Economy car through Priceline for $12 a day!

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Ditto.
If it wasn't for WackyMom's post (thank you again), I would not have thought of them due to the reasons posted above.

B.

We're on Kaua'i right now with my brother and SIL. They got a full size car for $25/day from Priceline. Next week we'll be on the Big Island with a mid-size for $22/day from PL. Both rates were considerably below car rental site rates.

[Thom Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Thom]

alamo rental cars

This one's with Alamo. I don't remember ever renting with them before. I'm sure they're fine.

I have used alamo almost exclusively on several trips , as they have always given me the best price..I have never had any probs with them including the the time someone put a parking lot stratch in the rental. or the time i backed into a stone wall with a rental ( my fault , i did have to pay damages but the company treated me fair and square).

thom

[vinolover Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close vinolover]

I'm are bargain shopper and I do lots of research before I spend my travel dollars. The $10 per day rate I got from PL was $3-4 under any rates I found on any of the rental car sites or any of the other travel sites (Orbitz, etc. or even Hotwire) even using any discount code I could find or the AARP discount.

Of course that's not always the case so it pays to check it out every option each time your rent. I've used PL about half the time lately but the rest of the time I did just as well going direct. Alamo usually has pretty good last minute deals which I used last time we went to Hawaii (when I didn't have success with PL).

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Yes, mine's Alamo, too.

I like Priceline for certain hotel classes (luxury, resort, etc.) and thanks to Bidding for travel. com (I think that's the web site) I learned what the hotel brands are.

I don't use them for air travel as you never know what time flight is, what carrier and sometimes, how many stops/layovers, etc.

I'm very pleased. When I shopped my old favorites rentalcars.com & carrental.com, I got 2 $318 wkly for an economy, Geo Metro (or similar) price.
Now I have a Buick Regal (or similar) for $182 with taxes/fees.

WM - I.O.U.

[happymum Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close happymum]

Beagle, I loved to use PL and HW for luxury resorts too. My best was $45 for Hilton on Waikiki beach. However, last time I used them for a night at a resort in Waikiki I got somewhere that was grotty. I had read the warning on Bidding for Travel ahead of time, but thought Id risk it. Never again. If they are still listing that quality of property as a resort, its just not worth it - even for one night.
I did complain and got no satisfaction, which made me even more unhappy.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Beagle, I loved to use PL and HW for luxury resorts too. My best was $45 for Hilton on Waikiki beach. However, last time I used them for a night at a resort in Waikiki I got somewhere that was grotty. I had read the warning on Bidding for Travel ahead of time, but thought Id risk it. Never again. If they are still listing that quality of property as a resort, its just not worth it - even for one night.
I did complain and got no satisfaction, which made me even more unhappy.

Good to know and I'll keep that in mind. I once got the Hyatt Bonita (the hotel, not the T/S - before I bought into Hyatt) for $100/nt and that was over New Year's.
Yes, study Biddingfortravel and see what hotel brands are included in the 4/5 star hotels and the luxury resorts.
$45 for the Hilton Waikiki is excellent. I once worked there selling Aloha gaments and trinkets at one of their Hawaiian wear shops in the Rainbow Village. That's when I was working my way through the U of H . Waitressed at the Rose & Crown & The Royal Hawaiian (The John Rowles Show) - am I dating myself enough ? I think the nightly rate was $45 then, so you got a great deal.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Just back from Pittsburgh. Alamo was great. When we got to the airport I asked what kind of car it would be? The clerk said an Aveo, and I was asking how big that is b/c DH is very tall and just once (years ago) he couldn't even sit up in a Focus, the steering wheel was on his knees. As we were talking, DH said, "I usually drive a Corolla, and that's fine."

The clerk said, "A Corolla would be a midsize. That would be two upgrades. We have some specials...."

We said no thanks, the Aveo would probably be fine. We went through all the paperwork and the clerk said, "Look, we have a Corolla on the lot. I'll just give you that."

I was soooo happy and thanked her about five times. DH loves his little Corolla and this way we got the thrill of riding in the NEW version of our old beater. Funny thing is I usually ask for Toyotas when we rent a car and nobody seems to have them!

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Beags, forgot to say I'm glad you got a good deal! Have fun!

