Priceline.com Bidding: Suggestions and Extra Driver Fees?

[moondoggie]

My DS will be arriving at MCO four hours before I will, so I want to put the rental car in her name (and on her CC!) so she can check into her timeshare and then return back to the airport at 11 pm to pick me up.
Has anyone used Priceline.com lately--what kind of rates are you winning? We only need an Economy or Compact car for the two of us, BUT we definitely want the 'extra driver'--that would be me, without exorbitant fees.
We're going at the end of April.
Thanks for all suggestions & opinions.

 

[slruud]

Can't help you with MCO, but can let you know of my PHX booking for next weekend. Checked Hotwire and rates were $12.95/$14.95/day for economy/compact. Checked Orbitz and the major rental companies were going for $28 - $30/day. Went to Priceline and bid $9/day and was accepted, which always irritates me because it means I should have bid $8. The deals are usually dependent on how far in advance you can book/bid, but deals can be had. Good luck.

 

[hbg4]

Have you tried "biddingfortravel" ? It sumarizes the winning bids, prices and dates for you ans well as alot more info on how to bid.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

While deals can be had, expect that you will need to pay the standard additional fee charged by the company which accepts your bid to add the extra driver. Since Priceline uses 5 different companies, you will need to check the extra driver fee at MCO for each of those companies, then assume that your bid will be accepted at the most expensive of the 5. You can then back into a good bid based on the best price you can get on a non-priceline rental.

Before bidding on priceline, you might want to look into your options to get a free additional driver with a non-priceline rental. If you are wanting to share the driving with your sister, such deals are harder to find (unless you are co-workers traveling together on business). Here are a few that might work for you: If you are a AAA member and book with a AAA code, Hertz allows all other AAA members to be additional drivers for free. If you insure your car thru USAA and you use a USAA code, then Hertz and Avis allow allow other USAA insured drivers to be additional drivers for free.

Even if you can't find a code that will let you and your sister both drive for free, it may make more sense to book a non-priceline rental with the company that has the lowest overall cost includign the extra driver fee. There are often VERY good rates in the MCO rental car market for rentals of a week or more, making Priceline not as attractive in this market as it may be in some others for rentals of that length.

Where do you find those good deals? Keep reading the DIS!!

Best of luck -- Suzanne