I finally received the last part of my refund from Priceline yesterday--almost two months since the rental date and with many hassles along the way!

After I got back home from Atlanta on July 29, I faxed my receipts from Priceline and from National to the Priceline customer service center (outsourced to either India or the Philippines). They investigated and issued a refund for the $150 Priceline charge back to my American Express card about two weeks later. Around the same time, the Hertz ATL station manager mailed a $100 off voucher valid systemwide through July 31, 2013.

Priceline's outsourced customer service reps initially denied a refund of the extra $100 I had to pay to rent from National, claiming that I didn't rent the exact same vehicle. I explained that National upgraded me for free and explained the "Class Driven = Full Size" but "Class Charged = Intermediate", but as is customary with foreign call centers, the agents had no discretion to change anything.

I ended up calling Priceline headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut and spoke with an US-based employee in "executive customer service," who within 5 minutes authorized a refund of the extra $100 and said it would post to my Amex within 7 business days. That refund actually took over two weeks, but posted yesterday.

Whew. This was a major inconvenience with lots of time spent on the phone, but it was eventually resolved well. I've used Priceline for many years and never had a problem until now.