (picking up and dropping off in different locations) and they’ll issue full refund
Retail Reservations (where you choose your itinerary):
- Airline: Unfortunately, if it’s been more than a day since you booked the reservation, your best bet is to call the airline (go by the first 3#’s of your ticket # to determine which to call should you have an itinerary with multiple airlines), because they are most likely the merchant, and PCLN will charge a service fee/ticket.
- Hotel: If the reservation is prepaid, claim you entered the wrong date, you’ll only be charged $25/room to cancel. (With these reservations where you choose your hotel, you’ll always have a fee of at least $25 to cancel, no matter how far away your reservation is, but some cancellation policies aren’t cancellable at all)
- Rental Car: These reservations are not prepaid, you should be able to cancel no problem
Schmidt Happens 
This is an awesome guide! Does the same work for Priceline in Singapore or Hongkong?
And for the US Priceline – does it apply for international flights you wish to cancel?
lol great stuff! Thanks!
I honestly don’t know about Singapore and HongKong, but it should apply to the int’l flights, so long as Priceline is the merchant, which means it’s a NYOP ticket, for the most part. If, on your billing statement, it shows up as the airline charged your card, you’d have to deal directly with them.
Too bad that I made it saturday and tried a few days later to try your idea for putting in the wrong name. I should have read in detail, now they claim that I entered the name in wrong and they will not do anything. I called in quite a few times trying to get someone to refund it. Any ideas?? Thanks for the tips also!!
Your best option would be to call in and say you had a miscarriage (sounds awful, I know)…last time I checked, they won’t need any verification, if it’s a retail ticket (you picked your flight times), you should be able to make changes w/ the airline, but it won’t be refundable, but in most cases, they can place the ticket on hold for you to use @ a later date. Good Luck!
Christina, you rock!
Your tip for canceling a car rental reservation worked perfectly. The priceline agent was very polite and processed the refund after briefly checking with her supervisor. She then gave me instructions on how to set up a one way car rental on the priceline site.
Can I send somehow send you a portion of the refund as a gesture of appreciation?
May good fortune be yours!
Hi do you know of how I can get the $100/ticket fee they charged? I bidded on a flight ticket and then called to change the time, they issued my a refund minus the $100/ticket fee and told me if I resubmit another bid they’ll refund me $70/ticket of the fee that was charged. I should have read your post prior to calling them so that I should get a refund and get the tickets cancelled. Thank anything will help!
I passionately LOVE YOU for posting this!!! I thought i would try priceline. HUGE mistake. They wanted me to fly in at 11:50 at night!!! and 5am my leaving day!!! That would shave off an entire day of my trip!!! Bought the insurance, apparently that was worthless. I tried SEVERAL excuses. Nothing worked. The name thing did. Easily. I owe you a big one Christina!!!
Thanks so much for your tips. I recently booked a hotel stay through Priceline thinking I would never get my offer for a 4 star hotel in Chicago for $65. Well I did, however it wasn’t even close to where I wanted to stay. So I used your idea about calling about a family member passing and it worked! I felt bad about saying that someone died but they should feel bad about booking a room for me out in never-ever-land! It’s no wonder the rate was so cheap. Thanks again!
you. are. awesome!
Quick question about the hotel refund, does priceline send an email confirming the refund right away? Or is there a time lag?
Thanks!
I just wanted to say that you are truly awesome. I was able to cancel my hotel reservation after Priceline refused to let me re-bid because I made a mistake with the dates. Everything was done online, I didn’t even need to call them. Within 1 business day I received an email confirming my refund. Thanks again!
A little help please? I had a hotel name your price rsvp that i made last night, and thankfully purchased the cancellation insurance. However, my father got sick, and I decided to cancel my trip. I called priceline and they said that I need to provide them my father’s information and his physician info, but not only would this be something completely inconvenient for my dad, but aren’t doctor’s forbidden to share any info on their patients? Should I just provide them the info anyway? How can I get this done, it is incredibly frustrating, and one more thing that I do not want to have to deal with right now! Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you so much!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
i owe you soo much gratitude. I was on the phone back and forth with priceline and the airline all day….literally….they said there was no way they could modify the name your own price reservation or cancel it. I followed your instructions of telling them that the name was misspelled and it worked like a charm. They canceled it with a fee of $30 charge. They also said they would charge me $150 until I booked another reservation with them with the proper information. NO MORE NAME YOUR OWN PRICE! You have no control over flight times and changing anything at all. Thank you so much. You made my week! I was so stressed and feel a lot better now.
I called back with the new reservation number and they did not want to refund the $150 cancellation fee…I argued with them for about 3 1/2 hours. They transferred me back and forth between 3 different departments..They said they cannot issue a refund because the new reservation had the same name. I told them that the priceline agent over the phone told me the incorrect name and he told me he would cancel the reservation, I should make a new reservation, and call them back with my new reservation…. 3 1/2 hours later…they said they will issue a refund and it will process in 5 to 10 business days. I will never use priceline again…
I first tried the “wrong name” thing, and that didn’t fly. They were going to change the name for me! I sd it was booked for the wrong person….
Although I felt a bit odd, the miscarriage excuse works – I used it a few months ago. I’m wondering if they keep track of it…because I’m about to try it again.
i just called in and tried the “family member passed away” thing – the rep told me to email priceline and provide them with the name, relationship and funeral home info. will they check to verify this information, or is it just for filing/record keeping purposes?
thanks for your help!
Just used the one way excuse to cancel a rental car. Saved $38 and got a better car!
I had to create an account and comment on this. I thought I was stuck like chuck with a priceline car reservation…I used the one way excuse and didn’t even have to argue with them!!! The woman just asked me if I was sure I wanted to cancel and voila – cancelled!! She said I will get a full refund! You rock! Your Karma (good) must be high! Thanks so much for the advice.
In order to cancel due to a death do you need to wait until closer to the date to try to cancel. I have 3 weeks before my trip was supposed to happen. Can I call and cancel now using the death in the family approach?
Ooooooooo not quite sure…they do document all calls. Maybe tell them there’s something funeral related going on then maybe
Sent from my iPhone
Hi,
I am stuck with a price line hotel reservation I made yesterday. I called many times but they would not budge,. I quoted family emergency (thanks to ur blog) and they said they will 25$ per night which is going to cost me close to 200$. They do not want to waive that. The reason I do not like the hotel is I have got a very bad hotel with bad reviews and not even close to where I wanted. what are my options? Thanks.
Hello,
I have made a hotel reservation two days ago. The hotel I got seems to have bad reviews. Do they actually check the place you gave them if you tell them a family member passed away? What happens if they do check and find out you lied?
Thank you for your time.
Hi.
I hope you can help I booked 2 rooms in October and I found from the hotel at that category they do not have adjoining rooms and we definitely need these as we have a baby. I tried to cancel this with priceline saying the dates where wrong and they refused. Help please.
OH NO! Because you called already, and they document it, you’ll be SOL. Unfortunately, you’re not guaranteed adjoining rooms. If you call the hotel, and they agree to cancel the reservation, then priceline will have to cancel it, and refund you. that’s you only option at this point Christina 🙂
So I called Sheraton and they said they would be willing to cancel within 72 hours but they needed Priceline to call them and I would have to call Priceline which and I did, they asked me questions about who I spoke to. I gave them this information and they said they would transfer me customer relations officer which they did they asked me who I spoke and they needed to call them and verify if the reservations could be cancelled. Sheraton confirmed and it was cancelled. Thanks for your help.
So glad I could help 🙂 Christina
Hi Christina,
Gosh I wish I had’ve found your post a bit earlier! I just booked 2 nights in a hotel that is in a terrible location…and I’ve already called Priceline about how unhappy i am (with no luck) and also sent them an email. Do you think I have a good chance of getting a refund if I wait a few months (as I’ve booked 4 months in advance) to try the ‘family member passed away’? I’m wondering if they’ll refuse to refund because I’m in Australia and will have to give them an international phone number for a funeral place.
I feel sick to my stomach about my huge mistake using Priceline, so any advice is greatly appreciated 🙂
Thanks!
Anna
The only way out of it at this point would be to call the hotel, and see if they are willing to cancel the reservation. If they are, get the name of the person you spoke to, and call priceline back and tell them that. They’ll call and verify, and cancel. Good luck!
Christina Schmidt
HEY! Wish I had found this sooner..but question do they actually verify?…I name my own price on hotels all the time..only once have I tried 2 get out of it. I used military business as an excuse they wanted my commanding officers name and number..piece of cake..I just gave a friends number n the name of the base and my real co’s name. Now..I’ve booked a flight..I’m not happy with the times so I called n used military business as an excuse..this time they want a fax! That’s a little bit harder…now with this fax will they verify..or is it just 4 documentation..I have 48 hrs 2 get this done. So by tuesday..but I’m trying to have it done by tomorrow…help..don’t want to lie and it come back to bite me n the ass
That I’m not so sure about…air is always a lot trickier. Go ahead and send in the document to try, the most they can do is refuse to cancel. Sorry
Christina Schmidt
if they offer to cancel for a $25.00 a night fee for medical reasons, do they actually call the persons number or is it for documentation purposes? thanks for the advise!
thankthanks for your tips. I used the wrong location to get out of the rental care even thought mythanks husband had just called telling them the flights had just gone up o
I used the wrong location to get out of the rental car even though my husband had just called telling them the flights had gone up in that area and we needed to change the location. The rep even asked if we had just called and I confirmed but told him he wasn’t able to explain in detail why we needed to cancel since my baby was crying in the background cause he was ill which was true. He stated once that the other rep had explained we couldn’t cancel and then asked me twice if I wanted to cancel the reservation. He then cancelled it so easily. Thanks so much.
I couldn’t believe that I had an unauthorized flight booked on my card. I called priceline and they straight up refused to cancel it! I had to go through my credit card company and not they are in the process of reviewing it. What the heck!
Worked for me! I booked a NYOP hotel, I do it frequently. I got a good deal on a crappy 2 1/2 star hotel only to find out the next day that Ebay was selling some unoccupied timeshare condos for the same price I paid for my crappy 2.5 star hotel! I was hurting just htinking Im going to be staying in a dump when for the same price I could be staying locally in a nice condo. I may be going to hell, but it will be worth it! haha! I found a local funeral home, pulled up a name of a poor old sap that passed away, found out the funeral home he’s at, and said my wife’s father passed away. I didn’t think it was going to work. lol Im a pretty good actor because i pulled it off! haha and dont worry, this isnt my real name lol.
oh and i dont even have a wife. lol I gay
Whoever created this page, thank you SOOOOO much!
oh and NO cancellation fee! Who ever created this page, thank you SOOOO much!
Hi,
I saw a comment saying they document all conversations and had a question. I booked a hotel which is nowhere near where I was intending on staying. I didn’t call but sent an email asking if I could cancel because of that. Will I be able to call and utilize one of the tips above and still get to cancel it?
Thanks so much!
When I worked there, 3 years ago, emails were posted into the customers’ accounts…doesn’t hurt to try. Call hotel to see if they’d be willing to cancel. If so, you’re off the hook 🙂
Christina Schmidt
OK, so I spoke with the hotel and they said any changes would have to come from priceline. Do you think if I called a few days prior to the reservation with an “unexpected ” circumstance they would cancel? Thanks again for your help!!
As long as they’re WILLING to cancel, get the name of the person u spoke with and call priceline back
Christina Schmidt
This a very helpful site but wishes I would have founded it earlier. I booked a flight for my mom, dad, my daughter who is under 10 and me and they put us on a flight that does not get to our destination till 12:00 a.m. I need to arrive before 10:30 because my mom takes medication that makes her very sick. Will they switch my flight if I provide proof from her doctor, or is my best option to call and get the air line to cancel it? If I call the air line what do I tell them and how long does it take to get a refund? Thank you Christina, for your help!!!
if you use the “family member passed away”, do u need to have their insurance or can u use it even though you did not purchase the insurance?
Thank you for your help
Jamie
It’ll work regardless, or it should!
Christina Schmidt
I used the “family memember passing away” line and gave them all the info. However, when they called the hotel they say the hotel won’t allow a refund. When we call, it’s a different story. They tell us they don’t have our information to charge, that they don’t have a problem with us getting our money back but that we need to deal with Priceline. The hotel won’t give us anything stating this though. Any suggestions?
Get the name of the person u spoke w/ at hotel, and call priceline back. They’ll then call hotel and try to verify w/ that person
Christina Schmidt
We did, they did, same thing. It’s an obvious communication issue.
This worked for me and made me wonder: when you were a rep, how often did you get requests like this? Did you think the people you were talking to were telling the truth? Do you feel like Priceline treated you fairly when you worked there?
I an wondering about the “death in the family”excuse for priceline.If I find a person in the newspaper and give priceline their info (name + funeral home phone number) will priceline check things like relatives names,etc.Thanks in advance for your help.
I am wondering about the “death in the family”excuse for priceline.If I find a person in the newspaper and give priceline their info (name + funeral home phone number) will priceline check things like relatives names,etc.Thanks in advance for your help.
