December 2012 Car Rentals

[jessrose18]

alamo rates have come way down today...at least for mid december.

 

[10_Kyle_10]

alamo rates have come way down today...at least for mid december.

Still over $400 for a compact December 9-16th no codes...

 

[Dan Murphy]

alamo rates have come way down today...at least for mid december.

I am still looking at about $450 for a standard for 8 days, 12/4-12.

 

[jessrose18]

wow that stinks... i checked dec 5-15th and was getting 200 for a midsize with taxes on alamo site this morning using sunpromo code... hope they come down for your dates soon.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

alamo rates have come way down today...at least for mid december.

Still over $400 for a compact December 9-16th no codes...

I am still looking at about $450 for a standard for 8 days, 12/4-12.

wow that stinks... i checked dec 5-15th and was getting 200 for a midsize with taxes on alamo site this morning using sunpromo code... hope they come down for your dates soon.

The cheapest vehicle for my dates with Alamo is a Midsize SUV and its $692.40 after taxes . And that's with my Alamo Insiders discount.

Tell me again why I thought it was a good idea to travel at Christmas?

 

[encinc]

The cheapest vehicle for my dates with Alamo is a Midsize SUV and its $692.40 after taxes . And that's with my Alamo Insiders discount.

Tell me again why I thought it was a good idea to travel at Christmas?

Probably the same reason that I thought that it was a good idea to fly into Orlando and out of Fort Myers. My car rental rates are over twice as much as they would be if we were flying home from Orlando. Dollar and Thrifty are out of the question because of drop fees, but Alamo/National aren't looking any better. Even though they don't officially charge a drop fee, their rates are much higher with the RSW drop off. We're holding a Budget minivan reservation, but we don't really need the van, and while cheaper than a smaller car, it's still way more than we planned to pay.

We've done this routine before and haven't found the cost to be much greater with the different drop off location. I'm going to have to seriously rethink our plans for another year if the car rental situation continues to be a challenge. It might be worth the drive back to MCO to drop the car off after our beach vacation.

 

[robinb]

The cheapest vehicle for my dates with Alamo is a Midsize SUV and its $692.40 after taxes . And that's with my Alamo Insiders discount.

Tell me again why I thought it was a good idea to travel at Christmas?

I know! I can't help but feel a bit jealous about the great early December rates and a little impatient when people complain that they are not getting their super-cheap sub $100 per week rates they got last year (including tax!) and had to settle for $100 before taxes. I know it's not their fault and it is my choice to go over Christmas, but my eyes still turn green .

Probably the same reason that I thought that it was a good idea to fly into Orlando and out of Fort Myers. My car rental rates are over twice as much as they would be if we were flying home from Orlando. Dollar and Thrifty are out of the question because of drop fees, but Alamo/National aren't looking any better. Even though they don't officially charge a drop fee, their rates are much higher with the RSW drop off. We're holding a Budget minivan reservation, but we don't really need the van, and while cheaper than a smaller car, it's still way more than we planned to pay.

We've done this routine before and haven't found the cost to be much greater with the different drop off location. I'm going to have to seriously rethink our plans for another year if the car rental situation continues to be a challenge. It might be worth the drive back to MCO to drop the car off after our beach vacation.

We almost always fly into MCO or TPA and fly out the other since we visit my DH's family in TPA on our Florida trips. It used to be that you could pick up and drop off anywhere in FL but most car companies started to charge "drop fees" a couple years ago. It's a huge pain. Some places don't change drop fees per se, but they increase the weekly rental costs when you drop at a different location. You might be able to reduce your rental if you rent one-way only for the time you need the car in RSW and pick and and drop off at MCO for the first part of your rental.

 

[schriverl]

Still over $400 for a compact December 9-16th no codes...

Check again right now! lol My rates were over $400 this morning but I just checked again and got $199 for Dec 1 to 9 with insiders id for compact!!

Woohoo!! I'm finally below $200!! The first time my rates dropped was just a couple days ago.

You really have to check morning, noon and night. Rates keep going up and down like crazy for a few dates and mine happens to be one of them. I check at least 5 times a day!!

 

[EEyorelover22]

Alamo has been all over the map for prices and sky high for even the summer and then they drop suddenly so it's not just because it's December. Very strange

 

[rubybpc]

I know! I can't help but feel a bit jealous about the great early December rates and a little impatient when people complain that they are not getting their super-cheap sub $100 per week rates they got last year (including tax!) and had to settle for $100 before taxes. I know it's not their fault and it is my choice to go over Christmas, but my eyes still turn green .

