Car rental on Priceline is one of the best solutions available today if you’re looking for convenient and reasonably priced car rentals. While Priceline is well-known for saving money on hotels, flights, and vacation packages, its car rental deals are often overlooked. Priceline makes the process quick, easy, and affordable, whether you’re planning a family vacation, traveling for work, or just need a car for the day.
In this article, we’ll discuss how Priceline car rentals work, why they’re often less expensive, a thorough, step-by-step booking process, and seven smart tips to help you get the best deal.
Why Choose Priceline for Car Rentals?
Before we get to the advice, let’s review the benefits of renting a car using Priceline:
- Significant Savings: Priceline offers exclusive deals that allows you to save up to 40% when compared to booking directly.
- Large Selection: Hertz, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Alamo, Thrifty, and other well-known rental businesses are available to choose from.
- Name Your Own Price (Express Deals): If you’re picky about your preferred rental company, Priceline’s Express Deals offer significant savings.
- Pros: For additional savings, bundle your rental car with accommodations and airfare.
- Trusted Platform: Priceline is a safe and reliable choice as it has been serving millions of travelers worldwide since 1997.
These benefits make Priceline a strong competitor to websites like Expedia, Kayak, and Hotwire.
How to Book a Car Rental on Priceline – Step by Step
Here’s how to make a reservation if you’ve never used Priceline before:
Step 1: Go to the Priceline website or app
Download the Priceline app or visit Priceline.com. The app often offers special offers that are only available on mobile devices.
Step 2: Provide your trip information
Enter the driver’s age, travel dates, and pickup and drop-off locations. If you’re under 25, you should expect an additional “young driver” fee.
Step 3: Check available vehicles
Priceline will display a list of vehicles sorted by category, including luxury, SUV, midsize, compact, and economy vehicles. Additionally, you’ll be shown the costs of different rental businesses.
Step 4: Choose Express or Standard Offer
- Standard Booking: The rental company (e.g., Hertz, Avis) is known to you in advance.
- Express Deal: You save money, but after making the reservation, the company name is revealed.
Step 5: Check the terms and conditions and fees
Check the insurance options, cancellation procedures, mileage limitations, and additional fees in detail before making a decision.
Step 6: Verify and pay
Some reservations provide payment upon pickup, while others require payment in advance. Always verify the choice related to your reservation.
That’s it! As soon as your reservation is confirmed, you will receive an email with pickup details.
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7 Smart Tips for Booking a Car Rental on Priceline
1. Check Standard and Express Deals
Priceline offers both options when looking for a rental car. Priceline’s biggest money-saver is its Express Deals, which often reduce prices by 30-40%. However, it’s important to be flexible because you won’t know the rental deal until you pay. If you have a preference for a specific rental deal, standard deals are a safe option.
2. Book in advance, but check back
Car rental costs change daily. Booking in advance secures a car, but it doesn’t guarantee the best deal. For many rentals, Priceline offers free cancellation, so you can:
- Book now to ensure availability.
- Check back later for a lower price.
- If you find a better deal, cancel and rebook.
This strategy is especially helpful when demand increases during the holidays.
3. Sort by location for pickup and drop-off
Always pay attention to the rental location. Although renting straight from the airport may be more practical, it usually involves more taxes and surcharges. You can save 20-30% if you’re willing to pick up your car a few miles away.
For example, rentals at Orlando Airport are often more expensive than in neighboring cities.
Off-Strip rentals in Las Vegas can be significantly less expensive than at McCarran Airport.
4. Use Priceline’s “Bundle and Save” feature
You can bundle accommodations, flights, and car rentals into a single package with Priceline. You can save money by bundling them instead of booking them separately.
For example, you can save over $200 by booking flights, hotels, and cars in Miami instead of booking them separately.
Frequent travelers use bundles to simplify travel planning and maximize savings.
5. Be aware of extra charges
The price list lists the base rate, but there may be additional fees:
- Insurance: This is recommended but optional if you don’t currently have coverage.
- Fuel fees: Some businesses require you to return with a full tank of fuel.
- Young driver fees: Drivers under 25 often pay an additional $20 to $40 per day.
- Tolls: Rental companies add toll bundles in places like Florida.
To avoid unpleasant surprises at pickup, always read the fine print.
6. Sign up for Priceline VIP Rewards
Regular customers should sign up for Priceline VIP Rewards. Benefits include:
- VIP savings on accommodations, airfare, and vehicle rentals.