I don’t believe they do, but if it’s a flight, they want a death certificate
Christina Schmidt
I LOVE YOU FOR THIS. I just successfully cancelled a “Name Your Own Price” ticket two hours after my bid was accepted. It was a two-step process. STEP ONE: I said that I’d gotten confused and accidentally entered the wrong passenger name. They said that there would be a $150 fee to change the reservation, _plus_ a nonrefundable $30 change fee, but that the $150 charge would be reversed as soon as I logged back into the site and created a new reservation in the “correct” name (which they recorded.) STEP TWO: I played dumb and “misunderstood” the fees, charges, and rebooking process so badly, and for so long, that the guy got sick of trying to explain it to me. He put on hold, came back, and said that they’d simply cancel the entire business and give me a full refund, minus $7.45. This I finally “understood”. THANK YOU.
It is only a hotel reservation,I will try calling in a day so-will update you and your readers after that…THANK YOU!!!
Hi Christina!
So it seems that a lot of people have had success with your tips, I’m praying it works for me too! So here’s my situation: I was booking a hotel in Vegas for a trip with friends, and was looking for a hotel that was 4*. I used regions that had less than 4* in the area for rebids, but I was booked at a RESORT far away from the strip. Seeing how “resort” is a separate option on the stars, I assumed that it was an error in the system because well, if I wanted a resort, woudln’t I have selected it? Anyway, I called PL immediately to let them know they made an error and owed me a refund. However, they gave me the speech about how it was non-refundable and that the resort offered the amenities of a 4* and was therefore not an error. I argued and argued that resorts don’t have STARS and therefore it is not a 4* any way you look at it, but had no luck.
The hotel is far from the strip and the group I’m going with won’t even consider staying there, so I’m pretty much screwed because i’ve been charged already. What do you suggest I do next? I’m hoping the call i made doesn’t hurt my chances, but at this point I’m willing to pretty much say ANYTHING. Please help and thank you!!
Have two things for my hotel “Name Your Own Price” Clusterf****!
1) I entered the wrong date, so now I have a reservation for Sunday night and not Saturday! Ugh!! I called customer care and they are unrelenting.
2) I saw on the hotels website now that the fare is only $59! Which is less than what I paid, so now I can’t even sell it for half price because the website is offering it for that!! Oy!
So my question is this: now that they have documented that I tried calling in to have it changed for the wrong date, and now that they have it documented that I wanted it changed because of the cheaper rate, is there any recourse?
Obviously, me calling them isn’t going to do much good at this point because it’s been documented several times about this one stupid hotel night! Ugh!!
What to do? Tried the hotel and they said they cannot modify priceline reservations…..
help!!
Trisha
Call hotel and see if they would be willing to cancel the reservation (get their name). Priceline will call hotel, and speak w/ them, and will cancel res if hotel agrees not to charge them
Christina Schmidt
Hey Christina, did you have any advice for my situation? Should I try the death in the family/miscarriage route?
So I did a NYOP Airline and don’t like the times.
I cancelled my Debit card in hopes that would help to dispute the charges.
I called Priceline and talked to the first stage of reps. Told them I’d lost my card and notices fraudulent charges. They said sorry–They could only cancel with $150 fee.
I was calm, cool, collected. They said to call the customer relations at 5am Central time.
What should I tell them? Stay with this story(and have them call my bank) or change it up?
Please help!
When people said they would dispute their charges, we told them it was at their discretion. You may not get anything w/ fraudulent charges, and because they document it, if you call back for any reason, they will probably shut you down. You could call back when it gets closer and tell them you had a miscarriage, but you’d have to pray to get an inexperienced agent on the phone. No guarantees. After working there, I would NEVER do nyop air…the hours most likely will suck 😦 wish I had a better option.
Christina Schmidt ~www.stinkpretties.com~
I booked a room in South Beach Miami through the Name Your Price and was looking for at least 4 star. I tried many times and kept changing options and got a 3 star by mistake. Not bad for the price but way too far from where I wanted to stay. I also read many reviews on priceline and every other review said that this hotel had bed bugs! My second issue was a hidden charge mentioned of $15 per day the hotel charges at checkout.
I called and brought up both issues. Priceline said I need to call during day time for the bed bug issue. They said that their contract allows the hotel to charge incidental charges. The $15 resort fee is mandatory not incidental.
How do I get out of this Christina? Your help is greatly appreciated!!!
Unfortunately, hotels are able to add additional fees. What you’ll want to do is call the hotel and ask for a front office manager (get their name), and ask them if they would be willing to cancel the reservation…they just have to agree not to charge the priceline credit card. If they are, call priceline back, and tell them who you spoke with and they’ll call to verify it w/ them. Then you’re in the clear. Good luck 🙂
Christina Schmidt ~www.stinkpretties.com~
Christina – you are the GREATEST!! I was distraught and caught in a pickle. I had booked a hotel via priceline in down town LA. Turns out the hotel had terrible ratings and I had made a booking for 15 days that was going to cost over $1400!
I called the hotel spoke to the receptionist and she gave a lot of trouble insisting that they could not refund and didn’t do refunds. I called priceline and couldn’t get to the living…
I called the hotel back and asked to speak to the Front Office Manager, explained to her that I couldn’t make it and she cancelled without a qualm. I am so GRATEFUL for your blog!! You should start a travel advisory service company or better still customer services coz you have saved me over $1400!.
You’re very welcome 🙂
Christina Schmidt ~www.stinkpretties.com~
Thanks for this helpful page! I booked a hotel a couple days ago but I want to get out of it using the death excuse. Only thing is that I didn’t purchase trip insurance–do you think that will be an issue?
Not w- a hotel res…when I last worked there, they didn’t verify it. If it doesn’t work, talk to the hotel and if they’re willing to cancel w/o charging priceline, then they won’t charge you 🙂
Christina Schmidt ~www.stinkpretties.com~
Awesome. A couple more quick questions…Should I wait until a certain point (like 2 weeks before my reservation) to claim a death in the family, or does it not really matter? And how long until after they say they’ll “confirm” would the cancellation happen? I just don’t want to re-book if they haven’t sent me a confirmation that my card will be refunded. Thanks for all the help, and I’ll post to let everyone know how it goes!
Refund will be initiated immediately. I’d wait until the week before, to call.
Christina Schmidt ~www.stinkpretties.com~
HELP! I just booked my first trip to bangkok to visit a friend and on my return trip I have a 10 hr layover in tokyo japan. I am about to have an anxiety attact. I called the insurance and since I had just placed the name your own price flight she transfered me to see if I could change. OF COURSE NOT! is what the first person said. It is a contract. Finally one agent said she would charge me 30.00 and the 29.00 insurance fee but all I could do is try the name your own price again and then it is final. I crossed my fingers and tried again and of course got the exact same flight plus the extra 59.00 bucks they just charged me. How can I get out of this. I pray you have and answer or since you have been to thailand what do I do in tokyou for 10 hrs?
I have never had a layover longer than 6 hours in Tokyo, so you’re on your own there…I think you’re stuck!! Unless you call and tell them you had a miscarriage when it gets closer to your flight…last I knew, they didn’t verify it. Best of luck to ya!!
Oh yeah, I leave 11/30 and need this money to buy another ticket so I can get there on time. I only saved 200.00. I’d pay that to get home 10 hrs. sooner.
Unfortunately, NYOP is NOT the way to go for flights!! I’m sorry you found out the hard way…miscarriage or missing child is the only way out. You can TRY to take it up w/ credit card company, but probably won’t help, I just know we’d get lots of people telling us that when they were pissed. You can try emailing priceline through their website, but they will probably tell you the same thing
Christina Schmidt ~www.stinkpretties.com~
Okay, so I actually did have a death in the family, my grandfather unfortunately passed away the same day I made my reservation, yesterday. So instead of making my trip this weekend, I’ll have to go to Mexico for his funeral. I emaile’d priceline, told them my situation & received the form to fill w/the funeral home info. Well, in alot of Mexican family’s the vigil is held at a home, (odd I know, lol) which is our situation, so I can’t list a funeral home. So I decided to try & list the cemetery, but having veeeery limited communication w/my family in Mexico I don’t know the name of the cemetery he will be taken to.I really need to do this before I leave to Mexico, so I was forced to find a number for a random cemetery in the city & offer that as a contact number. Considering it’s an international call, will my chances of them denying me be higher? Or will they go through the trouble of the international call to confirm & then possibly deny me? Lol. 🙂
If I already called to try to cancel a name your own price hotel reservation with a legit reason that they wouldn’t accept, would you advise to not try the death in the family? Do they keep record of your phone calls? My reservation is for 11/11/11!
Just an update I didn’t feel good about the whole death thing (not judging anyone else!), so I called the hotel directly, they were cool with it, called priceline back and they confirmed while I was on the phone- whew! It’s cancelled and I’m getting all my money back! Thanks for this help!
They do keep record of the calls…call the hotel to see if they’d be willing to cancel w/o any cancellation fees. If they are, take the name of who you spoke with, call priceline back, and let them know who you spoke w/, so thy can verify it…good luck!!
Hi,
I am also pissed by this NYOP. I am scheduled to leave in three days. Do I have to have insurance for the miscarriage bail out? Also, is it better to email or call? Is it better to do this in the evening or day time (to get through an inexperienced or nicer person)? Thanks!
It’s hard to find a nice person there…the evening might have shorter wait times. No insurance is needed on the miscarriage or missing child excuses. If you have it, they’ll probably automatically send you to Them, and I’m not sure of their protocol. Good luck, and don’t book nyop flights!!
Hello,
So I used NYOP and selected hotels in the area with the resort option. The hotel I was booked into was not a resort and was far from where we wanted to stay. I have already called and explained how unhappy I was that we were booked in a hotel that wasnt even what we selected. The customer relations person just kept telling me the same thing over and over about how everything was non-refundable. Since you have said that they document every call, what is the next step to get out of this hotel?
I booked a NJ hotel from Nov. 26th to 28th. Unfortunately, I entered the wrong dates because my mother has to be in town for the 28th (we’re from Montreal, so there’s no way this was happening!). She called and tried to cancel with no luck. I called again an hour later and spoke to a verrryyy nice man to whom I told I had a doctor appointment on the 28th and entered the wrong dates. He refunded half of the reservation (around 95$) and said the balance could go towards the next reservation and he said I had a year to make the ‘correct’ reservation. The only fee I had to pay was $25. Really, I am impressed! I’m definitely going to NJ again either in nov. dec or or may 2012, so it was worth it.
I’m glad I stumbled on this blog because it gave me hope (lol) that this could be done, hehe 😉
Oh, the guy on the phone said I had a year to make a new reservation and that, then, the balance (around $100, minus the $25 cancellation fee) would be refunded. Is that true? I can’t seem to find anything about this anywhere on the PL website. I’m thinking about booking in May since the prices are too high for the weekend I wanted to go…
Sounds about right…they changed fees since I was there…rebook, and you’ll only be charged the 25th, but has to be the same criteria with whatever you told them you input wrong changed
I booked a hotel and i would like to change the reservation to one week prior. i have already called and given them a story (before i read this) and it didn’t work. What can i do now i only want to switch it, the hotel says they can’t change it but they were really nice. Please help? Priceline has shut me down twice on the phone and once via email.
^^
Maybe try calling again?
My mother called to cancel and they told her it was impossible and then I called an hour later and the man on the phone was super nice and cancelled when I told him I entered the wrong dates and had an doctor appointement in Montreal the day I booked the stay (with a partial refund, full refund minus $25 will be issued when I book my next trip within the next year).
hi. thanks for the tips. i was able to cancel my NYOP car rental with your help. The rep asked me about 5 times if I was sure I wanted to cancel. I kept telling her I wanted to do a one way rental and she instructed me how to make that choice in detail. So thanks again. saved me about $300 bucks!
You’re welcome!!!
Hey Christina, I booked a rental car back in late August with priceline and had forgotten that I had lost my driver’s license, which of course I would need to pick up the car. I didn’t know if priceline would accept that excuse to cancel my reservation so I tried what you said about telling them I meant to book one-way. I thought it had worked at first…she told me she would cancel it and give me a refund pending a check with the rental company to make sure I did not pick up the car. Well the last couple of credit card statements since then did not show a refund. Then I just recently realized they had sent an email asking for the reason for cancelation and any other relevant information. First of all, is it too late now? And secondly, do you have any suggestions on the best way to reply to their request? And thank you for this website!
Hi Christina,
I recently(11/9/2011) booked a round-trip retail flight for American Airlines on priceline for Mar. 15-18, 2012. I am now in a position where I don’t believe I will be able to make this trip, and I was wondering what your advice would be for canceling this flight and getting the highest refund possible?
I was hoping I could call and say that I got the dates incorrect/person’s name wrong. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Jordan
So I tried using your miscarriage line to them and the person that I got was SO extensive! She wanted the date that I miscarried, dr phone number, and hospital information. After all that she still charged 150 dollar fee for cancellation. The number I gave was a friend’s number and she actually called to verify if it was a real number. I was just wondering if legally, they may ask for all that information since she was so extensive with it and since you stated that no documentation would be required and since the whole fee was not refunded. Thanks for everything though, I would have been lost without this. Hope to hear a response!
When I worked there, 3 yrs ago, we didn’t require any verification. They must’ve changed a few things, did they say you’ll get any of the $150 back if you rebook??
No, they didn’t. Should I call back and ask them about it?
I’m wondering if it’s not a cancelation fee imposed by the airline…doubt it though! I wish I had more to tell you. At least you got most of the money back.
christina, i booked a flight for four weeks away and i need to cancel it-if i call now and say i had a miscarriage would this work or do i need to call closer to when my flight would be?
