ATL Altanta Avis Midsize

[mbuckingham]

7/6 - 7-10

The cheapest I'm finding is Enterprise at $194 for a midsize, $180 for a compact. (total after taxes, etc), which is about $33ish a day

Flying into ATL, thought I'd give PRICELINE a whirl and hoping I can get a good idea of what I should bid

Thanks.

[thereuare]

Please add a reply to your Hotwire Bloomington thread with the dates of your stay so that thread can appear in the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins.

Then click this PRICELINE link and reply to this thread, we'll then have a look at your post above.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[mbuckingham]

Done.

[thereuare]

Give you don't have much time... HOTWIRE currently has a $25 rate for an Economy Car. I'd bid $20 today, if that is rejected in 24 hours try $23, and if that too is rejected take the HOTWIRE offer assuming it is still available. If your first bid is rejected you could always try again at a $1 more for the next highest car class.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

EDIT TO ADD: what are your drop-off and pick up times? If you extend your drop off 3 hour later then your pick-up time you enter into a 5 day rental which gives you weekly rates. Although you're in a sense paying for unused days, the rate can drop significantly. As an example, 7/6 pick-up at noon and 7/10 drop-off at 3pm actually lowers the rate vs. the rental period above... $17/day for a economy ($144 all-in), $18 for a Compact ($149 all-in) and about $5-$6 all-in up the line depending upon the car class. If you can mange your reservation accordingly and can book for 4days and 3+ hours i would try $13 for an economy ($14 for a compact, and $1 up the line accordingly depening upon the car class)... if that is rejected wait 24 hours and try $15 for an economy and so-on up the line. Hopefully you can follow the above, but if not, post back with which car class you're interested in and we'll try to clarify. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[mbuckingham]

It does look like that will save some $$$.

I was picking up at 6:30 and leaving at 4:30, but changing it to 9:30 seems to get the weekly rate. I'll give that a shot and let you know (though I'll also give my travel agent a chance first).

[mbuckingham]

Since I will be returning the car 5 hours early am I going to get hit with early return costs? Sounds like I could get recalculated to a different daily rate and $15 fee.

[mbuckingham]

Any idea if I could get stuck with early return charges?

[mbuckingham]

I decided not to take the chance. Put in a bid for $18 on PRICELINE and it was accepted.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

What size vehicle did you win and what car company accepted your bid?

Current at time of posting, as per PRICELINE's terms:

You can always return your car earlier than your scheduled drop-off time but priceline cannot issue any refunds for unused time. Our rental car partners choose whether to accept your offer based on the exact combination of pick-up date, drop-off date, car type and location you select while on our website. As a result, your accepted price reflects savings that may not have been offered to you with any other combination. We know our no refunds policy is strict, but it's the agreement that keeps this great service available and the reason the major car rental companies allow you to save so much money with priceline.

(emphasis added)

This indicated that you can return your car early, but that you won't receive a refund for any unused portion/days.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[mbuckingham]

midsize, avis

Wish I'd found the PRICELINE terms, probably could've saved a few dollars, but still not a bad price.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up.