Priceline Hotel: Winning Car Rental Bid in Orlando

[LoveTrips]

This was my first time trying Priceline for car rentals. Even though I know others haven't had great results, I figured it was worth a shot since being under 25 is SO EXPENSIVE when renting a car (most companies charge an extra $25/day).

The best price we could get using other websites (Expedia, Travelocity) was just under $300/week for a compact car (using Enterprise, a company Priceline doesn't even use), so I bid $265 on Priceline just to give it a shot. It was accepted! We're booked through Alamo, and the price includes the young renter fees. If I had booked the same car through Alamo.com it would have cost $410. PLUS, Enterprise would have used a shuttle from the airport (not a big deal if we were saving money though), but Alamo is right in the airport. Yay!

Priceline might not be a good deal for regular renters (my husband turns 25 in a month thank goodness!!), but for those of us dealing with the craziness of being under 25 trying to rent a car, this deal turned out really well!

[dave]

Was $265 the total including fees and taxes?

Do you think you could post your successful bid price per day to help future renters? Thanks :)

[LoveTrips]

Yeah, $265 was the total including all taxes and fees. The price per day was $30 (which includes the young renter fee) and then there is $55 of taxes and fees, all of which was disclosed before purchase. Thanks for the tip!

[dave]

Thanks for the update :) $30/day seems steep (not sure if it's because of the young renter's fee) but maybe it's just the rates in Orlando. I usually rent in the West Coast where rates are like $17-$20 per day.

[LoveTrips]

Yeah, $30/day IS high, but compared to the extra $25 day we have to pay for being under 25 (added to the $17-20 normal), it's pretty good!