Embedded Files
Taking a chance on the specifics in order to get a great deal.
This was written for someone who wanted to get a car rental, but everything applies also to hotels (and flights, but apparently there aren't good deals in flights). Here it is...
Keep in mind that both sites operate in US$. The prices below are before taxes, but you will always see the total with tax before your credit card is charged.
Hotwire.com
Hotwire.com
You choose:
- the class of car (or hotel)
- the pickup area (e.g. the airport)
They give you:
- a price.
You don't find out the rental company until your credit card is charged, but it's always one of the 5 major companies.
Go to hotwire.com, click the Cars tab, and enter your details.
Example: YYC Calgary Hertz Fullsize $33/day ... 7/14/07-7/25/07
You can see prices/companies that people have received at http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showforum=183& - they also keep lists of which hotels have been awarded for each category.
Priceline.com
Priceline.com
You choose:
- the class of car
- the pickup area
Then you name your price (per day). Within 60 seconds you will find out if your offer is accepted - if it is, your credit card is charged immediately. If no company accepts your price you can try again after a waiting period - or sometimes they will come back with a counter offer.
When using Priceline it is a good idea to have a fully-refundable, backup reservation in case your bids are never accepted, unless you're OK not getting a car if you can't get a good price.
Go to priceline.com, click on Cars, click on the "Deeper Discounts, Name your own Price" icon. and enter your details.
Priceline winning bids #1: http://p070.ezboard.com/Canada/fpricelineandexpediabiddingfrm271
YYC full size 7/29-8/5 Hertz $18USD/day
YYC Mid-size $13/day for 7/3 ~ 7/10/07 from Hertz
Priceline winning bids #2: http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showforum=184&
YYC Calgary Hertz Full size $15/day
$15 ... 6/14/07-6/18/07
$13 ... 7/6/06-7/7/07
Info for car rentals on Priceline:
Other
Other
If you don't go with hotwire or priceline, you can at least see if signing up for the car/hotel company's free reward program would get you valuable perks (e.g. Hertz #1 club gets you free child seat rental in a weekly rental, some hotel programs net you a slightly better room or free newspaper). This article lists the perks of each program:
http://www.smartmoney.com/dealoftheday/index.cfm?story=20070806&cid=1012
And you can try all the different discount codes, listed here: http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=238&
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse