Catman

I have previously booked cars through PRICELINE but this time round I couldn't get a good deal that met my needs. I wanted to book a SUV (4x4), picking up on 16th September in Palm Springs (PSP) and returning on 24th Sept. in Los Angeles (LAX). I bid up to $32/day on Priceline but didn't go further as both Dollar and Thrifty were offering an SUV for $455.65 though the Car Rental Checker. Booking through PRICELINE would have meant paying additional one-way charges of around $150. I initially reserved a car with Dollar but later found an even better deal for an SUV directly through Avis.co.uk. The deal with Dollar did not include LDW or ALI and included an Excess, all of which can be purchased as optional extras, unless you have suitable cover already with insurance4carhire.com (which I just renewed). First I joined Avis Preferred (free of charge), then followed the links to the best deals, entered the details and got quoted

D'oh! I put the travel dates in the title but should have put them in the next line... 21st-24th September 2009. The weather will definitely be better in SoCal than the rubbish we're having over here :) We'll be in Vancouver and Alaska first, then down to Palm Springs (hot hot hot!) before four last days in Pasadena & LA. Cheers

D'oh! I put the travel dates in the title but should have put them in the next line... 21st-24th September 2009. The weather will definitely be better in SoCal than the rubbish we're having over here :-) We'll be in Vancouver and Alaska first, then down to Palm Springs (hot hot hot!) before four last days in Pasadena & LA. Cheers

Just got the Sheraton Pasadena Hotel for three nights in September. Started bidding at $69 and the Sheraton accepted straight away. I guess if could have had a bit more fun by starting to bid a bit lower and adding Monrovia-Duarte, but what the hey! I'm happy enough staying for around half the asking price of most reasonable hotels in the area :-) . Obviously I booked through this great site's Priceline link. Now for a car.... Cheers from Cold and wet Oxford, England. Catman

Thanks - we should be happy with it as I booked the same hotel for my son for his vacation after he graduated in 2004. At the time I got it with Priceline (before joining BB :) ) for around $60/night and he was very happy there. It will be a base for a short stay before an Alaskan cruise and I'm sure it will be good. I usually put my reviews on Tripadvisor but next time I might try leaving them on BB. Cheers Catman

Just got the Hyatt Regency Vancouver for 6-9 September 2009 at $88/night. Started bidding last week and got up to $78 without success. Great place to bid for best hotels thanks to five areas without 4 star hotels. Bid today as follows: 4-Star Deluxe in Downtown Vancouver.... $75 = declined. Was offered a free additional bid for $22 more. Declined and re-bid Added Langley & re-bid $80 = declined Added Coquitlam & re-bid $85 = declined Added North Vancouver & re-bid $88 = Accepted. Subtotal: US$264.00, Taxes & Service Fees: US$52.84, Total Charges: US$316.84 naturally I used the link to Priceline from this site. Cheers Catman

Used previous winning bid ($57) to guide my starting bid (thanks Baker8 :) ). At the current lousy exchange rate $57 ~

Sure thing. The amenities are: Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, Spa Services, Hi-speed internet, Business Center. Cheers Catman

I got the Royal Sonesta for Friday night 7th July, $111 + taxes etc. - total $131.95. From the description of amenities in the pinned list I was pretty confident it was the Royal Sonesta so the entry for this hotel is still correct. A word of warning: I tried to place this order (using Safari web browser) and went through the entire process. After authorising the purchase with 'Barclaycard Secure Activation' I got a message saying that there was a fault and to press continue to try again. When I tried again the price went up from $111 to $112. I continued through the procedure and got the same error. I then tried the same hotel using a different browser (Firefox) and the price had gone up again from $112 to $113. This time I did not log-in and proceeded to place the order. I was successful on the last attempt. I then checked my email, only to find that the first two orders (at $111 and $112) had gone through despite the faults on the web site. I contacted Hotwire support and they promply credited my account, so full marks to them for fast action. All in all I'm happy with the result, even though Boston is SOOOOOO EXPENSIVE! :) Catman

I'm happy. I explored the site a bit more, found the link to EasyClickTravel and checked out the 'Off the Record' entry for the Aladdin using the REVERSE EasyClickTravel link. I've booked the Aladdin for 5 nights from 25-30 June at $67/night plus taxes/Fees, total $365.55 (or $73.11/night incl.). All previous priceline bids up to $80 were rejected and Hotwire still list the Aladdin at $100. The best deal I found elsewhere for the Aladdin was $89/night on the Starwood/Sheraton web site, but even if you 'double the difference' with Hotwire the EasyClickTravel deal works out cheaper. Thanks for all your help and I strongly recommend checking out EasyClickTravel - I've never done so before finding the link today and I've saved some money. Cheers Catman :)

Thanks. Now it's back to my search for a bargain in Las Vegas....