Probably closer to the flight…have a dr.’s # ready…one lady said they asked for it, and that she was still charged $150
his worked great but they charge a $150 cancellation fee min $30 after you rebook. However price has to be the same or greater and if you said you misspelled name(or whatever you told them) the change has to be reflected on the new itinerary/reservation.
Help Christina. You are so helpful
I booked a rental car about 2 weeks ago but now prices are cheaper on hotwire ( I use this as a gauge). If I call and use one-way excuse, could I or my wife re-bid or would I get flagged? Thanks!
The worst they’ll do is tell you no, but you could try the one way excuse…unfortunately, the pricing option is only valid for the first 24 hrs after you book, I think
Hey Christina, merry late Christmas.
I have a problem though and I was wondering if you had an answer. So I recently bought an airplane ticket ( yesterday) via priceline, the date of departure is actually really soon.( 2 days) The only problem is, there is a slight chance I might have to cancel because of family issues that are going on that might hold me back from going on the trip. Is there any way to get a refund. And what is the best way to do it. ( I was thinking about using the “someone passed away” excuse, but not totally sure…
I was really flustered when I purchased the tickets because I bought the protection an for all the tickets because it said there is a 100% cancelation fee for ” Other Events” so I assumed we could cancel if needed.
This is really stressful especially because of all the things tha
The insurance is through AIG if you did purchase it, and if you do the death, the airlines require a death certificate…try miscarriage, say it is your wife if you’re a guy, and say she is in a delicate medical situation…find a doctor’s phone # so they can call and “verify” which they legally can’t ask any questions about medical records
Good luck!!
Hi Christina – great post!!
I made a successful bid, but I made a mistake…I wanted to check in on 01/11/12 and checkout 01/15/12, but because I wanted to avoid the hassle of changing something on my bid, I just changed the date to 01/12/12-01/13/12 (essentially right in the middle of my trip). After I got my bid, I though I could just add on more dates, but the prices are through the roof.
I called priceline and they told me I had to either book a new hotel or pay the price shown online (about $100 more per night). So then I called again (thinking I was oh-so-smart) and told them that I made a mistake on the dates, but I can only cancel if I pay $25. Do you think I can call again, maybe in a day or two, and tell them someone in my family died? Do they keep records of these calls?
Oh, and when they talk to a customer on the phone, do they use my name to pull up all my records, even bids I made using a different credit card? I’ve used the “someone died” strategy once before….
HAPPY NEW YEAR, and thanks in advance 😀
p.s. I LOVE THIS BLOG
So I just found out that a trip I booked in April falls on the same day as a test in medical school, and the professor said I can’t take the test at any other time. At this point, is it too early to call with anything? I bought the trip insurance, just in case. I have flight and hotel reservations, but there is no way I can go on this trip. Any suggestions on what to do? Remember, I am in medical school, so the price I paid (upwards of $1000) is a lot of money to lose for me.
They’ll tell you to call AIG, the insurance company, and unfortunately, I’m not sure what they require 😦
Christina, I reserved a hotel for a concert in Memphis. However, the band has pushed the date of the concert to 2 months later. The room had a no cancellation policy on it, is there anyway I can get a refund/partial refund for this? I called the hotel, and they said they would, but that they physically can not. I called PL, and they won’t budge.
Get the name of the person you spoke with, who was willing to cancel it, and tell Priceline…they SHOULD issue a full refund if hotel isn’t going to charge pcln 🙂
Hey Christina, to begin, this is a great blog and I really value what you are doing to help out consumers. To my problem! Last night I used the Name Your Own Price service to reserve a hotel for myself and my girlfriend in New York City. I performed a search with “NO” applied filters except the city itself, this way I thought I would know all of the possible hotel rooms I could get. When I went through with the Name Your Own Price service, they granted me a hotel room in my specified area, but this hotel is not viewable by priceline’s search engine. In addition the hotel, though classic “the Roosevelt Hotel” has small windows and is a less modern type than we were looking for. Considering the hotel cannot be viewed as one of the possible 437 hotels above a 3.5 star rating in NYC, I feel that the contractual agreement should be void as a form of false advertisement.
When I spoke with customer service they gave me the “no cancellation policy line” but eventually passed me up to a Customer Relations Specialist (CRS). The CRS explained to me that due to the part of the contract that states, “The hotel that is selected may or may not be one that you have seen during a hotel search on priceline” my concern with being unable to view the Roosevelt Hotel on priceline’s website was not an infringement of the Name Your Own Price contract and as a result I was not entitled to any sort of cancellation.
I feel as if this is false advertising because no where in the contract does it state, “The hotel that is selected may or may not be one that you CAN SEE during a hotel search on priceline.”
As I stated, I spoke with one of the CRS members and he told me that I had no grounds on which to merit a cancellation. I finally asked to speak with his supervisor, and he told me to send a letter to the President of Customer Relations Management at 800 Connecticut Ave. I imagine that my letter would fall on deaf ears but will go through with it if you think I have any chance of successful cancellation.
In conclusion, Christina, I would be ecstatic if you could lend me your professional opinion on this issue. Do you think I have any fighting chance of getting a refund for this reservation, and if so, what steps would you recommend I take in order to maximize my chances of completing this goal.
Thank you for your time!
If you can get mgmt from the hotel to AGREE to cancel, they’ll tell you they can’t cancel it, get the name of the person you spoke with, and call Priceline back to tell them the hotel agreed to cancel, and give them the name of who you spoke with, and they SHOULD cancel without penalty if hotel allows for full refund
Thanks for the quick reply Christina! I have a few questions though 🙂
1. So I should call mgmt at the hotel and ask to cancel the reservation, which they will refuse to do, but the whole point is getting their name?
2. Then I call back priceline. Do I talk to the customer service representative or the customer relations specialist?
3. Then I tell priceline that the hotel granted the cancellation, even though they didn’t.
4. Then the priceline representative will grant the cancellation? Additionally, what do you mean if the hotel allows for a full refund? Does the hotel always manage the refunding, and priceline manages the decision about cancelling?
I just want to make sure that I am crystal clear before I call anyone. Thanks again for everything!
Or do I get the hotel management to agree to refund as long as priceline allows me to cancel?
Wow Christina, contacting the hotel and requesting a cancellation worked like a charm! I asked if they would reimburse priceline in teh event of a cancellation, took down the Hotel Reservation Officer’s name, informed priceline of the Hotel’s willingness to cancel, and from there on out it was smooth sailing. Thank you so much for lending your expertise, and saving my vacation!
Take Care!
Glad I could help 🙂
Too bad I didn’t read this earlier. Is there any way to get a full refund of a flight that you originally purchased with wrong dates and then re-purchased with the same dates, only because when choosing the correct date, it says sorry there are no flights during this timeframe? I went back and chose the date that was originally wrong because it’s the only other date I could use and priceline says I never changed the date. I did change the date in the new request, but due to the error, it would not accept my new date range, so I went back to the old date so I could recover the refund and just secure a flight. I was partially refunded but was told once I secure the new flight, to call back and get the rest of the refund. I called back and because the dates didn’t change from the first request, I can no longer get the rest of the refund. On the phone, noone ever said it was contingent on anything. Is there a way to get the rest of the money back, if any of this makes sense, as I’ve already re-purchased newer tickets?
You could always call and say there was a miscarriage or a missing child…last I knew, they didn’t verify it
Hi Christina, I know I posted a bit back, and you gave me an answer, but I am the type that likes to make sure the odds are furthest in my favor before acting. I have the med school test situation, and I think you said I could use that, but I assume that it wouldn’t get me too far, even though I bought the “trip insurance.” Would waiting til March (trip is last weekend in March) and claiming a miscarriage benefit me more than trying the med student approach? I just figure you know how to attack the situation better than I do, and am seeking your opinion on the matter. Thanks in advance for any guidance.
Hi Christina
What a great blog! I would really appreciate it if you can provide some insights. I was trying to bid on a hotel on priceline. I walked away to do some stuffs and my kid got a hold of the ipad and pressed submit. We won the bid for the hotel. I immediately called Priceline but they told me that there is nothing they can do about. I called my credit card and they told me that they can’t dispute the charges with Priceline because of Priceline’s non-cancellation & non-refunded. I called the hotel and the hotel front desk said that they don’t know if they can do it so they will have the manager to call me back. I am afraid that the manager won’t call me back. Please help. Thank you so much
Hey christina
My friends are coming to visit me for my wedding in June and they booked a unnessicary car rental is there anyway to get out of this at all. We’ll try anything.
Try saying you meant to book a one way, and say another random city…they should allow you to cancel
wow quick response by one way do you mean i should say i meant to just pick the car up and drop it off. They booked it for a 7 day rental. If you could elaborate at all i would greatly appreciate it.
One way means you’re picking it up from another location than you’re dropping it off at…when I worked there, we just cancelled the reservation if they said they meant to book a one-way rental, so I think they’ll cancel it w/o penalty.
Hi Christina
I posted on February 9th. The hotel manager called me back and informed that he wouldn’t cancel the hotel reservation because it is policy and he had people trying to get out of Name Your Own Price. Now I have to move my trip two days earlier. Should I call priceline and ask them I put in the wrong date or should I call the hotel to ask them if they could change the check-in date?
You can ask the manager if he’s willing to change the dates, and if he will allow it, call Priceline back…they will just document it, and tell the hotel they can change it
Hi Christina, I posted on January 9th seeking advice on getting out of a priceline trip booked for Mar. 31- Apr. 2. I have read your recommendations, and was curious as to what you recommend for my situation. I can’t go at all, so any help would be great.
I did a NYOP for a hotel reservation (bad idea, which i know NOW). They gave me a horrible hotel with little accommodations which was suppose to be 4 stars +. Plus with all the resort fees, and everything else to upgrade, I thought the deal i got was HORRIBLE. I could’ve gotten the same room type at another hotel for a fraction of the cost. They’re supposed to be helping us save, yet they just wanted to take our money. In my books, that is known as FALSE ADVERTISEMENT! Like everyone else, I called customer service over, and over, and over, and over again for cancellation, changes, or SOMETHING. but nope, I was given the repetitive answer of “you agreed to the contract. too bad, so sad”. Some reps even hung up on me too.
But lucky enough, I stumbled upon this blog while looking for some help. I tried the “hotel agrees to cancel without a charge. I have the name of the person. hotel gives you your money back, and you give me my money back” They left me on hold to call & verify, yet they only hung up on me after a very long wait. After three times of trying that, I got a very nice rep where I used the above reason, plus my cancellation with the hotel was due to a family death. After that it was golden 🙂 I suggest everyone use this. He didn’t call the hotel to verify. He did ask for the name of the funeral home and the phone number to verify. Which aint nothing google can’t help. I gave him my friend’s number just in case he was going to call, but after getting the information, he immediately said it was ‘verified’. I’m happy because I got a cancellation #. (which I’m still kinda iffy about until the money actually returns in my account!)
I just wanted to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH for everyone’s experiences & especially Christina! I seriously did not know what to do before I saw your blog. I have never been so frustrated with customer service in my life. It was like talking to a wall. I know now to never ever ever ever ever use priceline again.
I hope everyone else can get away from Priceline as well 🙂
-oh, and don’t worry about them documenting your calls. I’ve called a bajillion times today with different excuses trying to cancel. Just go for death (as bad as that sounds)
LESSON LEARNED.
SO glad everything worked out for you 🙂
Christina–You are amazing! I wish I had seen this earlier, but I did successfully get out of my Name Your Price hotel reservation, by essentially doing what you had posted. I wanted to share my experience in case it helps others.
Like you suggested and I didn’t even know this, but I called the hotel to request the cancellation. I didn’t call Priceline Customer Service back, but I emailed their corporate management team and advised them that I could not stay due to a medical condition (true, but I didn’t purchase the insurance). Management called me and stated that since the hotel would agree to cancel, they would cancel the reservation. No other explanation or excuse works and to other people DON’T TRY TO BLAME PRICELINE (with fraud, breach of contract, bait & switch, etc)–THEY HAVE EVERY ANGLE COVERED. Just provide them with the excuse on why you can’t travel (death, illness, etc.), and get your money back! Thanks, Christina and Good Luck to everyone!
christina,
all i can say is thanks =)
i booked a NYOP hotel reservation on PriceLine. unfortunately, i was completely & 100% unsatisfied with the hotel that was booked on my behalf (i did not like the hotel location, the reviews, & the hotel chain). quite frankly i think PL did not give me a good deal in general.
I used your advice of death in the family (shameful i know). however, this is the ONLY excuse that seems to work with PL when trying to cancel a reservation. i had initially called PL earlier & claimed a stolen credit card, but the PL customer service rep merely quoted their no-cancellation policy. frustrated, i decided to research PL cancellation policies online & voila…..came across this blog in a search (i had a feeling i wasnt the only person who had been screwed by PL!!!). i was worried about the fact that i had already called PL & spoke to numerous different people claiming a stolen credit card & my reason given for my initial call showing up in my history, but i decided to give it a shot simply because some people on this blog got had gotten positive results with your advice.
first, i called the hotel, spoke with the front desk & the hotel manager. both said that they were not able to cancel PL reservations (not surprising) on their end because PL owns the hotel room. i took their names and thanked them. i then did a little research online & came up with information for a upcoming funeral.
armed with this info i called the customer service phone # for PL. i explained my “situation” to my customer service agent. i was asked for my reservation #. i explained that i called the hotel and requested my reservation be cancelled due to my “situation” & i was told only PL can cancel reservations. my PL agent never asked for the contact info of the person i spoke to at the hotel. i was only asked for the funeral information, which i provided. i was told that upon verification of the funeral information my reservation would be cancelled & my $$$ refunded. i was not given a reference # for my call, but the PL customer service agent assured me i would be notified by email within 7 business days. i thanked them & hung up.
less that 2 hrs later, i got a confirmation email from PL that my reservation had been cancelled =)
thanks again to christina & everyone else that posted comments & advice about their PL NYOP experiences. i was about to give up & could not have gotten my refund without you!
