# Priceline rental car



## Tedman (May 7, 2010)

Gonna be in Kauai two weeks starting May 15th. Got a full size rental car through Priceline for $12 a day. Alamo is the company.


----------



## Luanne (May 7, 2010)

We just got back from Maui.  Through Priceline got a standard size through National for $8/day.  I was thrilled.


----------



## RedDogSD (May 10, 2010)

Luanne said:


> We just got back from Maui.  Through Priceline got a standard size through National for $8/day.  I was thrilled.



We just got back and we got a full size car through Priceline for $9/day.  The taxes and fees are insane though.  $63 for 7 days, and $50 in taxes and fees.


----------



## Luanne (May 10, 2010)

RedDogSD said:


> We just got back and we got a full size car through Priceline for $9/day.  The taxes and fees are insane though.  $63 for 7 days, and $50 in taxes and fees.



I think the taxes and fees are the same regardless of whether you get the car through Priceline or directly from the rental car agency.  I'll have to go back and check my original reservation to be sure.  It still saved us over $100 for the week.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (May 10, 2010)

Luanne said:


> I think the taxes and fees are the same regardless of whether you get the car through Priceline or directly from the rental car agency.  I'll have to go back and check my original reservation to be sure.  It still saved us over $100 for the week.


The added taxes and fees are the same whether you rent from Priceline or or any other vendor, with the following exceptions:

when using the bidding function of Priceline, Priceline adds a service charge - IIRC the Priceline service charge is $5.  I don't know if PL also applies a service charge to ordinary rentals; I've never used Priceline for a conventional booking so I just don't know.

In some locales, an off-site airport car rental operation can skip the airport taxes or fees if they are renting to a local resident or if a visitor picks up a car after they have already been in the area for several days.  When *bidding *through Priceline, however, the airport fee will always be included in the charge applied to your credit card.
I'm pretty sure the same considerations apply with non-conventional reservations made through Hotwire.


----------



## Luanne (May 10, 2010)

The only additional fee I've found with Priceline was a charge for an additional driver.  This was not included in the bid price, but was assessed afterwards. They are very specfic about who the driver will be (you enter that when you bid).  The first time this happened was in Hawaii with Alamo.  We ended up paying for the additional driver, but this time I made sure to put dh as the driver (since he does 99.9% of the driving) and he picked the car up. This avoided that additional charge.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (May 10, 2010)

Luanne said:


> The only additional fee I've found with Priceline was a charge for an additional driver.  This was not included in the bid price, but was assessed afterwards. They are very specfic about who the driver will be (you enter that when you bid).  The first time this happened was in Hawaii with Alamo.  We ended up paying for the additional driver, but this time I made sure to put dh as the driver (since he does 99.9% of the driving) and he picked the car up. This avoided that additional charge.


The charge for an additional driver follows rental agency practice, not Priceline.  You would have paid the identical amount for that additional driver had you rented directly from Alamo.

Using Priceline I've had situations in which the added driver cost more, and I've had rentals where the added driver was free if a family member over 25 years old. In every case the policy on added drivers was whatever the applicable policies were at the rental agency.

In most cases I believe the rental agency will charge for the added driver unless they are prohibited by state or local laws or rules.

+++++

If you want to have a second driver on the vehicle, that's something to factor into your assessment of your rental options.  For the area where you will be renting, you will want to know if there is an added charge for a local driver. You can usually figure that out by checking the terms and conditions at sites such as Avis, Budget, Hertz, when you check those sites for rate quotes.

Also, some preferred or premium rental programs will allow a second driver for free.  That consideration may actually end up erasing the difference in prices from a HW offer, or may dictate a PL bid that is so low that PL will not accept it.


----------



## Luanne (May 10, 2010)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> The charge for an additional driver follows rental agency practice, not Priceline.  You would have paid the identical amount for that additional driver had you rented directly from Alamo.



Most of the time it depends on your status with the rental company.  We typically don't rent from Avis, but every other company I've rented through directly has not charged an additional fee for the second driver.  And in most cases even though I'm the one whose name the reservation is in, I'm not the driver.  There's never been an issue or an additional charge.