[bigeyes1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bigeyes1]

We normally use National because we're Emerald Club members.

However, after pricing a rental through National and the rate quoted was $354 for a Compact, I decided to go to PL. On the second try, our $14 offer was accepted. Guess who it was with?? Yep.. National.

Get this. Our total cost was $194.84 (including taxes & fees) for an Intermediate size car!!! Go figure. We're definitely happy, though.


Congrats to others and their winning bids. It's nice to save money, huh?

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Beags, forgot to say I'm glad you got a good deal! Have fun!

WackyMom,
Thanks to you I got a 2007 Volvo S40 for $16/day. Alamo said "go pick one out anywhere in lane 2 (full size)." So, I looked at the Hyundais which were nice, but there was Volvy sitting all alone. I've had Volvys for 20 years and am comfortable with their handling.
I owe you !
With appreciation,
Beags

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Oh, we rented a Volvo wagon in Savannah in 1993! I had always wanted to own a station wagon, so I was pretty thrilled. Lucky you!

I have to say Alamo comes out looking very good from this, too, don't they? Sometimes you get a hotel room through Priceline and the hotel is determined to give you the crappiest room in the place for your measly Priceline bid.

But by giving us a really NICE car for our low bid, Alamo has moved way, way up in my mind. Next time we rent a car, I will probably rent from them directly. Excellent customer service, good marketing!

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Oh, we rented a Volvo wagon in Savannah in 1993! I had always wanted to own a station wagon, so I was pretty thrilled. Lucky you!

I have to say Alamo comes out looking very good from this, too, don't they? Sometimes you get a hotel room through Priceline and the hotel is determined to give you the crappiest room in the place for your measly Priceline bid.

But by giving us a really NICE car for our low bid, Alamo has moved way, way up in my mind. Next time we rent a car, I will probably rent from them directly. Excellent customer service, good marketing!

Absolutley ! I will give more business to Alamo as they didn't give me a cigarette smelling old clunker with the Fred Flinstone braking system.

When I worked in the E/R, I saw more folks walk away from MVAs that should've/could've been fatal except that they were driving a 240 wagon. That's why I bought one. They're no longer made and it was like driving a box, but a safe one. My floorboards eventually rotted out and I got an 850 which is starting to age. Ford now makes Volvo and the S40 I rented was a "Fjord" and the quality was still there.
B.

[zdxlc9p6 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zdxlc9p6]

I decided to try HW & PL again, and without successagain. I already have a mid-size Alamo through AARP for $134 for 9/2 in Orlando. HW priced it at $130, but AARP provides a free second driver, so my wife is legal when she drives it. I put a $10 base offer in PL, and their great offer was for $140. As others have stated, do some research first. With HW & PL, you are charged immediately, and no changes, cancellations, etc. Standard bookings give you flexibility.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

I decided to try HW & PL again, and without successagain. I already have a mid-size Alamo through AARP for $134 for 9/2 in Orlando. HW priced it at $130, but AARP provides a free second driver, so my wife is legal when she drives it. I put a $10 base offer in PL, and their great offer was for $140. As others have stated, do some research first. With HW & PL, you are charged immediately, and no changes, cancellations, etc. Standard bookings give you flexibility.

It doesn't seem like you'll be saving enough to do Priceline anyway, especially since you are getting the second driver included already. I don't know how many days you're going for, but even if you got it for $120, $14 savings just isn't enough to bother with for the loss of flexibility.

Priceline definitely does not work in all situations, it just happened that it worked really well for me this time.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

When using HW and PL, it's always important to remember that good deals are offered when their vendors have surplus inventory they want to move through PL and/or HW. When demand goes up, PL and HW are not as likely to offer good deals, because the vendors don't discount as much. And during periods when the vendors expect to sell out, they only give inventory to PL and HW at rates higher than the rates they would charge themselves.

***

It's always important to do background checking of rates before using PL or HW. You should never assume that the rate offered by HW (or a bid accepted by PL) will be lower than what you can get by booking directly with a vendor.

You also need to attach some value to the loss of flexibility when using PL or HW, and include that factor when deciding how much to bid on PL or whether to accept a HW offer.