There are enough stories here so that everyone will get the idea i just wanted to say thank you for this i was able to cancel my reservation by going through the hotel and you really made my day
Hi Christina. Your blog is really useful. I was wondering what happens if the card Priceline tries to charge for a NYOP hotel reservation is ultimately declined, does Priceline try to take the customer to collections if the reservation isn’t paid for or do they drop the matter but ban you from using Priceline again? Thanks!
The reservation is charged to your credit card upon booking, so of it declines, no reservation. If its already hooked, your reservation is still valid
If I call the hotel where I made my NYOP reservation to switch dates out a month, do I have to call Priceline afterward to confirm the switch? Is it just between me and the hotel at that point? And can I just ask to switch or do I need to apply your suggestion to switching dates? Thanks.
What I would do is call hotel to cancel and rebook, but make sure hotel has availability the nights you want it…they get stickier when trying to change res. there are typically automatic restrictions on an Internet reservation in their software. I’ve worked on hotels, and it’s just easier to cancel
i was trying to fly my friend out here for june 5th til the 20th but she just told me that he classes got changed so i figured id either change the dates in the same month or try to get a refund and re-purchase. which do you think is best?
You did nyop, or did you get to choose the flights??
i got to pick my flights
If you picked your flights, you will have to deal directly with the airline. You will probably just be charged a fee to reschedule.
i called priceline and they said they have it in there system that i want to change my flight or get a refund. should i still go through them or go to the airline. the flights are on 2 airlines and i didnt know how it would work if id have to go with just one or both.
Call one of the airlines, and if they say they can’t make changes, the other airline owns the reservation. Priceline will tell you to call the airline, and when I worked there (4 yrs ago), there wasn’t a way for us to know which airline had the reservation. Getting through to an airline is most likely easier than Priceline 🙂
Hi Christina:
The charge for the reservation went through, but I didn’t go to the reservation because the hotel isn’t what I booked. I’ve initiated a chargeback for fraud with my cc company. Do you know how Priceline usually deals with chargebacks?
You may not see the refund…I don’t think many of those work 😦
When you say it wasn’t the hotel you booked, you meant to get a particular hotel, but ended up with a name your own price?? Anytime you do nyop, you do not get to select which hotel!!
The best way to take care of it is to call the hotel, and see if they charged the Priceline card for the night, and see if they’d be willing to offer full refund. If they are, get the name of the person you spoke with, and call Priceline letting them know the hotel is willing to refund you, and they’ll call to verify!!
Hi Christina:
Thanks for the info. I did do the NYOP, but didn’t see/realize that there was a “Resort” category until I was confirmed for a hotel way out of my way. I guess I’ll just have to deal with the cc company.
I called the hotel and they credited Priceline back part of the reservation, but not all of it. They couldn’t tell me how much and said that they have a contract with Priceline regarding cancellations, but she couldn’t tell me the specifics.
Hi Christina – I booked a car rental through priceline and didn’t realize when I did name your own price that it would be automatically booked then. i emailed customer service to ask about cancelling and they explained rental NYOP are automatic and apologized for me not seeing their fine print. So, I accepted that – what else could I do. Well, now it turns out, I do not need the rental car as long as I thought I did. So, I called Alamo and they said Priceline would have to change it. Then I called Priceline and they said only Alamo could change it. So, Alamo main line put me to the counter of Alamo where I am picking up the car and they said only Priceline could change it, but, Priceline does not offer refunds so there was nothing I could do. Any way around this? It stinks because I am paying $187 for 4 days when i could have gotten a better deal. And now even worse is that I only need it for 1 day because my sister is going to be in Fla with her van. UGH! ANy advice to get me out of this?
Oh and I forgot to add that i already booked it as a one way rental. 😦
Hi Christina i booked a trip for a family of 5 i used the package flight and car togather when it was done i relized i entered may 15 as a return date when i needed may 14 i just dont know what to do i am afried to cancel with out haveing another reservation and the system will not let me make one when i already have a current one they tell me i have to follow the email direction to the letter for the refund of $120.00 of the fee leaving me with $30.00 fee per ticket and 24.95 for the car still alot of monwy but better then the $150.00 per ticket but that email only comes after you cancel and there is no Guarantee there will be a flight with the times and dates i need it will then cost me 150.00 per ticket thats a lot of money $750.00 for hitting the wrong number on the drop down calander i just dont know what to do i have talked to them 3 times and no one can tell what the email will say in the directions like is there a time limit and what happens if there is no flight with the days i need can you suggest what i can do i have till 11:30 pm eastern time april 13, 2012 to cancel and how i look at it is impossable to cancel
Christina –
I was just curious what I should do after reading through this….
I booked a trip for 4 nights end of Sept….
Problem is I got stuck in a hotel I didn’t want to be in at a bad area…..I already emailed PL and then called them to no avail stating that I was backed into a hotel zone I didn’t want to be in….
After going round and round w/ PL, someone suggested I file a chargeback w/ AMEX…
Anyways, I also now have been given word that the business trip that was to be a couple days of the trip is no longer happening
Should I call the hotel next and see if they will cancel?
What steps do I need to take to get this right?
Hello Christina! I have a problem here. I booked a noyp car rental. Since renting, I received an email from Budget stating that the car cannot go west of the Mississippi River. I rented the car to take to SD (west of the Mississippi River). There is nothing on pricelines policies that states this. I have been on the phone several different times with Priceline and Budget to see if the reservation can be cancelled or modified. I cannot get anywhere with either of these companies. Is there any recourse for me? I have seen on here that if the hotel will cancel the reservation then priceline will usually cancel, will that work the same for a car rental? If not, the car does nothing for me…HELP please 😦 Thank you in advance.
I got a total refund with no fees, do to the fact that it was Budget that wouldn’t allow me to go west of the Mississippi River. Thank goodness cause my next call was to the Attorney Generals Office to file a formal complaint 🙂 Good luck to everyone out there dealing with priceline!!!
Hi – Do you have a suggestion for cancelling prepaid car rental on Kauai where there is not different drop off point on the island??? Thanks…Ed
This is the best advise about priceline! I recently booked a room through NYOPfor my family of 5. I then realized it was for a room with one bed & even worse the hotel they gave me is said to be haunted…it even hosts ghost tours of the hotel. Not a good idea for a family with 3 small kids. I read your advise then called the hotel & asked if they were willing to cancel. Thankfully they said yes! They also told me to call Priceline n tell them they were willi g to cancel with no penalties. I called Priceline gave them the info & name of the person at the hotel. They put me on hold while they called the hotel. Then came back on the line & said I would be issued a full refund. I AM VERY RELIEVED! I wouldn’t have known what to do without your advise. I CAN’T THHANK U ENOUGH!!!!
Amazing blog, so helpful. I hope to become one of the successful people as well. Here is my situation, would love any advice.
I picked my own flight for middle of June to NYC, there is a 12 hour layover and I can find a cheaper ticket now. Based on what I have read, I will have to go through the airline, but the problem is that my flight consists of 4 different airlines. Do I have to call all of them or does one of them own the entire ticket? Thanks! And what should I be expecting in terms of fees? Will I be able to get a refund? Im fine with a 150$ fee.
do you think that it would be easier to get the airline to postpone my flight or to get them to just shorten the dates?
Thank you soooo much for posting this! RIP to my imaginary sister, Denise Huxtable!
Christina -I can not thank you enough for making this blog!! Just wish I found it 2 hours ago…Anyways can you help me?
I booked a hotel through NYOP for the end of June. The hotel they gave us is only going to give us one bed in a tiny room. We are bringing our 3 children so this will not work. I tired calling the hotel to upgrade and just pay the difference, but they are completely booked. I also tried to just cancel the reservation, but the hotel claimed that they were not authorized and the only way to cancel was through priceline.
So I called Priceline who after speaking with several representives, said no.
I booked the trip using the Priceline Rewards Visa Card. I called them and they that I couldn’t cancel the charges and that I needed to call back to Priceline. So since I just got the card today and the charges are still pending I canceled the card hoping this will then cancel the pending charges and cancel the reservation.
Will this work? Should I wait a few days and call back claiming a death in the family? Or since I’ve already called a few times trying to cancel will they flag my call and say no?
I don’t know that it will…call the hotel and ask if they would be willing to cancel the reservation without charge, and get the name of who you spoke to. If they’re booked up, they will probably be willing to, because they could sell it for more. Call priceline back and tell them the hotel is willing to cancel without a fee, they’ll call to verify, and they’ll cancel it if hotel says they will. Good luck
Wow you are crazy fast with reply’s! I called the hotel and they said they can’t cancel but they gave me the email for the manager. Hopefully he lets me cancel. Thanks for your help!
Yay! So the hotel manager emailed me back and let me know that they DO have a 24 hour cancellation policy(even though I had been told “NO!” by the hotel receptionist’s 3 times!). He said I needed to have Priceline send him a fax letting the hotel know I wanted to cancel, and then they would. So I called back to Priceline, talked to 2 different people, waited on hold forever while they called the hotel to confirm…and they CANCELLED THE RESERVATION!!!!!!!
Thank you sooooooo much for your help Christina!
do i understand correctly that if i have already called and emailed and cried like a baby that i don’t have much of a chance of being believed when i say there was a death in the family? i’m wishing i’d found your site before. i HATE nyop… never again!
Hey Christina,
I have a situation and I am hoping you can give me some advice. I booked a hotel through priceline and it was prepaid. It was not a NYOP. My trip is in 18 days and I was just put on strict bedrest for my pregnancy and my doctor said there is no way I can go on my trip. I called priceline before my appt to see if I could cancel should the need arise but I didnt know yet that I was going to have to. They said no. I called the hotel after my Dr. appt and they said that since they had already paid priceline there was nothing they could do. Does my situation count for a potential refund if I talk to a manager at PL? Or do I need to claim a death etc? My Dr. is happy to write me a letter etc saying I cant travel. What do you think? Thanks in advance!! I really appreciate it.
If the hotel is willing to cancel with a full refund, then Priceline will just call to verify…get the name of the person you spoke with, if they say yes, and they’ll issue full refund. If you call and have a dr’s note, I think there’s still a fee, so try going through hotel first. Make sure you ask “would you be WILLING to cancel the reservation for a full refund?” call pcln back and let them know who you spoke with…good luck!!!
Hey! I need to cancel a flight and I do have travel insurance. I have a Dr. friend that is willing to write me a medical excuse and my travel insurance info says to contact BerkelyCare or request a claim at http://www.travelclaim.com. What medical excuses do they accept or reject?
Hey! Thanks so much for the info! I really appreciate you getting back to me. I will give it a try. Thanks again
Christina,
I made a reservation for 3 standard rooms in Boston a few days ago. The site DID NOT ask for number of people, just number of rooms. We are a party of 8 so I figured that 3 standard rooms (which I assumed would be 2 double beds per room) would be sufficient. When I got the confirmation email, I found out that I have 3 rooms with 1 double bed each. I called the hotel (like the site says) to request that at least one room have 2 double beds. They told me I had to deal with Priceline. I called Priceline, and they told me I had to deal with the hotel. When I explained the hotel would not help me, the rep offered to call. After about 20 minutes, the rep came back on the phone, said she had made the request, and the hotel would not guarantee that I would get 2 double beds until check-in, which could potentially leave us in Boston without enough beds for all of my party. When I asked the rep what I could do, her reply was “Sorry. You booked standard rooms. We can’t help you.” I am not sure what to do next. Any suggestions? I can’t have my eldery parents, my children, and an infant in Boston without enough beds to sleep in!
Hi Christina. I just wanted to say a quick thank you for what you are doing for people through your blog. I will not be using priceline (or any travel site) ever again. I have sworn to book directly with hotels, etc. even if it costs more.
I won the chargeback against priceline! (see march 30 comment).
Thanks again!
Thanks a lot for the advice, Christina! I had a pretty good car res via NYOP, but stuff happened (as it always seems to do) and I needed to alter my trip. Thanks to your good advice, I called Priceline, told them I had originally intended to book one-way, and the rep cancelled my res without any difficulty and instructed me how to make my one-way res properly next time.
Worked Like Magic for Car and Air.. Thank You so much!!!!
I just called the hotel and gave a name to Priceline. They confirmed while I was on the phone (so they said) and canceled my reservation. Thanks for this blog post!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I did not have to make up excuses. I just called the hotel, asked if they would be willing to cancel without a penalty, they said yes. Called priceline, got transferred to a CRS who verified the info with the hotel and that was it. Painless!
hi christina. I hope you can help me. I recently bought a vacation package to Las Vegas which included flight and hotel, but after I bought it I realized the hotel in the package is very far away fromm the strip, where i want to be. priceline has another vacation package to another hotel which iss just $20 more than the one i bought. I called priceline to see if they could do exchange but they refusedbecause they said it was nonrefundable and also becausee the hotel came in the package so they couldnt change the hotel. What do you suggest me to do? 😦
should i try calling the hotel even though its a vacation package, will that work? if yes, then shoudl i call now? my vacation is for the end of august, so should i call now or wait till its close to my vacationn date?
