I <3 Priceline

I've been bidding on convertible car rentals on Priceline.com for months now. MONTHS, people. I'd go stretches where I would bid every day. Then I'd take a break, go back... every time, my offers would be rejected. I started off bidding at like $22/day for both Maui and Kauai. Rejected. Multiple times.

I bumped it up a little and started bidding $24/day. Still rejected. Again, multiple times.

I tried $25/day and $26/day a couple of times... nothing. Nada. Zilch.

We started to get a little nervous, so we went ahead and booked rental cars for both Maui and Kauai. I was able to find a decent deal ($32/day) for a convertible on Kauai through National, so we went ahead and booked that. Then I found a Jeep Wrangler rental through Alamo for like $273. Michael was excited about the Jeep Wrangler, but we were a little nervous about taking the top down and putting it back up. Apparently it can be somewhat complicated.

The car rental companies don't require payment until you pick the car up at the counter, and they let you cancel your reservation at any time, without penalty, so we figured we'd book it for back-up and then continue to try with Priceline.

Yesterday, I decided that it had been a while since I'd been to Priceline. I went and tried for Kauai... failed. Then I tried for Maui. I went away from my computer after I submitted the bid. I was so used to getting rejected, I didn't even really entertain the possibility it might be accepted.

Imagine my surprise when I came back and saw that it was approved through National! $24/day. Total with taxes and everything... like $189 for the six days. We're very pleased! Sure, we probably could have gotten an economy car for cheaper, but we really wanted a convertible! We saved ourselves about $100 by booking the Priceline car and cancelling the Jeep Wrangler.

My only regret is that I didn't try $22 a day again. But I guess I shouldn't sweat it over $2/day. :)