Priceline, Continental, Delta Shake It Up

Just when you think you know how to book the cheapest flight to Europe from the States, the airlines and agency websites shake things up. Again. Budget-savvy author Tim Leffel notes on his budget travel blog a number of recent changes in booking policies and fees.

These include:

Effective December 1, Continental is dropping its 500 bonus mile award for booking flights through Continental.com for passengers booking within the United States. Similarly, Delta announced it, too was dropping mileage bonuses.

So why book directly through the airlines’ websites? Cheaper fares than the agency sites, who tack on an extra booking fee, right? Well…

Priceline announced this month that they were dropping their booking fees when you book a flight through their direct-purchase service (not through their “name your own price” service). Might this force other agencies, such as Orbitz and Expedia, to drop their five-spot charges?

Stay tuned!