Priceline.com review: Best price guarantee claim on a flight booking ( 1 comment)

I booked an Athens-Phuket flight on Priceline and found the exact same Air Arabia flight cheaper on another booking site. I filed Priceline's Best Price Guarantee claim the same day, with screenshots of both fares.

Priceline denied the claim in writing, saying the cheaper fare was a "Basic Economy" fare while my ticket was booked in a "standard Economy cabin."

That distinction does not exist on this airline. Air Arabia sells this flight in one Economy cabin. Their own booking flow offers the same flight as Basic or Value bundles - same plane, same seats, same cabin. The cheaper comparison fare was explicitly labeled "Economy Class." Air Arabia's own fare page lists Basic, Value and Ultimate fares; there is no "Standard Economy" fare at all.

When I pointed this out, Priceline's escalation team confirmed in writing that the "Standard Economy" wording "was intended to identify the cabin category and was not the basis for the claim determination." So the original denial reason was withdrawn by Priceline itself.

Since then, Priceline has written three times that the ticket "does not qualify for payment under the terms and conditions of the Best Price Guarantee program" - and each time has refused to name which term, or which fact, the cheaper fare fails. Their Executive Offices' last letter says the matter is "closed" and their position is "final," still without naming a single disqualifying term.

All I have asked is one question: which term of the Best Price Guarantee does this claim fail, and on what fact? Priceline's Executive Offices will not answer it. Screenshots documenting each step are attached. FTC reports have been filed.

A price guarantee that never has to say why it does not apply is not a guarantee.