Christina,
Thank you so much for this blog! I just did the NYOP airline flight as of three hours ago and in that time my sister told me that she was going to have to cancle my visit up there… Bham-D.C., because she has to unexpectedly had to work. So, I don’t know what to do. HELP!! I am scared to call C.S. before I know what to say, because I want to know 100 that my “excuse,” is going to work… I purchased the My Priceline Visa Rewards Card, because of the extra 25 off….. HELP, what do I say? I really need the 500 back….
Thanks Christina, the one way car rental excuse worked perfectly. I’m so glad you started this blog. Thanks again.
Hey Christina, I purchased a flight for someone back in February and booked it for June. The person I bought it for has decided not to come anymore so I asked the airline to cancel my flight and postpone it. They said I have until February of 2012 to book another one. Have any suggestions on what to say so I can get a refund since the person I purchased it for wont be using it at all?
Thanks for posting this info! I need to get out of a name-your-own-price hotel reservation. How close to the arrival date should I wait to call about a death in the family?
THIS HAS BEEN A LIFE SAVER!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH I DONT KNOW WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT THIS BLOG! I MADE THE MISTAKE OF NAMING MY OWN PRICE.
Hello! Your advice helped me tremendously! Thank you! I just went through a 4 hour!!! ordeal with priceline trying to cancel my hotel reservation. I will never book with priceline again!
ok so I called and they said that they could not change or cancel my reservation for the oen way excuse. is there anything else i can do?
Christina, I just wanted to say thank you. I came across your blog and I must say the information you provided was very helpful. I have never used Priceline.com, and figured I’d give it a whirl. I did not realize that I was using the name your own price feature, until the end…and furthermore did not know that initialing the page would commit me to purchase the, without the opportunity for a refund or to change the reservation. When I saw the confirmation of purchase…for the COMPLETE wrong dates, I was very upset. So I called Priceline…spoke with the rep, and over an hour of arguing, they hung up on me. I then came across this blog, and called back using the “medical excuse” and I was issued an immediate refund, minus a small cancellation fee. Considering that the fee is trivial compared to the amount of the reservation, I am relieved. It sounds like this kind of issue happens all the time…and Priceline has just taken a hard stand against helping their customers. It’s almost dishonest, because it is so easy for a user of the site to make a mistake…and have NO ability to resolve the issue. One thing is for sure…I will NEVER use their service for anything in the future.
Hi Christina,
Today, I booked 4 nights to a hotel, NYOP. I wish to cancel by calling and using the ‘death in the family’ excuse. But my hotel stay is booked for December. Since it is only August, should I wait for a few months to call or calling now, saying that a member of the family died and will no longer be traveling, will work also. Please advice. Thanks.
Seriously….I just came across this blog today!! I booked a NYOP hotel stay for next weekend and the hotel booked was not nearly as close as we needed it to be and then an Express Deal just happened with a much better hotel, much closer, more of everything we needed…so I booked it as well thinking I would just have to chalk the NYOP room as a loss. NOPE!!! I called the NYOP hotel, got the name of the front office manager, called priceline, told them the hotel agreed to cancel, Priceline called the hotel to confirm and BAM!!!! Refund baby!! This saved me $54.75 Amen Amen Amen!!!
I wish I had found this site. I booked a priceline name your price airline tickets. I wanted 10/1 they are saying I accepted 10/4. I have tried to change the flight and informed them that I put in for the first. They are saying I accepted the fourth airline tickets. I called United and they said they have the same ticket available for 10/1 that would not cost priceline any more. Priceline is refusing to change my ticket. I have called my bank and initiated a charge back but my bank does not think it will stick. I have to be in Minneapolis on 10/1 any idea what I need to do?
Christina,
I bought a nyop flight with delta last night, and would like to cancel. I called them a minute after and tried to change it, but then I had to hang up anyway because someone was on the other line. Then I bought the insurance just in case.. What excuse would lead to the best outcome? If I claim a death, will they make me file a death certificate since i have the ins? Is it too soon to claim a miscarriage? What if I give them my father’s doctors’ names, info, will they verify, or since i have insurance, will they need documentation?
Thank you soooooooooooo much! I had an authorization placed on my bank account after I NYOP on a hotel. The hotel was in a seedy area, it looked gross! And it was no where near the location! I use Priceline all the time for airline and hotel reservations 99.9% of the time i get good deals and prices. I called my bank and they erased the authorization but a few days later they charged me $280! I was apprehensive about calling Priceline until I came across your website! I read several viewers stories! I called in and told them I had the wrong dates. The lady was real nice age refunded me $200 and then she said I can get the cancellation fee back if I book with them -$25.
Hi Christina.
I recently used priceline to book a vacation package inluding air, hotel, and rental car for my wife and I to attend a wedding, however the wedding has since been called off. Any idea what approach I should take to handle this situation? I am hoping to cancel the entire package if possible. Any help is appreciated!
Thank you so much in advance!
OH thank you, thank you, thank you. I also did a name your own price hotel on priceline. I had made a mistake and clicked on the wrong area and it was accepted. I called priceline and got the no refund, no cancel reply. So I called the hotel and they said no cancel penalties. So I called priceline and told them. They put me on hold for a long time and then came back and told me they could cancel it for a one night fee. I really don’t mind that as I really, really didn’t want that area. You saved me $!000. Thank you again.
Hi Christina, My husband booked a NYOP hotel for in December (Christmas time) at a hotel that I really, really, really don’t want to stay at. I’ve tried calling the hotel and speaking to the manager, and have called PL twice, but to no avail: same answer, no refund – no change or cancellation. Similar to the person above, I don’t think I can use the death excuse because it’s all the way in December when we travel…any advice or tips would be helpful, thank you.
DON’T USE PRICELINE… It’s not worth it. If you’re reading this site, it’s probably because you already used it and want a refund.. In that case, I’m sorry cause that sucks.
Priceline started catching on and will not give a refund for NOYP no matter what.. I have tried the death excuse and they denied me, even with proof of a death certificate. Luckily I called delta and had a very kind woman cancel my flight (with no excuse at all) and offer me credit for up to a year. She couldn’t give me credit back on my credit card because apparently it was paid for in cash — it was not, it was paid for by credit card — I thought this was some sort of scam but it just means that priceline bought the tickets in cash and sold it to me by credit..
I then made the mistake of calling delta again to see if my cancellation had gone through (I just couldn’t believe that I was being credited).. This second delta lady, before I could say anything, told me to refer back to priceline. Before I gave her any more of my information, I told her I had someone on the other line and we ended the call. Hopefully notes from the first delta woman will stay in tact and I can at least keep this credit.. If not f*** priceline. You guys really effing suck.
thank you so much for posting this tip about rental car cancellations – you have saved me $230! on a car i couldn’t use because we are snowed in!!! thank you and happy holidays!!!
Christina, Im leaving tomorrow on a flight tomorrow to denver and i did NYOP. I need to cancel due to the arriving time being past the departing shuttle time at 2:00 p.m. How do i get out of this? Thanks for your help!
Call and tell them your wife had a miscarriage…have a random doctor’s name and phone # just in case, but when I worked there, we never needed to collect any info for that excuse. They would only call and verify by voicemail or with whomever answered the phone that it was a legitimate # (if that). Good luck!!!
I with my busy and hectic life style with work and four kids got ripped off on my bday, they double booked me(one of them said no but if i pay an extra 20..I NEVER accepted it and they still charged me..they said it was my error..then in November happened again..Double booked and my credit card and price line wouldn’t work with me..I have spent 6,999.97 dollars on them(i travel alot for work) that’s in 14 months. i wrote to them and asked if they could at least give me a credit and no..5 times I couldn’t make it(never called)…Now I cant make it to a hotel tonight because my daughter really is sick on her bday. its like 80.00 and i got hit with a tornado of problems…I want to book tomorrow since she might feel better….What should I do? I lost tooooo much money with them..
If the hotel overbooks you should get a refund no questions asked…even if they walk you to another hotel!!
For tonight’s reservation, call the hotel, and ask the manager if they’re willing to cancel, without penalty, if Priceline does. Get their name, and call Priceline back…they’ll call to verify, and should issue full refund
Hi Christina, I booked a flight to 2 weeks ago departing midweek next week, how would I come about canceling the flight? My mother have been really ill and I don’t want to travel during this time. I also purchased the “Airline Ticket Travel Insurance”. Would I be able to get a full refund or charged with a cancellation fee? Thank you in advance!
You would need to call the insurance company (AIG is what we use when I was there) and they’d tell you how much you’re covered for. I can’t guarantee anything because they’re a different entity
Thank you for your advice! I will give the insurance company a call!
Hi Christina!! This blog is so informative…. Hope you can give me some advice
I purchased a flight for me and my boyfriend (not at the same time so I have two different itineraries) via retail (not NYOP) and added the travel insurance for May. We both can no longer go on the trip. I wanted to use the miscarriage excuse a couple days before the trip but if my boyfriend was to call and say that I had a miscarriage would they require a Dr.’s note since I am the patient/flyer and can get access to a note in order for both of us to get a refund? Versus if he just said he has a wife/gf that had a miscarriage and could not obtain a Dr.’s note since that information is confidential and just give them a name/# of an office to call (that way that least one of our tickets are refunded)? I hope I am clear in my question… THANKS IN ADVANCE
They’ll tell you to call the insurance company, and I don’t know their regulations 😦
Oh I see… if I didn’t buy insurance I would go through Priceline themselves… Do you think it would be easier going through the airline (I am a frequent flyer) and not even tell them I bought insurance through Priceline? I just don’t want to get too tangled in too many lies and just want some of my money back?
thanks for everything ….you just saved me $200 on a car rental!!!
Thanks for the advice. I did a name your price and was stuck with outrageous leaving times from 8:30pm leaving and getting to the destination at 11:59 pm on a Friday and turn around and Leave at 5:00 am on a Sunday. Highway robbery! I do have one question, the lady said I will be charge $8.40 plus $150. and will be refunded $137 if I call back with a new reservation number can they do this or will they? The cancellation refund email states that I will be credited back my refund up to 48 hours if if was made the same day and it was. I told them that I put the wrong name.
The. Yes, they should credit it back, however, it may not if you out the same name in it
The car reservation excuse worked like a charm! Thank you!
However, I now have another issue…I booked my flight and then had to have it cancelled because I put in the wrong date.Now priceline has charged me $30 per ticket to cancel and holding $150 per ticket (total of $300) and they were so rude to me over the last 2 days I do NOT want to rebook however, as you know I do not have a choice if I want to get my cancellation fee back…I was wondering if I would rebook and then a week later call and give the miscarriage excuse would I be able to cancel those tickets and get all my money back? Any advice?
You might be able to, at least in the system we used 5 yrs ago, as long as you make sure to use the NEW itinerary # when you call in…otherwise they may know it was a prior cancellation. Again, I’m not sure how much their system changed, if at all, so I cannot guarantee it. Did you get the insurance? If you did, it’s a whole other ball game, an I don’t know that side of things
They said if I rebook I will get my credit back from them. So, I was thinking that after I book and they give the credit back and bill me and I wait until a little closer to the date I fly and call and give them the miscarriage excuse would they refund me? I am so angry with them! Thank you for taking your time to try to help me.
I don’t know if they will, should they notice it was already rebooked
Ok thank you very much for your help. I would sure hope so if I had a child missing or a miscarriage. Wish me luck! 🙂
Christina, you are awesome! I hope you are able to help me. I booked a flight and a car rental through Priceline along w/the insurance. The person I was supposed to stay with is no longer keeping their word and so I have to cancel my trip. Can you recommend the best way to get a full refund for both my flight and car? Should I call the rental company first and then call priceline about the flight? I also read about the miscarriage excuse. Can I use that with the insurance company? Thanks for your help!
Priceline will automatically advise you call the insurance company…not sure how to help you there. Just an FYI, the insurance isn’t all that helpful 😦
Thank you, Christina. I’m gonna have to come up with something. I’d be ok with just getting my rental car refund back if possible. Thanks again 😦
Please help! I called twice and even chatted with them, but they will not refund/ cancel the nyop car rental! I told them that I meant to to a one way but they keep telling me to tell the rental co and pay the fee. Help me! I called in the evening, is there a better time to call?
The first time you called, did you say the one way excuse? If not, that’s why they’re not refunding :(. Have you called the car company? I’m sure that if they’re willing to refund Priceline, then you can be refunded
It keeps going to philippines? and they keep saying the same thing
No I haven’t called the car co, it’s avis. Would they be willing?
Christina, Avis said they can’t cancel it because the cancellation button is grayed out. Priceline will have to do it, but they are willing. Is it possible that I email them or should I call and ask for a supervisor? What is the best number to call? I keep getting pushed to the outsourced call center. I’m in pacific time.
