Priceline for rental cars
- Thread starter TPD
- Start date
Rommey
Well-Known Member
I use them every year. Most times (not always-depends on the location and time of year/events going on) you can save quite a bit by doing the "name your own price" option over published rates. But you need to find out what the going rates are first for a given location so you can place a reasonable bid. They also put up what recent offers have been accepted by the rental car companies at a given location so you have a reasonable idea of what they will accept. Also their price usually includes all the taxes and fees.
If you place a bid and it is rejected, you get one more try to adjust the price. If that is rejected, then you will need to change the size of car or location before you can bid again. Also your credit card will be charged immediately if they accept an offer. But I have never had an issue when I got to the rental counter about the charge to Priceline.
If you place a bid and it is rejected, you get one more try to adjust the price. If that is rejected, then you will need to change the size of car or location before you can bid again. Also your credit card will be charged immediately if they accept an offer. But I have never had an issue when I got to the rental counter about the charge to Priceline.
TPD
the poor dad
Thanks - that's the kind of info I was looking for! I've not used Priceline for anything in the past, but figured a rental car would be an easy harmless way to get my feet wet with them.
I've read too many horror stories when it comes to vacation travel and 3rd party sales. Up until now, I've always booked directly - i.e. Hilton, United, Dollar, RCCL, etc. Maybe it's time to expand my horizons...
acommondisaster
Active Member
I want to add one sort of unrelated caution about using 3rd party sites. We've not used Priceline, but I've used hotels.com for hotels a lot - probably in excess of 30 or 40 times (I like the free night thing). You have to be VERY careful that you don't get double billed. Three times I've had hotels.com bill me for a room as soon as I booked (as expected) and then had the hotel bill me again when I showed up. Hotels.com won't refund you (they shouldn't), so you have to go through the hassle of having your CC company remove the hotel's charge. I would expect that you'd need to use the same sort of caution when picking up your car - be sure the rental company doesnt re-bill you.
We use Priceline a lot for rental cars and hotels. Never had an issue, we've always been pleased. We even took a chance on booking a hotel through them for a trip to Disney and the hotel was beautiful. We do the Name Your Own Price option. Love getting a beautiful upscale hotel for a quarter of the regular price! Rental cars have been fine too, one time we paid $16 a day for a full size vehicle up in NY. The thing I will not book through Priceline is flights.....unless you don't mind multiple layovers and leaving at very inconvenient times. With flights, I'd rather pay more for a direct flight.
TPD
the poor dad
Well I guess I got screwed on my first experience with Priceline. Placed a bid for a rental car last weekend. First bid not successful so they gave me a second chance. That bid wasn't successful either so I got the option of booking at a price $10/day more than my bid, which I did because it seemed like a better price than I had found elsewhere. In the end, it was the same price I had found directly with the rental car company because Priceline did not include the taxes initially. I live and learn. To add insult to injury, today's price directly with the rental car company is half of what I paid through Priceline 4 days ago. Priceline already has my money so no cancellation But if I had booked directly with the rental car company I could have ignored that booking and booked today at half price with no penalty. This is why I never deal with third parties.
