Lewis, you are correct I did not do my homework on Priceline, this is the first time I've ever used them. The amount of the taxes and fees were shown to me before I accepted, what I didn't know then and what I know now is I'm unable to see a breakdown of what makes up this amount. When I see a link that says details, I expect to see details...every car rental place shows the breakdown.
Where was it made clear to me that Priceline keeps the excess amount ? I assumed they made their money from the supplier, not the booker, my mistake, they won't ever get my money again.
If that were the case, no supplier would use them. BTW, hotwire works the same way. As I said, for the breakdown, go to Alamo.com Click on view, enter your reservation confirmation number and your last name and your reservation will pop up with a complete breakdown of costs and a total. You can then subtract what you paid priceline from that amount and see what Priceline made on the deal. You can even print it for your records.