Ask for the person’s name that is willing to cancel, and call Priceline back with that information
Hi Christina;
I was lucky enough to find your blog here through a friend. I could really use your assistance and expertise here, as I am finding myself in a real bind. In retrospect, I understand that I put myself in the situation and it was really foolish how it happened, but nonetheless…you very well could be my only hope. Here’s the problem:
There is a big event in California that I wanted to attend. I didn’t think it would be much of a hassle, but I knew that once the tickets for this event were sold out that the hotels and airline prices would probably double by sheer frequency. This event is annual and attracts hundreds of thousands of people. Thinking that I was being smart (at the time), I purchased my hotel, airline tickets and rental car through Priceline…before buying tickets to the event, as they had yet to go on sale. I did NOT use the NYOP feature, but instead chose all venues (hotel, airline, car). I also purchased the travel insurance, thinking that this was valuable foresight.
Typical of my luck, despite my best efforts the event sold out right before me (though technical difficulties were experienced and the event management actually admitted that computer problems were a problem for many). I now find myself with a hotel stay, airline tickets (Jetblue), and a rental car…but absolutely NO reason to go anymore. When I went to go cancel the trip with the insurance, I realized my mistake…I’m not covered under it and my error could very well cost me the $2,800 I’ve paid.
I purchased the vacation package less than 30 days ago (Feb. 9th), and the trip isn’t until late July 2013. Please help me; your advice will go great lengths. I have not called Priceline yet, in fear that I’d make a mistake and they’d note it down and close me out from a refund entirely.
What’s the best approach I can take? I’m closing in on the 30 day mark, if that means anything, so I’m hoping to get this settled as soon and as swiftly as possible.
Thank you for your time.
With the insurance, I’m really not sure if I’d be of any assistance. The package deal is almost as limited as a NYOP. I just thought of this, though…maybe, if you could track down a death certificate of someone, claim it’s your grandmother (hopefully female, so last name won’t be an issue), or get a doctor to write something up stating you’re unable to travel due to emphysema or something. Would have to wait until it gets a little bit closer, especially on the death certificate. Could work, but I can’t guarantee. The insurance is through AIG, so I don’t know what all they verify.
Good luck!! I want 25% of your refund lol
Alrighty! Seems a little more bleak than what I had hoped, but there’s always hope…if nothing else. Do you think that calling the hotel or car company could help at all? I imagine that Priceline will be no help at all and Jetblue even less. I’m prepared to eat the airfare if I must, but the hotel is what is eating the greater majority of my payment. Advice?
Also, not that this is going to make a huge difference, but it seems the insurance company is: Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company. Are they an AIG affiliate? I couldn’t find the connection.
The hotel will probably be willing to cancel because it’ll be busy, so give them a call, and see if they’re WILLING to cancel AND REFUND, and if they are, get their name, and call Priceline. That may be doable, though I’m not completely sure. You could always call Jet Blue…Priceline won’t know you contacted them. Maybe, for a fee, they’ll be able to cancel for a credit towards another flight. If the hotel part can be cancelled, call car company and see if they’re willing to cancel an refund it, and do the same thing.
Maybe it changed then, it’s been almost 5 yrs since I worked for them
Thank you, Christina. You’ve been an excellent resource and have given me some comfort that I may not be fully out almost $3,000. I appreciate it!
…now let’s just hope there is still some humanity left out there, specifically within the Hyatt chains. -.-
Hello Christina, after calling PL and telling them what the person from Avis said, they ultimately told me that neither they nor Avis will cancel as that’s their agreement- not to modify or cancel. So after going back and forth and begging them (though they didn’t care), he the last agent said the only way they’ll refund is if Avis ACTUALLY cancels it- in which he had full confidence they won’t. This last call was to the 203-299-8000 and a person from the US office.
http://gethuman.com/phone-number/Priceline/
So after spending much time on the phone and losing so much sleep over this, I called the Avis location where I was supposed to p/u. They canceled it in a flash! They told me that I would need to get my refund from PL as they don’t get actually get paid until I return the car.
I contacted PL and after placing me on hold and giving me the roundabout before passing me back to the same person I spoke with, I told him AVIS CANCELED THE RESERVATION. He paused for a moment and told me he would need to verify this. I gave him the name and number and he placed me on hold for quite a while.
He then came back to say they will refund “as Avis is willing to refund” (I know that Avis said they don’t get paid until after the fact) but it will take 5 business days and I would get a cancellation email. I did get that email but am still waiting for the refund.
What I’ve learned through this ordeal:
1) Do research before paying for anything ( I was in such a rush as this is all last minute and the page itself was a pressure sale)
2) The “one-way” excuse is no longer valid- at least with the outsource call center that I kept getting. They did not want me to talk to a supervisor or manager.
3) Even if you call the 203-299-8000 and ask for a person in the US, you will get the executive office but they still do the same thing.
4) The only sure way you can cancel is by actually going through the actual rental agency location, hotel, and/ or airline and get them to cancel first. Then call PL to notify them that it is canceled and have them confirm to get your money back.
On a side note, when I first called Avis, they told me that if I didn’t pick up the car, then it would automatically cancel the reservation but I would still need to get my refund from PL. The agent from PL said they will not give back anything even it is canceled, as that is the agreement. <<< This is such a mess. SO after going back and forth, he then says that if they cancel, PL will refund. I'm sure he was shocked to hear back from me.
Thank you, Christina for your blog. I was hopeful when I found it. But I got discouraged when calling and going through all of that. But I didn't understand when you said call the rental company- I called the 800 number on their site and they couldn't help me. I didn't realize that I had to call the actual location and they had the power to do something. I was doing all of this around 4am my time and on my way to work.
To others, they do keep track of any contact you have with them. When they tell you they will place you on hold, they had already known they are going to tell you NO.
Glad you got something back 🙂
Wow, this is a long thread! I took a gamble and used NYOP for a hotel instead of just booking through our loyalty program with IHG. Well, NYOP landed me in an IHG hotel anyway, meaning I’ll get no points or perks as we normally do with platinum standing. I called the hotel and they agreed that it would be better for me and them (they wouldn’t have to pay priceline a cut) if I cancelled and booked directly with them, but they said it would have to be cancelled on Priceline’s end. If I tell Priceline that the hotel agrees to cancel, is that all that is needed? No bogus “death” story?
Hi Christina,
You’ve seemed to have helped a lot of people on here…I hope you can assist me. I have a round trip ticket booked for my boyfriend the first weekend of May and one way tickets for my daughter and myself (we purchased the first leg through a separate airline website). My sister was supposed to be getting married and she called off the wedding last night. Unfortunately, I purchased retail tickets with no insurance. Do you have any advice on how to get these tickets refunded….or even a name change on one for the same trip? Will it be best for me to contact the airline directly or do you have any advice in dealing with Priceline? Am I out of luck?
I wanted to say thank you for the tips. I had booked a 4-star hotel for a very reasonable price, but at $26/day for parking, the cost more than outweighed the savings. I was able to use the “death in the family” reason for the first representative I spoke with. She asked for a name, funeral home name, and funeral home number. She said I would receive a confirmation email if the request was processed. It seems that I received it through email even before I hung up the phone. Full amount was refunded.
Thanks again for your help Christina!
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! ~_~ Christina your an absolute treasure for these tips. We gambled with NYOP for a hotel in Aruba in October and ended up with the Westin. After reading reviews and seeing how outdated the property looks I decided this was NOT where I wanted to spend my birthday vacation. Didn’t use the death reason but I stated that I’d just found out I was 4wks pregnant and the doctor informed me I would be too far along by the vacation date to travel by plane. Worked like a charm! The representative asked me for my canceled flight number information, I pulled up a flight plan on Delta’s website that matched my travel dates and gave her the first itinerary listed on the page. Full refund within 5 business days 🙂 Again thank you so much!
Hi Christina,
Ibooked a rental car reservation thru priceline NYOP. after that i requested them to cancel my reservation and hence i got an below email from PL today rental car cancellation request made by me on same day. Avis cust serv people told me that they canceled my reservation and they don’t charge anything on my credit card.
::::Email from PL::::
We would like to confirm that we are taking action on your research request for rental car request As a reminder, since the requested drop-off of has not passed, Avis Rent a Car will not be able to research your record. Once the requested drop-off date has passed we will contact you within 10 business days to confirm the resolution to your request.
my question is….
==============
Should i get my refund back (or) not? I hate NYOP PL policies.
Thanks,
KK
Hi Christina
Please help! I used the wrong credit card to bid on priceline hotel. I called priceline but they said that once the reservation is accepted, they can’t change the credit card. Also I want double beds but when I called the hotel, they said it is considered an upgrade and they would charge an additional $50/night. Thank you for your help!.
Hi Christina – I booked reservations for 8/28/13 in advance last month and a few days ago I emailed priceline advising I booked for the incorrect days and they cancelled the reservation and only made me pay a $25 change fee. However – I made a mistake and got trigger happy and overbid on a new hotel today. Am I tough out of luck as this would be my second round of trying to cancel again? Should I just call the hotel ASAP and ask if they would cancel my reservation and then call priceline? Or should I try something more serious like a death In the family, etc. let me know!
Call the hotel and see if they’d be WILLING to cancel and not charge the Priceline card…if so, get their name and call Priceline back right away. If that doesn’t work, play the death in the family card. And don’t get trigger-happy on Priceline, of all websites!!
Christina – thank you for your prompt response. You are a good person for lending some helpful experience and advise to all of us. I wasn’t sure if Priceline would allow a second cancellation for me for a different hotel in the past few days even after going through the last rebid and refund for selecting the wrong day. I will try this tomorrow and will keep posted. Thanks!
Everything worked out perfectly! I called the hotel this morning and they advised that they do not see my reservation in their system. I got the managers name and direct number and then called priceline. When I called priceline the woman kept talking over me how it’s “non refundable, yada yada” about five times. And I told her that my son ordered it by mistake while I left the laptop out. She stood ground and would not budge. I then told her that I spoke with the manager at the hotel and and told the priceline rep that they would have no issues authorizing a cancellation and provided the name and direct number to her and the priceline rep told me that the hotel had to call her. I asked her that priceline call the hotel instead which they did. Was placed on hold for 5 minutes and then the rep came back to the phone and said “okay sir I have initiated the refund process”, and then got an email confirmation. So while priceline advises that they only authorize a “one-time” cancellation, I was able to get “two” cancellations within 2 days. Yesterday I got priceline to authorize a cancellation when i stated that we reserved for the incorrect day. I had to pay a $25 change fee for yesterday’s cancellation; however, today I didn’t have to pay a dime to cancel. Thank you for this forum.
Glad you were one of the lucky ones 🙂
Just for the record folks…. I was just given a crappy name your own price hotel yesterday. I called the hotel today asking if they were willing to cancel and got a simple “yes”, please have priceline call us. Called priceline customer care and told the rep that I wanted to cancel due to bad reviews on trip advisor and yelp (and even looked up last reports of bed bugs via google and used a report from 2 years ago) and told him that the hotel authorized to cancel it without any fees and gave him her name. Rep came back after I was on hold and refunded the purchase without a penalty. So this is the 3rd time in 1 month that I have done this and gotten a refund each time. And each time i get the “this is a one time only thing.” Really? 3 times for me in one month :-). So basically I’m letting you all know that if you make a mistake or get a crappy hotel and want a refund simply there is hope.
I must be one of the not-so-lucky-ones…my husband booked a hotel which is 3.5 instead of 4 stars by mistake (on Hotwire, not Priceline, but I believe it’s basically the same principle), and it has crappy reviews including dirtiness, mold, bedbugs etc…I was denied by Hotwire (they said that if we see problems once we check in they’ll work with us then, whatever that means), and tried calling the hotel and saying we made the booking accidentally and can’t make the dates, but they wouldn’t even listen to me and said it’s non-refundable and we’d be liable for the entire stay anyway 😦 What did you guys who were successful tell the hotel to get them to agree to cancel?? I actually didn’t expect them to give up their money for a week’s stay that easily…sigh, guess we’re stuck with it.
Christina:
Have you had any success at getting a refund on a NYOP for a reservation that I was unable to use- the reservation has expired?
Thanks,
MW
Christina,
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I thought I was going to have a breakdown after making a reservation through priceline, then trying to cancel. It was a mistake from beginning to end to try and make a hotel reservation with nyop on priceline. I won’t get into the details but for what ever reason I went to google, found you, and presto, my reservation is cancelled and I should get a full refund. After begging the first cs rep at priceline for the refund and kindly told no several times, I followed your instructions and called the hotel. They were very nice, told me exactly what to do (think it’s happened to them before?!). Called priceline with the info and I will be getting a full refund. Thank you for saving me, I mean that sincerely!!
cvb
Hi Cristina,
I need your help. I booked a hotel reservation and now a hurricane is coming to south florida. I want to change the dates but when I call the resort directly they said they cant touch the reservation. All i want to do is change the dates. Please help.
Canceling may be your only option…they cannot easily change the dates of the res in their system, so if they’re willing to cancel, that’ll get you your money back
I have trip insurance. Would that help? What should I say?
Would they cancel because of the tropical storm?
Hi Christina,
I have a hotel room I booked through priceline in Chicago that I need to cancel. I called the hotel to ask if they would be willing to cancel and the person I spoke with said they’ve already charged my card so they couldn’t give a refund even if priceline called. Any suggestions?
If its a name your own price, they charged priceline’s card, but they should be able to refund it, if they want to. If you selected which hotel you wanted to stay at, then you have to go by THEIR cancelation policy. If its your card, they can refund w/o Priceline involvement, but u don’t think that’s the case
Hey Christina,
I booked a one night stay hotel in Niagara for July 27th today around 11pm. We did use the “name your own price” method, horrible idea. The hotel is far from our destination and is old. We have found a cheaper price hotel and are urging to book it. What would be the easiest and smartest way to get out of this? I have never called into priceline before, so no records are there.
