July 2015 Car Rental Code Watch...hoping there is not already one!

[sharona]

I have EA reserved from 7/13-7/28 for $738. If nothing is there that will work for us (it's the amount of luggage plus a double stroller that is the issue) then we'll hop over to Alamo and take a look. Res there is for a midsize SUV for $560 but I'm really worried about everything fitting in a midsize SUV as we've never had anything smaller than a Tahoe when renting there. :/

Not specific to MCO but I've seen the Alamo mid size SUV aisles at TPA and FLL recently and the Dodge Journey seems to be their model for this category. We used one in April and it was roomy. Check out this thread from flyertalk for recent observations of what's on the EA at MCO - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/national-emerald-club/868048-cars-mco-14.html

 

[robinb]

I'm getting nervous about my Firefly reservation. Some seasoned FlyerTalkers and Tripadvisors have nothing good to say about them. It seems that if they don't have the size car you booked when you show up, they make you WAIT for one to come back and they are extremely high pressure when it comes to paying for insurance and other extras and then once you get into your car it's an old beat up POS. Ugh. I booked a back-up reservation on Alamo for $175, but that's a good $40 more than the Firefly reservation.

 

[sharona]

I'm getting nervous about my Firefly reservation. Some seasoned FlyerTalkers and Tripadvisors have nothing good to say about them. It seems that if they don't have the size car you booked when you show up, they make you WAIT for one to come back and they are extremely high pressure when it comes to paying for insurance and other extras and then once you get into your car it's an old beat up POS. Ugh. I booked a back-up reservation on Alamo for $175, but that's a good $40 more than the Firefly reservation.

I would pay $40 more for peace of mind and convenience.

 

[robinb]

I would pay $40 more for peace of mind and convenience.

Yeah, I think I will. The more I read about them the worse it seems and the stories all have the same theme: long waits, no cars, upsells, dirty cars, smoking allowed in cars (this was the last straw for me), dented cars, phones go unanswered, voicemail full, ending up being charged for unauthorized extras, rates doubled, obnoxious staff and disinterested corporate employees. Firefly's FB page is a train wreck of stories and Yelp for the Tampa office is a nightmare. It's a real shame because my DH is #1 Gold with Hertz which is Firefly's parent company. He has had nothing but good experiences with Hertz and it confuses me how they can be so good on their business side and so horribly bad on their leisure side.

 

[sharona]

Yeah, I think I will. The more I read about them the worse it seems and the stories all have the same theme: long waits, no cars, upsells, dirty cars, smoking allowed in cars (this was the last straw for me), dented cars, phones go unanswered, voicemail full, ending up being charged for unauthorized extras, rates doubled, obnoxious staff and disinterested corporate employees. Firefly's FB page is a train wreck of stories and Yelp for the Tampa office is a nightmare. It's a real shame because my DH is #1 Gold with Hertz which is Firefly's parent company. He has had nothing but good experiences with Hertz and it confuses me how they can be so good on their business side and so horribly bad on their leisure side.

Ugh - run from that! I had a great experience with Alamo out of TPA. Brought the car back with only 3/4 tank of gas because I hadn't realized we were so close to the airport and didn't pass any gas stations on the way. When I mentioned it to the attendant and asked what I would be charged for the gas he told me not to worry about it and gave me a credit for the cost of the gas that was being charged. Nice customer service and easy peasy if you do the online check in and skip the counter - you just go right to the lot with your paperwork and choose any car from that category. We had a standard booked and got a Chrysler 200 which was really very nice.

 

[tmcmommy]

What's this 2 res trick they're referring to? Is that doing a res at Nat'l hoping something on EA works but having a back up at another company?

I just rebooked Alamo for $8 cheaper than last week. Only mid-size SUV's available but I'm hoping it's just an overabundance of reservations that's causing the lack of choices for reservations.

 

[sharona]

What's this 2 res trick they're referring to? Is that doing a res at Nat'l hoping something on EA works but having a back up at another company?

I just rebooked Alamo for $8 cheaper than last week. Only mid-size SUV's available but I'm hoping it's just an overabundance of reservations that's causing the lack of choices for reservations.

Yes. I've even had 2 National reservations at once. One for the aisle and one for a suv. When I got to the lot and found a suv I liked on the aisle, I went onto the app and canceled the suv res then presented the paperwork for the aisle car when I checked out.

 

[robinb]

I got my Alamo reservation down to $148 for a compact and $162 for a mid-size out of TPA for 7/11-7/19. I used my costco contract ID and $30 off coupon AD2338fdf. I had looked before but passed on Alamo since they didn't apply the $30 coupon on the price list of each car type and I thought car prices were higher. Once I clicked trough on each car type, I was pleasantly surprised to see the real price! I'm mulling over paying $13 more for a mid-size as there is only 2 of us with carry ons and a compact will be fine. I'm just thinking that the mid-size with be a little more comfortable but I'm not sure if it's $13 more comfortable, LOL. That's one lunch at WDW .

 

[sharona]

I got my Alamo reservation down to $148 for a compact and $162 for a mid-size out of TPA for 7/11-7/19. I used my costco contract ID and $30 off coupon AD2338fdf. I had looked before but passed on Alamo since they didn't apply the $30 coupon on the price list of each car type and I thought car prices were higher. Once I clicked trough on each car type, I was pleasantly surprised to see the real price! I'm mulling over paying $13 more for a mid-size as there is only 2 of us with carry ons and a compact will be fine. I'm just thinking that the mid-size with be a little more comfortable but I'm not sure if it's $13 more comfortable, LOL. That's one lunch at WDW .