----------



## barefootnAR (May 10, 2010)

Luanne, is the $8 the base. $8 x 7 = $56 with another 45 to 50 for fees and taxes?
I'm going in 3 weeks for a week, and have a compact for $15 per day with free extra driver plus tax toal $157. This is with my Alamo Quicksliver membership. Trying to decide if I want to try Priceline. But we need two drivers.
Any thoughts??


----------



## Luanne (May 10, 2010)

barefootnAR said:


> Luanne, is the $8 the base. $8 x 7 = $56 with another 45 to 50 for fees and taxes?
> 
> I'm going in 3 weeks for a week, and have a compact for $15 per day with free extra driver plus tax toal $157. This is with my Alamo Quicksliver membership. Trying to decide if I want to try Priceline. But we need two drivers.
> Any thoughts??



Yes, $8.00/day was the base.  There were additional fees and the total for the week was around $100 (as I remember).

We don't really need two drivers.  Dh does most of the driving.  I suppose you could show the major driver and then just not say anything about having a second driver. :ignore: only have one driver.


----------



## barefootnAR (May 10, 2010)

Thanks Louanne,
I might end up doing all the driving since my sis is my guest. I really need to drive so she can enjoy the views..
I'll wait until a tad closer to leaving and give price line a try. If I'm saving 50 60 bucks, that could be used elsewhere.


----------



## Luanne (May 10, 2010)

barefootnAR said:


> Thanks Louanne,
> I might end up doing all the driving since my sis is my guest. I really need to drive so she can enjoy the views..
> I'll wait until a tad closer to leaving and give price line a try. If I'm saving 50 60 bucks, that could be used elsewhere.



Definitely wait until the last minute.  I did my bidding the week before we left.  When my bid was accepted I then cancelled the reservation I'd made.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (May 10, 2010)

Luanne said:


> Most of the time it depends on your status with the rental company.  We typically don't rent from Avis, but every other company I've rented through directly has not charged an additional fee for the second driver.  And in most cases even though I'm the one whose name the reservation is in, I'm not the driver.  There's never been an issue or an additional charge.


In my experience the rental company will always charge for a second driver unless you have elite status that includes free additional driver or local laws require that a second family member be included on the base rental agreement.

If you use Priceline or Hotwire and you get a reservation with a rental company where you have elite status, the rental company might or might not extend the elite status perks to the PL/HW rental.  I've had it happen to me both ways.

I've never had an issue with changing the name of the driver at time of pickup.  

++++++

People make this whole process with PL and HW more complicated than it really is.  As far as the rental company is concerned, when you walk up to the counter what you have is a pre-paid rental.  It makes no difference to the people at the rental counter whether you prepaid through PL/HW, through a travel agent, or through the rental company's own web site.

To them you have a rental, and all of the same policies apply.  

Well - there might be on difference. If you prepay through the company's web site, it's possible that they may be able to make those changes, including applying any credits that might apply.  But if it's prepaid through a third party they will say that any adjustments or changes are between you and the party through whom you paid for the reservation.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (May 10, 2010)

barefootnAR said:


> Luanne, is the $8 the base. $8 x 7 = $56 with another 45 to 50 for fees and taxes?
> I'm going in 3 weeks for a week, and have a compact for $15 per day with free extra driver plus tax toal $157. This is with my Alamo Quicksliver membership. Trying to decide if I want to try Priceline. But we need two drivers.
> Any thoughts??



If I'm following you correctly, you're going to be paying about $472 for the rental through Alamo (21 days at $15/day plus $157 in taxes and fees). I probably would set my top Priceline bid as follows:

1.  For starters  I would set my top Priceline bid at about $400, all fees included.  Anything higher than that I would probably prefer the direct rental for the added convenience of having a cancellable reservation, and getting credit to my frequent renter and frequent flyer accounts.

2.  Then I would estimate how much I might have to pay for the second driver, then deduct that amount from my Priceline bid ceiling.



Luanne said:


> Definitely wait until the last minute.  I did my bidding the week before we left.  When my bid was accepted I then cancelled the reservation I'd made.