HELP ME PLEASE!
I just called the hotel, got the reservation agent name and requested for cancelation, they agreed. Called Priceline told that and PL called the hotel to verify and I got the full refund! thanks so much Cristina! You saved my trip!
Need your help desperately. I booked a flight on “name your own price” and want to change the return date/time. We called priceline costumer service and the airline but they refuse to cancel the tickets. What can I do? I have spoken to them multiple times so I don’t think I can use the options you have listed 😦
Hello need some assistance I booked a hotel two days before becoming laid off from my job. I called Priceline when I got home that evening to cancel the hotel reservation which is for Aug 7 – Aug 10. I purchased the insurance when I purchased the reservations, I wasn’t sent a confirmation email or anything with policy number for insurance. Called into Priceline and was told I couldn’t cancel the reservations and refund even tho I canceled the rental car and the hotel reservations made through Best Western Website with no problem. I’ve contacted my credit card company opened a dispute with them, as well as the BBB. I also wrote an email to customer service manager who gave me the information to an insurance company named BerkleyCARE. I attempted to open up a claim online and couldn’t because Priceline never emailed me a confirmation I printed that information when I purchased the reservation. When I emailed the executive office about why didn’t I receieve an email giving me the insurance information I still have not recieved a reply back. Priceline is the absolute worst I personally recommended Expedia as they are the biggest of all the online travel sites, made a pit stop at Priceline and judging by others post Im regretting it. PLEASE HELP
Hi Christina, I can’t believe that I’ve only just discovered this blog of yours! I’m in love with you, you’ve gotten me out of a seriously tight bind, thank you!!!
Hey Christina,
I used nyop for an advanced hotel reservation, and ended up with an awful hotel. It has terrible ratings, and doesn’t sound like it’s in a safe area. Anyway, within ten minutes of “winning” this hotel bid, I decided to try talking to an online rep about cancelling. I gave the excuse that I had stayed at the hotel before, and had a very bad experience. Of course, I was shot down. My question for you is, are these online chats with reps noted on your account the same way they are when you call customer service? I’m thinking about following your advice and telling them I entered the wrong dates. I just wanted to know this for sure before I attempt to fib again lol. Thanks for your help!
Probably, and the only way out is to call the hotel and see if they’re willing to cancel, if so, get their name, and call Priceline back with the info
Thanks, Christina. I appreciate it!
This thread has been so helpful! I just want to confirm with you that this is what we should do. We booked a car rental but unfortunately we’re unable to go on the trip anymore. We did a Name your own price on the car rental. It has been a couple weeks since we booked it. So I should call priceline and tell them that we meant to book a 1 way car rental? I was also reading about the miscarriage thing and that seems like my 2nd option, lol.
I think someone tried the one way option before, and said it wasn’t completely refundable. I’m not really sure how to help. Maybe if you call the actual branch, see if they’re WILLING TO CANCEL WITHOUT CHARGE, if they say yes, get their name, and call Priceline back with the info.
thanks so much! you’ve been a big help! we’re going to try to call so fingers crossed!
Thank you so much for this page! This was a life saver! We have been battling Priceline for over a month now with a hotel reserved on Name Your Own Price, disputed the charges on our card to no avail, and filed with the Colorado Attorney General. After reading your site, we finally called the hotel and asked to cancel (after speaking to several people there). We were given permission to cancel the room without penalty to Priceline, called priceline back to confirm and they FINALLY refunded us after confirming with the hotel. What a nightmare…will never use Priceline again, but thank goodness we found your site. Thank you!!
so.. my gf purchased tickets through nyop, when we checked the itinerary on AA website there was an additional charge of about $48 per ticket (we had 3). We immediately called priceline, who couldn’t see the charge, we then called AA and they could not see the charge but stated if there was such a charge we would be responsible for it. We called the bank and requested a reversal of the fee, (the funds were on hold, not yet released to the merchant) they needed an approval from priceline. Since this purchase was done late evening the bank was unable to reach a customer service rep. The next morning we were at it again, called the bank, they could not reach anyone though the system number, we called priceline ourselves and I demanded to speak to a supervisor and although the rep sated, had she transferred me nothing would be done, I was transferred and repeated that the funds were only on hold and so technically this is not a refund nor a cancellation but an authorization to reverse the fees due to an undisclosed fee. I gave her the number to the fraud dept with my bank and she called them on 3-way, i verified who i was and confirmed i wanted the reversal. They both confirmed and verified the reversal and the funds were released back into my account, the authorization and the travel confirmation was cancelled. this is only the first day. My itinerary is still visible on the website and when I call the automated system it says my flight is confirmed. They don’t have my money nor can they charge my bank again.So….. i don’t know what is going on. I did withdrawal almost all of my funds just in case they try, the charge will be declined. The miscarriage thing doesn’t work anymore, the insurance company wants documentation of hospital stay and such. This blog gave me a glimmer of hope, thank you, hopefully my technique worked and can help someone else. I do believe you have to catch the bank before the funds are officially released which is between 1-4 days.
I’m so appreciate for this information! I just successfully canceled my air tickets!! I fortunately talked to a kind rep. and told her that I should book the ticket for my friend, so the name on the reservation is wrong and my friend also don’t need this ticket any more. Then she just canceled the flight for me with refund! How amazing! I just need to pay for 7.45 dollar cancel fee and I can get my refund just exactly as Christina said! Also, since the price of my flight is below 200, I don’t need to be held $200 fee as some one mentioned in the comment. I just feel so lucky for myself to find this blog and even this page was written 3 years ago, it still work now! Thank you so much!
help!! we have a 6am flight to nyc tomorrow and there has been too much family drama for us with a new baby! i called with the miscarriage excuse and they said i needed documentation from my ob>??
Did you have insurance on your flight?? With that I can’t help you with, unfortunately. Did they ask you to fax something over, or did they just ask for dr’s info??
they asked for dr’s info to be faxed to them. an no insurance it was name your own price and they picked the itenarary…. i am so worried we have $780 in 2 tickets…
I need some help. I booked a round trip flight to London to visit a friend of mine. She is in the country from Australia and I was going to be staying with her for the 2 weeks I would be there. She had an old injury flare up and had to fly back home to Australia to get surgery. Now, I have a pretty much useless airplane ticket that cost me almost a grand and priceline is telling me its the airline’s policy to not issue refunds and the airline is telling me the contract is through the travel agent so I have to have any kind of cancellation or refund go through them. Is there anything I can do to get that money back?
Hi Christina, My son & his girlfriend are in the military – he booked a trip thru PL for air travel to CA for 12/27 – he just learned that his girlfriend’s orders got changed and she will not be there…he did book travel insurance but they told him that this would not be covered because ‘his’ military orders were not changed…so now we are trying to see if we can get refund thru PL – he has not been able to reach them and I will be calling for him – any advise?
Christina, I am very thankful for your sharing this info. I booked a Priceline Express Deal in the wrong area and was able to cancel with your suggestion of first securing the help of a representative at the hotel prior to calling Priceline. I ended up booking a regular reservation via Priceline for a bit more, but I know exactly what and where the hotel is and am so thankful this has all been resolved. I had trouble sleeping last night with all of this weighing on my mind. Thank you so much for giving us hope and advice to resolve our travel issues.
So I told them that a family member passed and I couldn’t make the trip. I had booked a non refundable car rental. I am SOOOO thankful for this advice. I didn’t even read the fine print about non-cancelation and I had called to cancel because I needed to rent a car from a different location but they would NOT cancel, no matter how I pleaded and actually told me they could NOT cancel, that they had no way and this was 2nd line support.
The ‘death’ worked perfectly, I was going to try the one way thing but figured they may give me only a credit. They never asked for a funeral home or anything.
Bless you for posting this online!!!! You saved my day!!! 🙂 And my budget!
Hi Christina,
I am facing a problem regarding the cancellation of flight tickets booked through Priceline.
I had booked my flight tickets through Priceline for British airways.i have used the inbound flight and would like to cancel the outbound flight as the itinerary was changed by the British airways.
British airways will not cancel the tickets as I have booked it through priceline and Priceline has sent an email and it’s been 1month since then and there is no reply for that.even though they have an option to call the trade line number to cancel the tickets and get the refund amount,priceline is not doing it.they are satin that they will wait till 60 days as per the policy.
Is there anyway to get my refund back without any further delay.
Please help me.
Thanks,
Naga.
Hi Christina, you seem to have helped so many people! I am hoping you could help me: I booked a hotel for a week in France through Express Deals but now cannot go as I will not be able to get a visa (I am not a US citizen). What do you think is my best bet cancelling this reservation? (It has already been charged to my credit card, and the trip is 1 month away). Thanks so much!!
Hey Christina, great information here.. I bought a priceline deal to Hawaii for Aug 14-24 , and one for my fiancee Aug 19-24. With my previous plans being canceled I want to change my flight from Aug 14 to Aug 19 to be there the same time as my fiancee. The first time I called I told them the truth, that there was some mix up in the scheduling and I wanted to change the flight schedule. They wouldn’t let me.
I called back a week later and told the priceline rep that
I had just had a miscarriage and was unable to travel anymore and I wanted to cancel my reservation. He asked me to explain further about my situation. I told him I had started to bleed heavily and found out I lost my child a few days ago. He said I had to have proof from a doctor that I’m in no condition to travel at the time and even so there would be a fee. He asked for a phone number of the doctor and such and I told him I would call back.
Is this a new policy? I know it use to work back then but it seemms they have changed. Any suggestions on what I can do now?
Hi Christina,
I booked a one way ticket to France as I got a job there. I do not leave for another month, but I am getting increasingly worried that my visa paperwork will not get to me in time. I purchased trip insurance, but it doesn’t say anything about passport/visa problems and trip cancellation. Do you have any knowledge on getting a refund for a flight if you do not even have your passport or visa to make the trip!? Thanks!
Hi Christina, I have booked 3 hotels in the space of 13 days on priceline, as for some reason the area I wanted to stay in wasn’t available for 2 days, and when I booked that area for the dates after that I got a different hotel right next door. I didn’t mind too much (have stayed in all and they’re all pretty much the same!) however I now genuinely cannot go. Will they cancel all of them if I say there’s been a bereavement in the family? They’re being really unhelpful and its a lot of money to lose ($900!)
Call each hotel (I know it’s a pain), and ask them if they are WILLING TO CANCEL the reservation….if they say yes, get their name(s), and call Priceline back letting them know the hotel is willing to cancel, and Priceline will have to issue a full refund!! Good luck!!
Hey Christina,
I was wondering if the Miscarriage excuse still work to cancel a flight that I booked 3 days ago.
Hi Christina. I booked an express hotel deal for 2 rooms from Aug 30 to Sep 1. Before I booked the reservation I saw that I had a bed choice option but when I completed my booking, I realized the option was already provided on the page instead of sending me to a new page. I have no idea how I manage to oversee that. I have 4 people to a room and there’s only 1 bed in each room. Is there a way for me to cancel this or book something else through priceline or will I have to fork over the extra cash to upgrade my room with the hotel separately. This is going to cost me $600.
Christina, I have a huge question to ask..
I was supposed to be going to bury my moms ashes on friday.. i got a rental car for both places i was going to be, Portland, Or, and Las Vegas, Nv.
I was told by my medical doctor, because of my pain, i am not going to be able to go.. as much as i really need to go on this trip, i dont know what to do.. I called my airline(not through priceline) and they will refund me the travel funds, not the money.. i was fine with that.. however, i dont know how to cancel my rental car that was through priceline. can u please help?
I was able to cancel my rental car reservation using different drop off location suggestion.
Otherwise I couldn’t find any way to cancel it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hi Christina,
I also booked a nyop hotel and panicked when I won a hotel I don’t want… I called priceline and told them that I mis-entered the dates of stay and explained (not true) that I’ve had some health issues and may be having surgery at that time…(did I say I panicked). I was told tough… My question for you is should I pursue looking to priceline to credit this hotel… calling the hotel etc or should I pursue the trip insurance route. I’ll have to ask my doctor (ug) to write a letter… I purchased trip insurance when I made the booking, thinking if I didn’t get a good location I’d be able to xcl… auugh didn’t think it was a separate trip insc company and that I’d have a million hoops to jump through… what advise do you have… you are really great to do this blog helping us ! thx! daisy
You’re great to have started this and continued it years later! I booked 3 nyop hotel rooms for myself and family not realizing we would need to pay $25 extra per night for parking with the hotel we were assigned to. Any tips to get me out of that one? I’ve already called several times, tried the hotel, and have disputed the credit card charge. Any suggestions?
Just say someone stole your wallet!!! They will cancel it! Trust me!
Hi…i just wanted to know how long it really takes for them to issue the refund back into my account if i cancelled..so far the deposit is showing 0 dollars and it sasys pending..i really want to know how long it takes because i need the moneynin the next day or so
Hi Christina,
I recently purchased airline tickets on Priceline and I messed up on the dates! I tried calling them and asking if i could change the date, but they said they would have to charge me $200 from the airline, plus $30 fee from their company! How can I get out of this ticket?? PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME! I need an answer ASAP
Just tried the different drop off location tip for a NYOP car rental, and the customer rep said they would have to charge me a $19 cancellation fee.
