Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Priceline car rent with Avis: 2 days at $32 all-in becomes $132 all-in

Did an 11th hour Priceline booking for Orlando, about 18 hours before the pick-up time. Booking was 8 a.m. on a Thursday to 10 p.m. on a Friday. (i.e. 2 rental days).

Also used $3/day bonus cash (under special offers in the user profile; YMMV as to whether yours has it). Bid $9+3 = 12/day on an econo-box and it was accepted by Avis. My cost for the 2 days after taxes & junk fees was $32.60.

Flight was on time, counter nearly empty at 8 a.m. hour and pretty normal check-in. Contract says 2 days paid, with a take-out time 8 a.m. Thursday and due back 8 a.m. Saturday (i.e. 2 rental days). Agent gives the spiel about extra days being $25.48 and fuel $7.19/gallon.

They do have an economy car on the lot, so for the first time in my 17-year renting career that's what I get to drive (a Hyundai Accent). No real problems with the car, and it's even better than the old Geo's I used to sometimes get stuck with as compacts. Never got a Geo Metro or Ford Festiva back in the day, but they sounded bad.

I return around 8:30 p.m. Friday night with a full tank (my Priceline booking was until 10 p.m. that night) and, to my horror, the check-in guy spits out a credit card receipt for $100.10! There were no irregularities with fuel, damage, returning late, returning too early (still within the 2 days) or any of the other fee traps they set. The entire problem was that the daily rate had somehow gotten bumped up to $54.99 each day, so the "total" with taxes and junk fees was $132 somehow, and after they applied the Priceline amount as a "credit" the difference was $100.10!

I was not a happy camper, especially with the surprise coming when I had a plane to catch. I tried to get it resolved at the counter but, after a couple of calls, the Avis agent said it was Priceline's fault for the PL computer feeding the Avis computer wrong date & time information for the rental causing the daily rate to "reset." But the Avis contract showing 2 days paid and the extra-day rate was correct.

So I called Priceline's 800 number and now they're handling it as a "case." Jagdish and his crack staff will try to get it resolved in a week. I must've told them 4 times for emphasis that I didn't request anything different with Avis from what I had booked with Priceline and that there were no irregularities that would incur extra charges and certainly nothing to give a pretext for altering the rate.

Meanwhile, the extra $100.10 has already appeared on the credit card (nothing to refuse to sign to slow that down). If it has to go to a chargeback then I think the Avis contract will be key, as it and the Priceline booking (also printed out) pretty much agree.

Definitely a hassle, though, and that's the cautionary tale. I think the real culprit is a system interoperability glitch, probably not helped by the booking being done soon before the car rent. But that may not be enough to stop them from pointing fingers at each other or trying to figure some way to blame the customer, especially if the alternative is eating any cost.

But I'll try to be cautiously optimistic.

Why bother wasting your time? Just dispute the erroneous Avis charge with your CC.

I'd escalate with Avis rather than dealing with Priceline and its dreadful customer service responsiveness. Priceline didn't collect the extra money from your credit card; Avis did. With your confirmation of prepaid reservation and proof of how much you paid, there is no way Avis can justify its extra charge against your credit card. If indemnification is warranted as between Avis and Priceline, that's for the two of them to sort out, but you shouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

Not sure why this is a Mileage Run Discussion, however. This thread would find a better home in the Avis forum, Travel Bidding, or Travel Buzz.

I had a dispute with Priceline and a hotel in NYC. I had to call everyday. I had to follow up with times dates and spoke withs. I had to do this for a week but eventually they put the money back into my account. I called the cc and they were hesitant to deal with PL aka a travel agent.

I had a dispute with Priceline and a hotel in NYC. I had to call everyday. I had to follow up with times dates and spoke withs. I had to do this for a week but eventually they put the money back into my account. I called the cc and they were hesitant to deal with PL aka a travel agent.

Maybe this is just my opinion but I could care less what my CC company thinks and if they like to deal with it or not. When I apply for the card and its extreme charge of 450$ pa then I expect they deal with it. Period.

Your problem is with Avis. Look at your original contract - it should show that it was prepaid. If it doesn't, then you should not have accepted the car. Did you also make a reservation with Avis and pick up the wrong one? Call their customer service. They can check their records and you will get a refund. Neither Priceline nor your credit card has any way to help to with the problem. At worst, you have to take it to a government agency.

UPDATE: Took 'em nearly a week, but Priceline was able to fix it, and Avis credited back the entire $100.10. So a happy ending. Priceline's email didn't really explain why Avis somehow thought it was 3 days when the Priceline res. and Avis contract didn't say that, so whatever glitch it was is probably still there.

Plan B was to take it up with Avis, but the dealings at the MCO airport didn't make that seem encouraging (them blaming Priceline).

Plan C was the chargeback.

All's well that ends.

Maybe this is just my opinion but I could care less what my CC company thinks and if they like to deal with it or not. When I apply for the card and its extreme charge of 450$ pa then I expect a they deal with it. Period.
A little bit OT, but what kind of credit card do you get that charges a fee of $450 per year??? :confused: Are the benefits worth the fee?

FYI, I don't think most FlyerTalkers pay such huge fees. Most of the cards I have are either no-fee, or have modest fees (example: Starwood Amex @ $30, though it'll be going up to $45), or have fees that I can get refunded one way or another. (I don't pay any interest charges, or other fees, either, as I pay the balance in full each month.)

Doesn't Amex have a purple card or something like that? (I think they ran out of metals). If I were expecting anyone to try to invent a super-high fee card, it'd be them.

The only one I've got with a fee is that WorldPerks one with US Bank at a steep $90, though the 6K miles discount on 1 award a year helps to cushion it. US Bank recently even sent me a balance-transfer check offer where they'd charge 3% transaction fee to let me carry a balance at 8% for about a year before the rate reset. Ummmm....no. I guess it's not in their blood to come up with anything good in that arena.

I understand the credit card companies are really, really bad if someone tries to do a chargeback against an airline. Supposedly success there is very difficult in not near-impossible.

Well, since the OP is going OT as well (;)), I'll add another credit card data point: there's an AAdvantage MasterCard that charges an $85 annual fee, BUT they always seem to run a promo whereby if you spend over a certain threshold during a certain timeframe, they rebate that annual fee.

Also, there's a United Mileage Plus Visa card that gives 1K members a rebate of the annual fee. (If they didn't offer that, or if I didn't requalify for 1K, I'd cancel that card in a heartbeat!)

AMEX Plat has an annual fee of $450.