Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - free rebid question

When using a free rebid ( a-b add-a-zone) must we close our browser and
get back to page one to rebid, or can we use the page indicating that our last
bid was rejected and that we must change a criterion.
When is it advisable to close our browser and start all over.. when we are
starting to bid too high?
Joe

If you bid for zone A, with B and C as impossible zones in your star level, you can bid for A then A+B but you have to close and start to do A+C and then A+B+C. Once a zone is selected it can only be removed by starting over. So you wouldn't be able to do A+C (no B) without restarting if you had bid A+B.

You don't actually have to close your browser; you can just go back to the Priceline.com main page and do your new request.

OK, but if you already bid for A, then why do you not have to start over
for A+B? Afterall, You have already used up A in your first bid.
Joe

jsohmer

To answer your question, you don't have to start over when you introduce a new element. A is old, but when you use A+B , B is new so Priceline lets you do that in the same session.

However, as mentioned by another poster, when you go on to use A+C you want to get rid of B. For this you need to go back to "Go".

You can prove all this to yourself using REALLY low sure-to-fail bids, or if you have a lot of days before a trip. But do be careful. I have had a couple of what I thought were lowball bids go right through and win.

Romelle

If you really want to get fancy, there is lengthy discussion on "bid permutation" on biddingfortravel.com.

OK, but if you already bid for A, then why do you not have to start over
for A+B? Afterall, You have already used up A in your first bid.
Joe
As mentioned, each combination is considered a new bid but the mechanics of the web site do not let you remove a check mark on a zone once you have bid that zone. However, you remove all the check marks by logging out and starting again. Priceline does track the bids you've made, so the rules are kept in place no matter what. The distinction is the bidding rules versus the way the Priceline web site handles checking off zones.

As a real example I had today, I wanted 3.5 star a hotel near Disneyland. The Orange County regions that do not have 3.5 or higher are Anaheim Hills, Laguna Beach, and Seal Beach. Call Disneyland D, and the other zones X, Y, Z. I can bid

D
D+X
D+X+Y
D+X+Y+Z
Start over with D+Y
D+Y+Z
Start over with D+Z
D+Z+X
If I've done it right, I get 8 bids rather than just one per 24 hours. Since all 8 have a different list of zones, that's allowed.

As a real example I had today, I wanted 3.5 star a hotel near Disneyland. The Orange County regions that do not have 3.5 or higher are Anaheim Hills, Laguna Beach, and Seal Beach. Call Disneyland D, and the other zones X, Y, Z. I can bid

D
D+X
D+X+Y
D+X+Y+Z
Start over with D+Y
D+Y+Z
Start over with D+Z
D+Z+X
If I've done it right, I get 8 bids rather than just one per 24 hours. Since all 8 have a different list of zones, that's allowed.

Did you bid this way already? It was my understanding that once you go to three zones, you can't go back to bidding on two of the same zones.

So I think it would have to look like this:
D
D+X
Start over with D+Y
Start over with D+Z
D+X+Y
D+Y+Z
D+Z+X
D+X+Y+Z

That way you use up all your options with two zones before proceeding to three zones.

Please verify if your post was theoretical or if you actually bid that way. I would be surprised if it were not just theoretical.

John

One other thing to keep in mind if you are entering PL or HW via an affiliate link (such as ones on BetterBidding, and other similar sites): If you decide to clear cookies and to close-and-relaunch the browser, be sure to once again use the affiliate link, so that your chosen website will get credit for your bid.

I think,after having done more research, that FTI is right.
Joe

I think,after having done more research, that FTI is right. But you have to close ,I think, before doing D+X+Y,and then close before doing D+Y+Z,and then close before doing D+X+Y+Z
Joe

I think,after having done more research, that FTI is right. But you have to close ,I think, before doing D+X+Y,and then close before doing D+Y+Z,and then close before doing D+X+Y+Z
Joe

Yes, when you go from D+X to D+Y, you must use a new browser window. Same with other permutations as you mentioned - otherwise the zone(s) you don't want are already grayed out.

John

Yes, when you go from D+X to D+Y, you must use a new browser window. Same with other permutations as you mentioned - otherwise the zone(s) you don't want are already grayed out.

John

I agree with both jsohmer and FTI having put this theory into play on several occasions.

Please verify if your post was theoretical or if you actually bid that way. I would be surprised if it were not just theoretical.Could I screw that up? Sure. :o You are correct, you have to go from least number to most number of zones. A new bid can't be a subset of the zones you've already bid.

However, I haven't found it necessary to close the browser or clear cookies. I just click on the Priceline home link at the top of the page and start a new bid.

If you want to see the detailed possibilities worked out correctly, go to Member Announcements at BFT and look at the pinned post by Verkuib.

Could I screw that up? Sure. :o You are correct, you have to go from least number to most number of zones. A new bid can't be a subset of the zones you've already bid.

However, I haven't found it necessary to close the browser or clear cookies. I just click on the Priceline home link at the top of the page and start a new bid.

Since I always click through EBates, it automatically opens a new window for me. So I am not personally familiar with how to do it directly from the priceline site. But clicking on the home link sounds logical.

John