Christina, I am trying to cancel a hotel reservation. I called the hotel and they agreed to cancel it, but as you note, priceline needs to call them to confirm it. Well priceline is telling me that my reservation was made through their “sister” company agoda.com, even though I booked it through priceline.com. They are telling me there is no way to contact agoda. They are saying they will try to get agoda to call the hotel and I should hear back in 3-5 days. have you ever heard of the “sister” company and do you know if the hotel cancellation works the same way?
I need to cancel a hotel reservation (I bought the insurance) for Dec 30 & 31st. I am hoping I can just call in sick and get a note from my Doctor. Think that may be the easiest way. Do they actually call or email the doctor? I dont think its going to be an issue to get a dr letter but I wondered if there is an easier way to get out of it. Thanks!!!
Call the hotel, and see if they’re “WILLING TO CANCEL”, if so, get the person’s name and call Priceline back, they’ll call and verify. If the hotel won’t charge Priceline, then they can’t charge you
When I called once before to see if I could cancel they said it was non refundable and I would have to call the insurance company. Suggestions as to how to go about handing it if I get a Dr’s note? What a pain! Thanks for the help!
You have to ask if they’re WILLING TO CANCEL, they can cancel, but if they are willing to cancel without charging Priceline, then Priceline will have to refund you
I know this post is a few years old, but I also wanted to say thanks for the tips! Even though my reasoning for canceling a hotel cancellation was true, it was quite a hassle to get the cancellation period. The first Priceline representative I talked to was nice, but I could tell she was not in the mood to be at work (most likely because it is Christmas). I ended up having to call back Priceline later in the day to try and cancel the reservation again because the manager at the hotel was not present until 3pm. The second representative I called was extremely rude; he kept saying that I was breaking Priceline rules and there was almost zero percent chance the hotel would allow me to cancel the reservation I made. After the representative called the hotel to confirm the cancellation, he came back on the phone and said the hotel was very upset and angered by my decision to cancel my reservation. In the end he told me that the hotel did not want to cancel my reservation, but because my reason was so serious that he was able to persuade them into allowing it.
The main thought that angers me so much about talking with the second representative is that he was making up the hotel’s reaction to my request of canceling the reservation. I had called the hotel myself two different times before contacting the second Priceline representative and each time they were nothing but incredibly nice and understanding of my reason to cancel. I ended up calling the hotel again after talking to the recent rep simply so I could get their side of the story about how the conversation went between them and the second Priceline representative. Their response was that he had a very moody attitude and kept trying to tell them that Priceline did not suggest letting my request being fulfilled.
Did I mention that the reason I was trying to cancel this reservation was because of a friend’s recent death? Yeah…not the kind of customer service I expect after learning about the death of someone close.
Overall, for those who are thinking about using Priceline, be careful about the possibility of having to maybe cancel a reservation! You can’t help it if something serious happens and you find yourself talking with Priceline to cancel a reservation. it is pretty random on whether or not you will be connected with a nice or rude representative from Priceline. if you are dealing with a hotel reservation. then definitely call the hotel before Priceline! it is more than likely that the hotel will say that because you booked the reservation through a third party there is nothing they can do. Don’t let this scare you away, simply ask for the name of the hotel employee you talked to and even try bringing up the reason you are attempting to cancel for. After calling the hotel then call Priceline and give the name of the person you talked to. Priceline may bitch you out even with providing a legitimate, reasonable excuse; don’t give up!
Canceling is possible!
I know this post is a few years old, but I also wanted to say thanks for the tips! Even though my reasoning for canceling a hotel reservation* was true
Asking are you WILLING worked! I didn’t have to tell any story or anything. The hotel said it was ok and to let priceline know. So, I called Priceline and they got in touch with the manager. My cancellation confirmation came immediately to my email. Thank you for all your help!
Hello! I have a question….I’m curious because most of the stories explaining the cancelation of a NYOP flight with no insurance with excuse of miscarriage seem to be for cancelation in general of entire round trip ticket.
I’m wondering if
1- this technique works not only for cancelation but for adjustments of return dates.
And
2- if not possible to change dates and only possible to cancel, what would the procedure be if one leg of the round trip flight has already been taken? Do they refund you for half and have you rebid for return flight only?
Booked 2 rooms for 2 nights at the Trump in Las Vegas then found out our plans changed. Waited until it was a couple of days before the dates then called Priceline. Told them my father-in-law passed away and services were the 2 days of my reservation. I had done my research…had a name of a recently deceased person…the funeral home and it’s information. The Priceline rep said the circumstances didn’t fit with any of their exceptions but she would call the hotel to see if they would allow the cancellation. 5 minutes later she was back on the line and said the hotel was willing to take the cancellation w/o a fee. The rep never even asked for the funeral info. The credit came thru about 20 minutes later. Thank you Christina!
I’ve done the name you’re own price for a hotel reservation a couple months out. I did purchase the insurance. I now want to cancel, do I have to wait until it gets closer to that date to do the death call? Or can it be cancelled even for a death this far in advance? Any info would help. Thank you
i stumbled on this blog after reserving a hotel that turned out to be under construction, which would have thrown the whole stay. after reading some of these comments, here is what i did.
– i called the hotel, and asked if a cancellation was possible. they said it was, but i had to deal with priceline. alright, fine.
– called priceline. told them the hotel had referred me back to them about a cancellation. the nice lady on the phone asked very specifically if the hotel had agreed to a cancellation. i said that they had. she asked for a name. didnt think to get the guys name at the hotel. didnt seem to matter.
– they ended up calling the hotel, verifying that they had agreed to a cancellation, and gave me a full refund!
it was that easy. it was quite obvious what the important details were. as long as the hotel agrees to a cancellation, your chances are pretty good. i would recommend calling the hotel, then immediately calling priceline.. that way, when your priceline CSR calls the hotel, the same staff will be on, and be familiar with your situation. easy easy.
thanks guys!
Just wanted to thankyou so much for your info and help on this site! Totally helped me get out of a trip with a sick hubby.
I called the hotel and they said they would be willing to cancel. I called back Priceline and gave them the name of the person at the hotel. I called back Priceline who took the information. Priceline told me the booking was through one of their partners and that they would get back to me within 3-5 business days. I will update when I hear back. P.S. Thank you for this.
I set up an account just to get this off my chest. first time user of pricline and desperate I sped through the process and bid for a standard car thinking I was bidding for a premium and look my offer was accepted lol. I read the confirmation and caught the mistake immediately. I called price line and they we’re just kinda saying oh well. So I just got off the phone with a Rep and told them “the one way story” and bam. He was like “sure we can make an exception.” “Have a good morning.” Well I’m sure I will now. Thanx Christina.
I was scared that priceline had been reading your blog and the one way story wouldn’t work (especially since I had already called to cancel once). But it totally did. $25 cancellation fee and the collision insurance isn’t refundable…bummer…but still $150 of my $200 back is better than $0 of my $200 back!
Just used your advice and it worked, however it cost $30 to refund my flight.
I had chosen the wrong airport in DC to land into. Instead of Reagan I had hit Dulles. UGH.
Thank you for your help!
Brilliant!! Simply called the hotel and asked if they were willing to cancel because of unforeseen circumstances. (those circumstances being that the hotel was awful) Hotel said that was not a problem. Called Priceline and they called to verify while I was on the line. Easy and done, totally honest too! Thank you so much!!
I just cancelled my hotel by chatting online with Priceline. There was a “strict” no cancellation policy for the hotel, but after I told the agent I was chatting with that there was a death in the family, he called the hotel and arranged a full refund. Great article!! Thanks so much!!
I know this post is a few years old – but I wanted to tell you that it worked! I booked a hotel by naming my own price. I called the hotel, asked if they would cancel and they kindly agreed. I called Priceline and right on the phone, they called the hotel and verified cancellation. No charges or anything and I’m getting a full refund.
Thank you SO MUCH for making this blog – this was super helpful! I’m forever thankful!
Is there any way to get a refund if the date has passed?? My car broke down on the way to my hotel and so I could not get there. I did not think there was any way I could get a refund, but now I’m wondering if I should have tried….
Only if the hotel is willing to fully refund or not charge Priceline…you can call the hotel and see if they’d be willing to not charge or refund the Priceline credit card for the stay
I used the “one way” comment to cancel a NYOP Car rental. I was issued a full refund, but there was a $21 cancellation fee.
Hello! I used NYOP but need to change a name on one of the tickets. What would be the best way to do this? BTW thank you so much in advance. I have hope when I read these comments!
I have went through literally all the comments but I haven’t seen anyone ask about just changing the times for a flight. I booked two flights from HNL to CMH for tomorrow for my boyfriend and I. He is in the navy and is currently underway so he’s out at sea. I need to push the flight to later in the afternoon when he returns. Priceline said they will not change the reservation. I need this done today. Please any insight you may have to just push it back a few hours would be great. Thank you!
This post is sooooo helpful. I wish you can help me in my particular case!!
I bought a ticket through priceline for turkish airlines for March, and even bought the insurance. But I just started school, and every of my classes are maximum 4 absences or I will get dropped. I would have 5 absences because of my trip.
I called turkish airlines to ask how much was it for a change of dates, and it was 300 dllrs!. Half of what I paid for my round way ticket to spain. Because the prices are still low in turkish airlines, I was wondering how I can cancel my ticket with priceline, and then buy it again with turkish airlines. I dont wanna wait until a week before to do the miscarriage thing because i wanna use the refunded money to buy me another ticket.
What should I do? And does Turkish Airlines check I cancelled with Priceline?
Hi,
My girlfriend lives in Texas and is coming to see me next week. she booked a rental car so that she could drive while she is here. Her mom, not knowing that it was already done, also booked her a car. How can i cancel 1 of them? Please help
Thanks bro, called in to cancel a car rental and was flatly denied and told the system could not cancel it. Called back a few minutes later and gave them the story about being a mistake on the round trip and they issued full refund. You’re a worthy addition to the internet, still relevant in 2016.
Thank you so much for your help! Good vibes your way
No joke, two weeks ago I tried calling in and cancelling my name your own price car rental and was told tough luck we can’t cancel it. I then tried the messed up and meant to make a one way rental that you said and BOOM they cancelled it no problem! I did have to pay a 16$ fee but better than being out the 300$ that I paid for the car I no longer need! This was great and much kudos to you!
Christina – Thanks so much for the tip on the car rental priceline cancellation! I called and told the agent about the one way instead of round trip intention and it worked!!!!
Hi Christina, a friend of mine accidentally booked a car rental reservation for the wrong dates. Any chance he would get a refund if he told them that? Or should he still stick with the one-way excuse to get a refund?
This worked. Thanks so much! Went through a family death. Called them up first and the first representative wasn’t able to help me as hotel was busy. It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized Priceline had online support. Second and third online representatives got the hotel is busy again. Fourth online representative was finally able to resolve my issue. I had used the Name Your Own Price deal. I was aware and told that it was against their policy to cancel but they gladly called the hotel first. Got a full refund, no penalty. Also, I was not asked for a name and number for funeral home.
@karna0420 i just used the one way excuse and it worked. i recommend you go with that!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I got the name of the reservations person from the hotel, called priceline, they verified, no problem!
I just tried to cancel a name your own price car rental, saying I meant to make it one way and they still wouldn’t cancel it. Any other suggestions? Can my bank dispute the charge?
Tried calling Priceline again. This time I got a different agent who let me cancel when I told them I meant to do a one-way rental because we’re leaving out of a different airport. That seemed to be the trick as I was able to cancel the reservation. I have to pat a $49 cancellation fee, but seeing how I’m saving over $275 on a car rental I’m happy. Thanks for the advice!
Hi i recently was on priceline within the last hour to book a hotel for april vacation in Maine. However i turned my back for 2 minutes while on the phone with my mom and the 2 yr pressed buttons on the computer an hit the book now button on an express deal is there any way i can get out of this as it is not what i wamted… PLEASE HELP ME
OMG Christina you are a genius… I used your method of a death in the family and it worked my reservation was cancelled and will be refunded in full with no penalty fee… YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER THANK YOU VERY MUCH
My daughter was booking rooms while we were on the road across the country. As we made it farther than anticipated, she called the hotels and cancelled. Now I have the Priceline charges on my credit card. Anything for a month after the fact? I am having her call for the experience!
Thank you so much for sharing this priceLESS information. My dog Chaos was just diagnosed with cancer. I reserved a car for an 18 day period starting next week for a long delayed vacation. After several attempts with PL and rental car company I resigned myself to losing $600 half of which were fees! Fortunately I found your blog and used the one way rental reason. It worked! I contacted PL through online chat. All I have to pay is a $20 cancellation fee. THANK YOU so much.
Thank you Christina! You got me out of such a huge mess on car rental. Can I send you a check to show my appreciation? Thank you thank you thank you!
This thread is so very helpful. I had a hotel room that I needed to cancel. I first contacted the hotel, they said Priceline needed to contact them and I got the hotel person’s name and then chatted with Piceline’s customer service and I just said I made a big mistake with my reservation I made online and they quickly called the hotel and spoke to the person I told them I talked to and cancelled my reservation right then and there. The priceline employee I chatted with was very nice and didn’t ask me any questions or tell me I couldn’t cancel even though the reservation itself said no cancellations. So thankful for their customer service rep!