Trust me to choose an expensive time to visit Boston! Well, it's not every day that a Brit goes to see the 4th July celebrations where it all began! Anyhow, I just got the Radisson Hotel Boston (Downtown-Charlestown) after a few days of bidding. Here's the history: Tried all combinations of 4* hotels up to $120......rejected Tried 3* hotels as follows: Copley...............$60.....Rejected + downtown........$70.....Rejected +WTC................$80......Rejected + Cambridge......$100....Rejected + South Boston.. $110..Rejected + Medford..........$120....Accepted, 3* Radisson Hotel Boston So for 2 nights with all taxes it comes to ~ $280. Oh well, at least we'll watch the fireworks for free! Cheers Catman By the way, the published rate on the Radisson web site is $219/night.

Thanks. I was being 'thick'! :) The link did work, but I wasn't expecting it to be the Sheraton web site. Having done a search on there the Aladdin has come up. Cheers Catman

Hmmm... not bad. How/ Where? Thx.

Any advice or ideas about getting a decent hotel for June25-30 this year? I want something on the strip, budget upto $80/night. Any ideas? Thanks Catman

I have successfully bid for a 3* in Memphis (East) and got the Holiday Inn Select on Poplar. Started bidding: ..........$40 Memphis East, Rejected Added Downtown.........$42 Rejected but offered another bid at $12 more Closed browser & tried again Added areas that didn't have 3* hotels until I was successful at $46. Cheers Catman

Just booked this deal on Hotwire & I'm quite pleased: AVIS - SUV for 19-24 June, at LAX 5 day(s) @ $26.95 per day $134.75 Taxes and fees: $24.90 Total Price $159.65 Includes all taxes and fees. Prices are in $USD Priceline rejected my bid yesterday for a SUV at $25 so I guess this is pretty good. Cheers Catman :)

I am also quite "cheesed off" about not being able to bid on priceline's US site, as the UK site only has NYOP for hotel rooms. There has been no explanation as to why they stopped allowing you to bid for car hire since early 2003 (and flights since 2002). Last time I was in the US (2002) I hired a car in LA through Priceline and it was great. I was really looking forward to trying it again this year, but instead I'll have to hire it dirct from 'Budget'... Maybe one day Priceline.com will accept non-us Visa cards...

Got this SUV in Maui (OGG) on Hotwire for $34.95 +taxes etc. It's not bad considering Priceline.co.uk won't let us name our own price for car hire, and priceline.com only accept credit cards with US billing addresses.... :) So the deal is : 6 days @ $34.95 per day $209.70 Taxes and fees: $66.53 Car Subtotal $276.23 Total Price $276.23 Includes all taxes and fees. Prices are in $USD. It certainly beats all the other companies available from the UK. Aloha! :)

Got this SUV in Maui on Hotwire for $34.95 +taxes etc. It's not bad considering Priceline.co.uk won't let us name our own price for car hire, and priceline.com only accept credit cards with US billing addresses.... :) So the deal is : 6 day(s) @ $34.95 per day $209.70 Taxes and fees: $66.53 Car Subtotal $276.23 Total Price $276.23 Includes all taxes and fees. Prices are in $USD. It certainly beats all the other companies available from the UK. Aloha!

Thanks. I've mailed them and they've got back to me to confirm that they have reserved exactly what I asked for! Howzat for great customer service!

Aha! I've found a company that does annual insurance for car hire: www.insurance4carhire.com A policy covering LDW and SLI for a year, with max 31 days continuous hire, costs

Hi, I'm also in the UK and am checking out car rental for June 13-19 in Maui (OGG) and 19-24 June in LAX. Have you managed to get any clearer information about the various insurance charges (mainly LDW and SLI) ? Thanks Catman Oxford

Thanks for the advice. I've mailed them so let's see what happens... Cheers

Now I've got myself a bargain resort in Palm Springs area in June.......... Renaissance Esmeralda Resort, 20-24 June 2005 Bid on Priceline.co.uk for a Resort in the Palm Springs area. I got it for