Did I lose my chance with Priceline?

[Liz]

We're going to Florida this Thursday and I have a car reserved with Alamo for $290 (9 days). A few days ago I started trying Priceline and began at $13 for a midsize and have been going up a dollar a day. Today I bid $16 and it wasn't accepted. Each day prior to today they have said $17 would be accepted but I figured I'd be at $17 in a couple of days anyway so I kept trying. Well today when my $16 was denied it said a bid of $35-36 a day would give me a good shot. Good grief!!! Any chance of my $17 bid being accepted tomorrow or did I miss my chance to save a few bucks?

 

[princessfionasmom]

Have you tried Hotwire? When we went to San Fran we tried priceline and it wasn't giving me the price I was will to pay. Then about a week before my trip I was getting 9.95/day quotes from hotwire.

 

[DVC-Don]

This August I bid $19 a day for a mini van with Priceline and they said $27 a day would be better. Next day I bid $20 and got it.

 

[randbmom]

I don't know if you're too late, or it's just a bad time for car rental rates. We're going 10/9-10/13 and the best we could do was $178 National. In June/July we rented for two weeks for practically that amount; with a $13/day rate from Hertz thru Priceline. I've been checking Priceline daily since August, and have gone up to $22/day for even an economy and no dice. They say to try $38/day. I'm sticking with National Emerald Aisle at $178 unless Priceline really comes through at the last minute.

I've heard on these boards that since the summer, car rental companies have reduced inventory and those great summer deals are no more. I've got 4 more days to try!

 

[Liz]

Thanks all! I'll try again tomorrow and report back if I am successful!

Oh and I did try Hotwire and the prices are actually a little higher than the Alamo car I currently have reserved unfortunately.

Good luck randbmom!

 

[Lewisc]

Are you using one of the Alamo codes that give you an additional driver at no extra charge (COSTCO, WalMart etc)? People who need an additional driver can generally do better finding a rate code that offers a free (or discounted) extra driver rather then paying the full charge for an extra driver with a PL or Hotwire rental.

 

[Liz]

Still no luck with Priceline. Looks like I'll be keeping my Alamo reservation.

 

[randbmom]

No luck for me either. One more try tomorrow.

 

[Rpsemont]

Double check your Alamo rates, too
Today I used Costco codes for 25% off and free day and got a one week intermdiate for 10/23-10/29 for $191. Much less than I'd seen in recent weeks (and much better than my Thrifty at $209, since the Alama includes a free extra driver)

You can keep trying Priceline, too

 

[who's ur daddy?]

I got a minivan from Alamo for $30/day at the end of this past August. I can't get anything from Priceline for mid-October - was up to $22 for a compact. Darn!

 

[mnrose]

We are traveling 10/10-10/17, and for reasons to complicated to explain here, needed two vehicles. I was thinking one smaller car and one bigger car, but my bids at $13-16 for compact and economy cars kept being rejected. So, I tried full size and got them for $16 a day, plus taxes. Go figure on why a full size is cheaper than a mid-size or compact. Makes no sense to me, but that's the way it was. I *suspect* it's because people think it's cheaper to rent smaller, and therefore there's less demand for the bigger cars. FYI, I am paying $186 for one week (all inclusive) for the full size, with the car coming from Alamo.

 

[Vickie46]

anyone else get a good deal with priceline? We went with Alamo for 169 for a Full Size for 4 days with Passholder discount.