Waiting to the last minute is not always the good strategy. Based on bidding histories, I've seen prices rising and falling over time.   Last August in the last week before we went to Hawaii, the PL market completely evaporated, and I would up with a rental that was about 40% higher than a Hotwire offering  I had declined two months earlier (and which I had also used a cieling for doing unsuccessful PL bidding).

Remember that the vendor is releasing unsold inventory based on projected demand.  If they wind up having greater than expected demand, they will raise the prices they charge PL for unsold inventory.  The reverse is also true.

If you decide to wait to the last minute and demand is higher than expected, you might miss out on a good deal.  For my self I usually start significantly lower than my ceiling, then take advantage of rebidding as the needed time lapses occur slowly ratcheting upward.  If I get a hit I take it and am happy.  I also track rates available through direct rental, and I reserve at the best available rate.

If I haven't had success with PL or HW, about three months out I increase my bidding up to my ceiling.  and I continue checking HW or bidding on PL at that rate periodically afterward.


----------



## Luanne (May 10, 2010)

In my case I waited until the last minute as I was seeing posts here about a week before we were scheduled to leave.  Folks were getting great prices on their bids for Hawaii.


----------



## barefootnAR (May 10, 2010)

I'll only be there for 7 days. I'm a Quicksliver member with Alamo, it's their new member "club" they started in the last year. With it I get a free second driver and about 10 to 15% less than if you just use their main web site or many of their specials. Much beter than their old member club perks.
However, from what other Quicksliver members have said if you use Priceline Alamo will not give you the free driver even when you check in and give them your Quicksliver #. With quicksliver, you can complete all info online even second driver and bypass all wait, walking straight to the cars and drive off. It was great in March when we were there. We had to have two drivers then so I didn't do Priceline..had a good deal on our car anyway.
I'll wait and bid the week before I go and see what happens....
Thanks all.


----------



## Luanne (May 10, 2010)

You can start bidding earlier.  Just decide what your maximum bid will be.  If you can't get your price right away you still have your Alamo reservation.  As I said I bid late because I was seeing posts from people who had been getting great prices.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (May 10, 2010)

barefootnAR said:


> However, from what other Quicksliver members have said if you use Priceline Alamo will not give you the free driver even when you check in and give them your Quicksliver #.



As I mentioned above, if you get a reservation by bidding on PL, you may or may not get your frequent renter perks.  Same things happens when you use PL or Hotwire for hotels.


----------



## Luanne (May 10, 2010)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> As I mentioned above, if you get a reservation by bidding on PL, you may or may not get your frequent renter perks.  Same things happens when you use PL or Hotwire for hotels.



While it's true that you most likely won't get your frequent renter perks, I've still gotten airline credits for car rentals done through Priceline.  After I've gotten home I've submitted the receipt for the car rental to the airline.


----------



## jtridle (May 14, 2010)

*Sidestep/Kayak*

If you rent a car in Hawaii using  Sidestep or Kayak, can you cancel with no penalty?  Is there an extra charge that they apply for their services?  Do you get frequent flyer mileage?  Thanks.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (May 14, 2010)

jtridle said:


> If you rent a car in Hawaii using  Sidestep or Kayak, can you cancel with no penalty?  Is there an extra charge that they apply for their services?  Do you get frequent flyer mileage?  Thanks.



Why would you rent through Kayak or Sidestep, when you can almost always get a cheaper rate by going directly to the web site for the same car rental agency and make the identical reservation at less cost?  Even if it were the same price, by renting at the car rental agency site, you don't have to prepay, you know you won't have any service charges, and you usually have a more liberal cancellation policy.


----------



## jtridle (May 14, 2010)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Why would you rent through Kayak or Sidestep, when you can almost always get a cheaper rate by going directly to the web site for the same car rental agency and make the identical reservation at less cost?  Even if it were the same price, by renting at the car rental agency site, you don't have to prepay, you know you won't have any service charges, and you usually have a more liberal cancellation policy.



In the past I have always done what you suggested.  I've never rented through Kayak or Sidestep but rather have used them to find my options and then called the rental company directly.  Same way with airline tickes.  I was just asking.  Since I've never used Sidestep or Kayak, I don't know what any of their policies are.  I guess you've answered my question.


----------

