Economy car through Priceline for $12 a day!

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

I have to brag. We're going to Pittsburgh tomorrow and returning on Saturday. We're picking our DD up from six weeks of camp so she will have a lot of stuff.

We were going to use public transportation, but it does get a bit tricky with all the luggage...so I went on Priceline and bid for an economy car. And got it! TWELVE DOLLARS A DAY!!!! Can you believe that? TWELVE DOLLARS A DAY!

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

I have to brag. We're going to Pittsburgh tomorrow and returning on Saturday. We're picking our DD up from six weeks of camp so she will have a lot of stuff.

We were going to use public transportation, but it does get a bit tricky with all the luggage...so I went on Priceline and bid for an economy car. And got it! TWELVE DOLLARS A DAY!!!! Can you believe that? TWELVE DOLLARS A DAY!

You're My Hero !

I'm going there (Priceline) now to see what I can find for Orlando.
I'll be at the SummerBay Houses for a few days, then off to Captiva/Sanibel/Naples - staying at the Hyatt Coconut.

Thanks for the tip ! (It does pay to wait 'til the end sometimes !)

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

Bid low. They offered me a midsize for $3 a day more or a full size for $5 a day more. Good luck!

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

I just got an e-mail from Hotwire saying there are cars available in Orlando for $13.95 a day, so you can probably do even better on Priceline.

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

You done good.

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

We were able to get $15/day for Vegas via priceline. It ended being with Avis and we upgraded to an SUV for $5! Gotta love it!

Jana

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

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

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

I just got an e-mail from Hotwire saying there are cars available in Orlando for $13.95 a day, so you can probably do even better on Priceline.

Before using PL, always check HW. Then make your PL bid somewhere below the HW offer. If your PL bid is successful you got a lower price. If your PL bid is rejected, then take a free rebid if you have one available. If you don't have a free rebid, then take the HW offer, knowing you couldn't beat it.

Of course, before using PL or HW you should check available internet rates so you will know if it even makes sense to use PL or HW.

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

Thank you WM,
I got a full-size car for $16/day. The only other class size that they had was economy and I just wanted to be sure that my nephew and his boys had enough room.
This is great. You save me at least ~$120.
Thanks again.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Wacky...Good for you!!!!

Beags.....That's great!!!

I'm gonna give this a try for my trip to Palm Springs in October.

[joycapecod Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close joycapecod]

I just used PL last weekend at BWI. I found on line a rate through Travelocity that was $111.56 for the weekend...now that was including all the taxes and airport fees. I ended up paying $46.66 for the weekend through PL including all taxes and fees. It was an Alamo rental and the car did have high miles for a rental, over 20K, but it is at the end of the model year and there was nothing "wrong" with the car. I always try PL and always at the last minute. I've only been denied once or twice in the past several years.

Joy

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

I've never had much luck with Priceline on rental cars. I've tried bidding a few times, but when my bids start getting in the neighborhood of what I can get the same thing for from National via Emerald Club, I give up. National doesn't charge Emerald Club members an extra fee for the spouse to drive in the US and I've always had pretty good service from them. Plus, you can keep trying for lower rates and cancel with no penalty.

Sheila

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

$10 a day in Las Vegas

We got a compact from PL via Alamo for $10 a day in June for a seven day rental. We were staying at Lake Las Vegas (which has free parking) and is about a $30-40 cab fare from the airport and the strip. The cheap rental car was quite a savings.

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

I've never had much luck with Priceline on rental cars. I've tried bidding a few times, but when my bids start getting in the neighborhood of what I can get the same thing for from National via Emerald Club, I give up. National doesn't charge Emerald Club members an extra fee for the spouse to drive in the US and I've always had pretty good service from them. Plus, you can keep trying for lower rates and cancel with no penalty.

Sheila

I'm not surprised. I've often found that rates offered by PL (and HW) for car rentals aren't much different from rates offered directly by car rental companies. That's why I mentioned that PL and HW users should first shop around for the best rates available from car rental companies before getting a HW quote or entering a PL bid. I set a maximum price I'm willing to pay using PL or HW - typically about 80% of the best direct rental price.

I went through a period of about three or four years awhile back when I didn't do a single car rental through PL and HW because they didn't fit my acceptance criteria. About three years ago, those sites started coming through again for me with better rates.

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

I went through a period of about three or four years awhile back when I didn't do a single car rental through PL and HW because they didn't fit my acceptance criteria. About three years ago, those sites started coming through again for me with better rates.

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.