So much for Orbitz and car rentals ...

My wife just called to suggest we rent a convertible and take a drive through
southern Minnesota to do some leaf watching and such. She said she'd looked
at Orbitz and found convertibles only available at Thrifty, but wanted me
to look some more and actually do the booking.

She was right about Thrifty being the only outfit in town with convertibles.

But, the price offered at Orbitz was $69.99+taxes and fees, while going
directly to Thrifty got me the same car for $49.99+taxes and fees.

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Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

In article ,
says...
My wife just called to suggest we rent a convertible and take a drive through
southern Minnesota to do some leaf watching and such. She said she'd looked
at Orbitz and found convertibles only available at Thrifty, but wanted me
to look some more and actually do the booking.

She was right about Thrifty being the only outfit in town with convertibles.

But, the price offered at Orbitz was $69.99+taxes and fees, while going
directly to Thrifty got me the same car for $49.99+taxes and fees.

IME Orbitz is often cheapest, but it pays to check the rental car
companies' websites. The same is true for hotels and airfares.

===
Steve
Shoreline, Washington USA

17 Oct 2003, 1827 PDT

Stephen Dailey wrote in message . com...
In article ,
says...
My wife just called to suggest we rent a convertible and take a drive through
southern Minnesota to do some leaf watching and such. She said she'd looked
at Orbitz and found convertibles only available at Thrifty, but wanted me
to look some more and actually do the booking.

She was right about Thrifty being the only outfit in town with convertibles.

But, the price offered at Orbitz was $69.99+taxes and fees, while going
directly to Thrifty got me the same car for $49.99+taxes and fees.

IME Orbitz is often cheapest, but it pays to check the rental car
companies' websites. The same is true for hotels and airfares.

===
Steve


That's strange that happened to you. Everytime I book car rental
through Orbitz, it is so much cheaper than going to the company
itself. Orbitz always throws some kind of discount in or they upgrade
your car for less. THey are also great for hotels. I always find the
best deals on great hotels. Have fun in Minnesota!
Shoreline, Washington USA

17 Oct 2003, 1827 PDT

On 21 Oct 2003 14:36:15 -0700, (sassy_q)
wrote:

Stephen Dailey wrote in message . com...
In article ,
says...
My wife just called to suggest we rent a convertible and take a drive through
southern Minnesota to do some leaf watching and such. She said she'd looked
at Orbitz and found convertibles only available at Thrifty, but wanted me
to look some more and actually do the booking.

She was right about Thrifty being the only outfit in town with convertibles.

But, the price offered at Orbitz was $69.99+taxes and fees, while going
directly to Thrifty got me the same car for $49.99+taxes and fees.

IME Orbitz is often cheapest, but it pays to check the rental car
companies' websites. The same is true for hotels and airfares.

That's strange that happened to you. Everytime I book car rental
through Orbitz, it is so much cheaper than going to the company
itself. Orbitz always throws some kind of discount in or they upgrade
your car for less. THey are also great for hotels. I always find the
best deals on great hotels. Have fun in Minnesota!


Consumer Reports found Orbitz to offer the lowest rates for car
rentals, but there were a few warnings (membership may be required to
access this link, which may also wrap):

http://www.consumerreports.org/main/...=1066926733917

We recently used Orbitz to buy an Acapulco package, but their car
rental option only listed Hertz and gave few details about the car
deal which was available. When we checked directly with Hertz, we
discovered that it was a poor deal (e.g. the insurance would cost more
than the car).

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/carrent_ins.html

Instead we reserved a car directly through Alamo and used the American
Express Card insurance package to supplement the required Mexican
liability insurance ($5 per day). The total cost for the week was far
lower than the Orbitz/Hertz package would have been.

FWIW, Hertz is a notorious overcharge risks with car rentals, as many
have found:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/trave...rnational.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/trave...z_charges.html


Caveat