JAX Jacksonville Economy Alamo

[cooljazz]

Hello! I'm new to the forum. I'm looking to bid on a flight from IND to JAX leaving in about 6 weeks. I'm also needing a car. Can I bid on a flight/car package or do I need to bid on them separately?

[thereuare]

PRICELINE and HOTWIRE both sell packages of air and car rentals together, but there is no bidding on either... if you're looking to "name your own price" you'll need to bid on them separately.

For the flight, what are the date(s) of your travel? What is the best rate you're able to find thru conventional booking channels? (please break the date down between base fare + taxes/fees) How much would you need to save to make an opaque purchase worthwhile? (ie- not able to choose flight times, layover airports, or lenght of layover)

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[cooljazz]

Okay, the cheapest flight I could find was from 5 Jun - 15 Jun for $133 ($33 tax) on Priceline. I saved $60 just by traveling on a Friday and Monday vice on the weekend. Now the car rental was different, seeing that it will be a weekly rate plus 3 days this bumped up the price. The break down from Alamo for a mid sized SUV is as follows:

Weekly Rate (1 x $211.14) $211.14

Extra Daily Rate (3 x $47.00) $141.00

Subtotal: $352.14

Taxes and Fees: $95.76

Amount due at pick-up: $447.90

So I'm getting killed on those extra days. If I could knock off $100 or so that'd be acceptable. I was thinking of a bid of $15/day would put it right at about $250. Not sure I could get a better deal with the flight. Any thoughts?

[thereuare]

You could try the $15/day rate, but it may be tough given the SUV car class... could you get away with a smaller car?

Would you be near the airport at all which would make splitting your rental into two different stays possible? (and posssibly cheaper than the full rental from the same company, although i haven't checked yet if this does give any additional benefit)

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[cooljazz]

Oh absolutely! I don't have to have an SUV; it was juts the cheapest for those dates. I thought about doing a split, get the weekly rate and then a weekend special. Could I do a bid for a weekly rate and then get a weekend special?

[thereuare]

I don't have to have an SUV; it was juts the cheapest for those dates.

SUV's are rarely the least expensive car offered... for 6/5-6/15 HOTWIRE has an economy for $246 'all-in' or a middsize for $270 'all-in', if either of these would be large enough for your needs.

Would either of these work?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[cooljazz]

Sorry for the long delay.

After checking the flight once again now Priceline is offering a ticket and car for $424, all in (no bidding)! Now that's pretty good, considering that would have barely got me the car in other offers.

The reason I haven't jumped on it is because I got a notice for jury duty for that same week (yeah, lucky me). Now I don't mind serving, but the non-refund thing and all. Do you know if the trip insurance covers that? I'll reread the policy to make sure.

[thereuare]

I don't know if jury duty would be covered under the insurance policy, but i would think that showing proof of non-refundable travel plans would get you a postponement for serving.

[cooljazz]

I think I got it cleared up now:

I went ahead and selected a ticket that was offered because I wanted to get there at a certain time. Then I went ahead and bid on a car. Here are the results:

Airline Ticket Cost: $113.99 (USD) per ticket

Airline Ticket Taxes and Fees: $40.90 (USD) per ticket

Number of Tickets: 1

Airfare Subtotal: $154.89 (USD)

Total Trip Cost: $154.89 (USD)

Rental Partner: Alamo Rent a Car

Car Type: Economy Car (Unlimited Mileage)

Pick-Up Location: JACKSONVILLE INTL ARPT Jacksonville Intl Arpt Jacksonville, FL 32229

Drop-Off Location: JACKSONVILLE INTL ARPT Jacksonville Intl Arpt Jacksonville, FL 32229

Your Offer Price: $13.00 (per day)

Total Rental Days: 10 days(9 days and 16 hours)

Subtotal: $130.00

Taxes and Fees: $71.25

Total Charges: $201.25

Lowest Published Price: $727.99 (USD)

Total Savings:* $526.74 (USD) (You saved 72%)

Total Trip: $356.14

PRETTY GOOD HUH? :) Staying with friends so no hotel involved, but I kinda like the car bidding thing!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you got a nice deal on the car rental (and that you had fun bidding :) )

Thank you for sharing your results with the board.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Have a great trip.