- Special discounts with Express Deals.
- Fast customer support.
The more reservations you make, the more incentives the Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum VIP tiers bring.
7. Examine Different Devices and Times
It’s interesting to note that Priceline occasionally displays different prices based on whether you’re using the desktop, mobile, or app version. Additionally, deals can change based on the time of day.
Pro Tip: When searching repeatedly, clear the cookies on your browser or switch to incognito mode. In this method, some users experience slightly lower rates.
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Priceline vs. Other Car Rental Platforms
Priceline competes with well-known websites like Expedia, Kayak, and Hotwire when it comes to finding the best car rental deals. Here’s how it compares:
- Express Deals Advantage: Priceline offers Express Deals, which allow you to book without having to know the rental business in advance and save a significant amount of money. Expedia and Kayak don’t offer this option, although Hotwire has a similar comparison feature called “Hot Rate Deals.”
- Bundle and Save: Priceline lets you bundle accommodations, flights, and rental cars, which often results in additional savings. Kayak doesn’t offer bundles, but Expedia does.
- Free Cancellation: Priceline offers free cancellation on most regular reservations, like Expedia, Kayak, and Hotwire. Keep in mind, however, that Express Deals typically don’t offer refunds.
- VIP Rewards Program: Priceline offers its loyal customers more deals, faster support, and special savings through its VIP Rewards program. Priceline stands out for this loyalty program because Kayak and Hotwire have nothing to compare to.
- Flexibility and User Experience: Both Priceline’s mobile app and desktop website are user-friendly, and the app occasionally provides exclusive bargains for mobile devices. Compared to competitors, many travelers say that Priceline’s booking process is faster and easier.
Overall: If you’re looking for the best mix of cost, flexibility, and rewards, especially for those who don’t mind using Express Deals, Priceline often beats its rivals.
Popular Locations for Priceline Car Rentals
Among the most popular locations for car rental on Priceline are:
- Priceline’s Orlando, Florida car rental is ideal for a family vacation to Disney World.
- Renting a car from Priceline at Los Angeles Airport (LAX) is ideal for a trip to the California coast.
- For road trips to the Las Vegas Strip and the Grand Canyon, Priceline has the best vehicles.
- Renting a car on Priceline is a cheap option for trips outside Manhattan in New York City.
- Miami car rental on Priceline is quite popular for trips to the Florida Keys and the beach.
Regardless of your destination, Priceline provides you with competitive deals from reliable sources.
Final Thoughts: Is Priceline Car Rental Worth It?
Booking a car rental on Priceline is a great way to cut costs and simplify your travel preparations. Priceline enables customers to take advantage of premium rental cars at reasonable prices through unique Express Deals, VIP Rewards, and package savings.
This is what makes Priceline unique:
- Express Deals make it the best option for travelers on a budget.
- With the benefits of VIP Rewards, it is ideal for frequent travelers.
- Ideal for vacation packages that combine accommodation, transportation, and flights.
If you are traveling in 2025, try using Priceline for your next rental car. You may be surprised at how much money you can save when you buy a reliable car from a reputable manufacturer.
Verdict: If you are flexible and want to save as much money as possible, Priceline car rental is for you.
FAQs About Car Rental on Priceline
1. Is it possible to cancel a Priceline car rental reservation?
Yes, cancellations are free for most regular reservations. However, Express Deals are usually non-refundable.
2. Is renting a car from Priceline safe and reliable?
Yes. Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, Budget, and other reputable rental companies are Priceline partners.
3. How do I get the cheapest car rental on Priceline?
Make reservations in advance, compare locations, take advantage of Express Deals, and sign up for Priceline VIP Rewards.
4. Can I pay for my Priceline rental car later?
Yes, some rental companies accept Priceline’s “Pay at Pickup” options.
5. Does Priceline cover insurance when renting a car?
Additional insurance is often expensive, but basic coverage can be included. Before booking, always confirm.
6. Can I use Priceline to rent a car without a credit card?
While some companies allow limited debit card use, most require a credit card for a deposit.
7. Does Priceline offer SUV or premium rental services?
Yes, Priceline sells everything from fancy SUVs and vans to affordable cars.
8. Is using a Car Rental on Priceline less expensive than booking directly with the rental company?
Yes, in most situations, especially when using bundles or express deals.