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Have any of you ever used priceline.com or hotwire.com or similar services to book travel (specifically, a rental car)? What was your experience like? Would you do it again? Would you only recommend it to your worst enemy?
I’m attempting to book a rental car for Boston in October, and prices have nearly doubled since the last time I looked about a month ago. The prices are to the point where the whole ‘getting a car thing’ isn’t really feasible, except for the small detail that not having a car isn’t really going to work.
Both priceline and hotwire show some decent-ish deals, from presumably reputable sources. I’m just wary, as I’ve never used either service.
Thoughts?
Hmmm. Valid points, all. I’m actually seeing about 40% discounts going through hotwire vs. direct to Avis/Hertz/Budget/National, which is what makes it so tempting.
*ponders*
I’ve used Priceline and overall was pretty happy with it. Though I recently tried to rent a car from a local low-cost provider (SIXT) and when I went to pick up the car found they didn’t take debit cards. My documents from Priceline told me to show up with either a valid credit or debit card. There was nothing between search and confirmation to indicate that they wouldn’t take the debit card, so I was pretty miffed about that. But if you anticipate that being an issue in advance it’s easy enough to check with the vendor first.
I’ve had the Seinfeldian ‘What does a reservation even mean if you don’t reserve the car for me’ moment using Priceline (I think) before . . . though I think you have the same chance of that happening direct through the car company too. Regardless, Priceline left a bad taste in my mouth for some reason I failed to either document or remember.
Meri, my b-i-l has. Will pm him if you like.
We’ve rented cars the last few years directly through Dollar.com and have gotten fantastic rates. Look for a neighborhood location if you have the means to get to one.
we’ve Hotwire for hotels and rental cars. the only downside so far has been the inability to cancel and get a refund – which happened with one trip that we couldn’t take (paid for a car we didn’t use ). You can set criterion in your hotel search and compare with other travel sites amenities and get a good idea of what the secret hotel will be …
I was just doing the same research. One thing I realized is that I could decline a rental company’s extra insurance and rely on the insurance included with my visa, but that Visa only covers me (and any additional drivers I authorise to drive the rental) if the rental is purchased DIRECTLY from the rental company. But actually, when I compared Hotwire and the companies directly, the difference was pretty negligible for the place, car, and dates I wanted.
I’ve used Priceline and it was okay. I saved money, but maybe I had an unrealistic concept of how much I could save. It wasn’t a steal, that’s for sure. And this was maybe ten years ago.
Avoid travelocity. On my last trip to Miami, my reserved Mustang convertible wasn’t there, so I got stuck with a Camaro. Then the hotel that looked so nice in the pictures, had a see through shower, a garden tub in the middle of the bedroom, mirrors on the ceiling, as well as several other features appreciated by the hourly rental crowd. Never again…unless I take up pimping, in which case the hotel is a go.
I love kayak.com; I use them for booking cars and flights and have not had a problem and have been generally pleased with rates. They cover most airlines and car rental agencies, and I really like the interface.
I think Chris has booked airline travel for me with hotwire. We also use Kayak and Expedia sometimes.