Originally Posted by
SixAlpha
You answered your own question. Tell your friend to enjoy his good deal. He's not getting "zero" benefits - he's getting a substantially cheaper rate than he would have gotten through National - quite possibly more valuable than the coupons.
Everything is straightforward in rentals: "you get what you pay for", and "there is no free lunch". You'd be correct in his case, but for the fact that Priceline hardly beat a National code. Poor guy just never got out of town before...
In life, there are always plenty of ways to skin the cat. Obviously, the AMEX offer + the annual 1-2-F Promo (both expiring by February's end) do create a short-term free lunch. If he slips out of Priceline's death grip. I've seen a thread somewhere of how to get out of Priceline opaque hotel, but was that escape route applicable to cars?