MCO -->TPA Midsize Alamo

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One way rental booking from Orlando to Tampa, 8 days total.

Best price i found was 230$ all-in from Avis

Problem with priceline, is cost of additional driver fee (for spouse) if you get alamo ~10$/day (!!) ...for the other 4 providers this can usually be avoided (either included or with loyalty programs)

So this became a bit of a gamble, with a small chance of being more expensive than my other reservation (if alamo), and a higher probability of achieving some savings (if not alamo)

Started bidding at 10$/day for midsize/fullsize/standard, and increased by 1$ each 24h period. At 13$ got counter-offer of 15$, but turned it down to try again. Offer accepted at 14$/day

Your Offer Price: $14.00 (per day)

Total Rental Days: 8 days

Subtotal: $112.00

Taxes and Fees: $73.08

Total Charges: $185.08

Despite my number crunching, unfortunately the odds didn't work out for me, and i got Alamo, which is going to work out to ~270$ with the extra driver fees. To make things worse, priceline booking loses the advantage of rapid check-in, and the Alamo in Tampa is off-airport (via shuttle).

you win some, you lose some i suppose...

would be great if there was a larger database of rentals which might give a better idea of odds of specific provider. several recent wins for Hertz and Avis at MCO for similar dates (along with a couple alamo). surprisingly, Alamo had one of (if not the most) expensive non-opaque rates for this booking

booked via the PRICELINE link.

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your results with the board... sorry the gamble didn't go in your favor this time around.

Since PRICELINE and HOTWIRE (opaque) reservations aren't entitled to 'reward perks' i'm not certain you would be able to have the additional driver fee waived should you have received one of the other companies. There is a thread here: Car Rental Spouse as an Additional Driver which, current at the time of posting, gave a breakdown of which companies don't charge an additional driver fee for spouses.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICLINE link to begin your bidding.

Have a good trip.