Bookmarks
auto europe
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In Europe, Auto Europe generally matched all other sources, including self-described “discounters,” for offering the lowest rates. Think of it as the AutoRentals.com or Rentalcars.com of Europe.
Kayak
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Kayak is not an OTA, it’s a metasearch engine for travel deals. This site will look at all the other sites and show you where the best deals are.
sixt
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For European cities, the Sixt booking site is proof that higher-end companies occasionally offer specials better any other source. At the time of my search, the German company was running a “special” found to be the cheapest option in some cases, but didn’t specify the rental company.
Momondo
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Momondo is an easy-to-use travel metasearch engine that sorts through deals on other websites to help you find the best price. Once you find a deal on Momondo, you’ll be transferred to a booking website (an online travel agency or a hotel’s website) to book. You won’t ever actually book anything on Momondo’s website.
Expedia
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One thing that makes Expedia unique is it offers its own rewards program. It’s free to join and allows you to earn points that you can use to book travel on Expedia. This program isn’t impressive when it comes to flights, but hotel bookings through Expedia offer a much better earn rate.
Priceline
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One of the areas where Priceline can offer a deep discount is through its Express Deals. These opaque bookings keep details of the hotel secret until the booking is complete. These are pre-paid, non-refundable, and non-transferable bookings. If your plans aren’t concrete, it’s best to avoid this type of booking.
Travelocity
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Travelocity offers a lot of different products to book including flights, hotels, cars, cruises, travel packages, and even activities, so it can be a little overwhelming if you aren’t sure exactly what you’re looking for. When searching for a hotel, you’ll see the options of adding a flight, a rental car, or both to your search
Booking.com
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One thing that stands out about this site is its generous low-price guarantee. If you find a lower advertised price for the same reservation available to the public (not a member or special rate), Booking.com will refund the difference up to 24 hours before your check-in date. The offer needs to be online and available at the time Booking.com checks.
TripAdvisor
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TripAdvisor is known for its great reviews. It’s the place to go if you want to get a feel for a hotel or activity complete with amateur photos taken by other travelers that show what things really look like!
rent cars
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Rentcars.com is another metasearch system that raises similar results to those search engines that were included in my original tests. Like the others, it manages to dig out some good deals.
Hotwire
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If you have some flexibility or aren’t particular about the exact hotel you stay in, Hotwire’s Hot Rate hotels could be a way to save you some money. These are opaque bookings, meaning you won’t know the exact hotel until after the booking is complete.
Auto rental
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Overall, AutoRentals.com is an excellent place to start a search. It’s a metasearch system that displays a matrix of prices for up to 25 model options available through more than two dozen different sources, including a mix of other metasearch car rental booking sites, online travel agencies, and rental company home pages.
Orbitz
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Orbitz is easy-to-use OTA, but something that makes it different is its strong in-house loyalty program. Every booking earns Orbucks, and 1 Orbuck is worth $1.
The Orbucks earning rate is much better for hotels than flights and Orbucks can only be redeemed for hotels. The only catch is generally, you can only earn Orbucks on prepaid hotel stays.