We almost always fly into MCO or TPA and fly out the other since we visit my DH's family in TPA on our Florida trips. It used to be that you could pick up and drop off anywhere in FL but most car companies started to charge "drop fees" a couple years ago. It's a huge pain. Some places don't change drop fees per se, but they increase the weekly rental costs when you drop at a different location. You might be able to reduce your rental if you rent one-way only for the time you need the car in RSW and pick and and drop off at MCO for the first part of your rental.

I hear ya, it's so frustrating! I'm thinking about coming into Tampa, renting a mini, dropping it off THE SAME DAY and still costs $100 bucks.. Ouch! That's what we paid last year for our entire 9 day trip!

And still debating whether or not to the switch to a compact for our days at Universal then just suck up the Disney transportation the rest of the trip. Don't get me wrong I love the free transportation but some days it's just more convenient to have ur own car.

 

[robinb]

I hear ya, it's so frustrating! I'm thinking about coming into Tampa, renting a mini, dropping it off THE SAME DAY and still costs $100 bucks.. Ouch! That's what we paid last year for our entire 9 day trip!

Do you really need a minivan? You can book a Full Size for 12/19-12/20 for $60 with taxes using the DIS Budget Code Y937800.

 

[Kidanifan08]

I booked using Alamo Insiders coupled with a Costco 25% plus 1-car class upgrade coupon code for 12/1-1/8 picking up at the Dolphin. I selected a compact and will get a mid-sized for $249. Without the Costco coupon the mid-sized is $260 using the Alamo Insider discount. I booked the car on 9/10/12, but the prices are the same tonight. It looks like the prices are the same for 12/9-12/16.

The price is much lower picking up at the Dolphin or the WDW-CCC rather than MCO, and we don't mind taking DME to the resort and getting the car once we are on property.

 

[SAT887]

I just priced out a full size for $197 (with taxes and fees) and premium $249 (with taxes and fees) through enterprise from 11/30 to 12/8 no codes or coupons.

 

[mzozzietj]

Dollar's Lock Low and Go rate is still the best I can find for my dates. This morning it's showing $79/week before taxes so 8 days with taxes/fees (12/1-12/9) is $148

http://www.dollar.com/Cars/LockLowGo.aspx

I did find a couple discount codes but they don't seem to make a difference on the total. Does anyone know how they work with Dollar? Does it show up when you pay or just not apply since the rate is already discounted?

AF12R is supposed to be 7% off
76892 is supposed to be 10% off

 

[melissac]

Just looked at dollar lock and go rates for Dec 1-6 and total was $300.

 

[huhwhat]

I just modified my reservation with Advantage -- I had a standard from 12/1 to 12/8 for $133, just got it down to $127 with today's pricing. Really pleased with the price, just wish it wasn't with Advantage! But I can't justify Alamo or National for ~$150 more for that week. Just not finding anything even CLOSE to the Advantage rates with any of the more reliable companies.

is advantage that bad? I was looking to rent from them too...........

 

[robinb]

Dollar's Lock Low and Go rate is still the best I can find for my dates. This morning it's showing $79/week before taxes so 8 days with taxes/fees (12/1-12/9) is $148

http://www.dollar.com/Cars/LockLowGo.aspx

I did find a couple discount codes but they don't seem to make a difference on the total. Does anyone know how they work with Dollar? Does it show up when you pay or just not apply since the rate is already discounted?

AF12R is supposed to be 7% off
76892 is supposed to be 10% off

Just looked at dollar lock and go rates for Dec 1-6 and total was $300.

Those rates are weird. They are really high for 7 days (Dec 1-8), but low for 8 days (Dec 1-9). Of course, my dates at the end of December are high no matter how many days I choose.

 

[klynn]

Just looked at dollar lock and go rates for Dec 1-6 and total was $300.

To get the really low rates, it seems to require at least a week rental. If you could return on the 8th your rate would be under $100. before tax.

 

[hsmamato2]

I also have advantage booked -like a pp said, they DID get bought out since those awful reviews,and no one seems to know much about them right now, but I get the feeling we should all have some experience by the end of december I'm hoping it's fine,as I used to use L&M which got bad reviews,and never had problems..... seems like Advantage was off the radar for a while,but now it's putting itself back there with GREAT deals...I'll try it once!

 

[melissac]

To get the really low rates, it seems to require at least a week rental. If you could return on the 8th your rate would be under $100. before tax.

Wish we could but flying out on Dec 6th