nkcutter Posted November 27, 2014 Report Share Posted November 27, 2014 Auto rental for TPA for 10 days - November 28 through December 8. Bid accepted for $11 Full Size. As always with rental cars, I first get a cancellable auto at the best rate I can find after checking over a period of a week. Had bid twice earlier this week, $9 for standard, and $10 for full. I could tell rates had gone up about $1 since then. (you never know whether it is good to wait or not). Today (day before travel) I used Name Own Price and first bid on standard car for $10. Refused, but they offered me $12 (for a total of $232.80). Closed the bid and started over (because I thought I might come back to that one). Then bid $11 for a full size. Accepted; Alamo. Total for 10 days is $231.25. The lowest they were showing for a full size (cancellable) was $13/day, so some savings. Nothing much offered on hotwire or carrentals.com unless I was willing to use one of the 'lesser' car agencies, which I tend to avoid (dented, higher mileage cars, and no Sirius radio). One word of warning on rental cars. Don't just look at the rate per day when comparing. Always look at the total you will be charged. For some reason, this can be quite different between 2 different car agencies in same airport. And different amount of fees per the type of car as well. Name Own Price and other unnamed secret car offerings often will show higher total tax/fees than you will accrue if you use HOTWIRE or PRICELINE named cars. I don't know why this is. TPA has high fees plus additional $5 per day facility charge; that is sticking it to the travelers. Link to comment
AaronJB Posted November 28, 2014 Report Share Posted November 28, 2014 Congrats on your success. :) Good deal for this TPA rental and thanks for the notes on car rentals. Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.Enjoy your stay. Link to comment
thereuare Posted November 28, 2014 Report Share Posted November 28, 2014 nkcutter, The 'opaque' rentals charge a booking fee, whereas the 'retail' rentals typically do not, which accounts for the price difference between the two. You often need a very deep discount, or a longer term rental, to make up the booking fee. Our Car Rental Rate Checker tool makes it easier to compare your all-in costs vs. your bidding costs with just one search. ;) Enjoy your upcoming trip. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
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