Can you use the free upgrade coupon with the $30 off? I used it last weekend. From mousesavers:

Alamo Coupons Open to Anyone

• Get a FREE upgrade when you rent a Compact through Midsize car. Go to the Alamo website and use the coupon code AU5235ASJ when booking. No physical coupon required. Valid on rentals through 9/30/15, but holidays and other blackout dates may apply. Offer available for pickups through 7/31/15.

 

[robinb]

Can you use the free upgrade coupon with the $30 off? I used it last weekend. From mousesavers:

Alamo Coupons Open to Anyone

• Get a FREE upgrade when you rent a Compact through Midsize car. Go to the Alamo website and use the coupon code AU5235ASJ when booking. No physical coupon required. Valid on rentals through 9/30/15, but holidays and other blackout dates may apply. Offer available for pickups through 7/31/15.

Thanks . There is only one spot for a coupon code and my $30 off is a much better deal!

 

[kiki02]

Probably arriving July 20. Are there any codes aside from Vroom that can get a low low rate for an economy? ten days to two weeks? thanks you anyone...

 

[bcuinohio]

Probably arriving July 20. Are there any codes aside from Vroom that can get a low low rate for an economy? ten days to two weeks? thanks you anyone...

carrentalsavers.com has some decent rates for the smaller cars. They are not in airport ones, you would have to take a shuttle to them.

 

[robinb]

I just wanted to check in with my rental. I booked a Compact after talking to my DH and he said he didn't care what size we had and I realized I didn't either. When we arrived to TPA there were no Compacts, so we grabbed an Intermediate. Yay! So, we drove to WDW, checked into CSR and and headed to the Studios to see the Animation Building one last time. We left the Studios and when I pulled out my keys to "honk" the car to find it ... I realized there was no remote key fob #MouseWorldProblems. It took us 10 minutes to find our car! We went to AK this AM and the same stupid thing happened to us! Yes, I know that we should have memorized the row but when we parked both times were were certain we didn't need to. Right. So, I swapped the car at the Car Care Center today with one that had a remote key fob! They were very nice and I ended up with a Full Size car. Both cars had over 30K on them and the car we have now is pretty stained on the inside. It does not have a USB port to charge our phone or to play music from our phone. I can't believe that cars these days don't have that feature. Still, I'll be able to find it and I brought along a cigarette plug just in case.

 

[sharona]

Hope you're having a great time. I know what you mean about using the alarm beep to find the car. Sometimes I can't even remember the color or make of the rental the first few days! My DD usually takes a pic on her phone of the space we're in so we can find it.

 

[tmcmommy]

Thought I'd "check in" with my rental results as well...

Wound up getting an earlier flight into MCO (2am alarms are a bummer!). Went to EA and there were a couple of Hyundai Sonata's (I think?), a RAV4, the small (micro) Chevy SUV, and a couple of 2-door cars. Nothing that would fit the 4-5 (our oldest is flying in next week) of us comfortably and certainly not big enough to hold our bags and double stroller. On the Executive aisle there was a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a couple of Jetta's, a couple of Malibus, and a Miata.

Walked over to Alamo and the mid-size SUV aisle had a Flex & 2 Liberty's but all 3 were being loaded by others who beat us there. Waited a couple of minutes and a guy came with an Enclave. We were getting ready to load into that when we noticed there was no key fob (read: no way to honk the horn to find your car when you can't remember *exactly* where you parked). A few minutes after that a guy drove up with a Durango. Hopped into that and we were on our way at a cheaper price WITH the fuel service option (we are taking a day trip to the beach and will most definitely go through an entire tank of gas) than the res from the EA.

 

[kj2mom]

So I ended up using Dollar last week, the final rate was $165. We did Express and went right to the garage, did have to check in with the attendant but all she did was hand me a packet and tell me to choose any car I wanted. The experience was great! Two days prior to leaving I realized I needed to update my credit card as the company had recently sent me a new one with the chip in it. I did and it worked because I saw a temporary charge of $200 from Dollar when I looked at my account online. Now, we have been back for almost a week (rental was July 3-10) and I have no charge for the car on my credit card. The initial $200 hold has fallen off but no actual charges have been processed yet. Is this normal? I have never rented a car before, was soo nervous about it but was pleasantly surprised with how it all played out but now I am thinking I didn't pay for the car???

 

[robinb]

We were getting ready to load into that when we noticed there was no key fob (read: no way to honk the horn to find your car when you can't remember *exactly* where you parked). A few minutes after that a guy drove up with a Durango.

What is it with Alamo and no key fobs? At least you noticed it before you drove away like me.

 

[tmcmommy]

I wouldn't have thought a second thought about it since my car's fob IS the key had I not read a few posts back on this thread and seen the blurb about it!

The Durango is severely under-powered IMO but I'll sacrifice power for room when I'm renting. Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope that my Enterprise rental for my car repair back home when we return is big enough (some crazy lady hit my parked car and drove off but she was caught ).

 

[lucigo]

I am in need of a car from MCO for 5 days, July 23-28. Where should I look for reviews on the cheaper rental companies, or are there any really good deals out there I should be checking into? This is a last minute trip to help my daughter move. Thanks!

 

[bcuinohio]

Picked up car at Alamo on Friday. We booked a premium and got an Avalon. Little disappointed in premium choices. We went to aisle and it was more of an overflow for other classes. There were Camaros, Clallengers, a Mustang, 370s, and an Infinity Q50. Cool cars but not going to fit much luggage. Besides the Avalon, the only car that would comfortably fit the four of us was the Infinity but the trunk was too small.