March 2015 Car Rental Rate Watch

[richmo]

Kelli4CY did you have a code for this rate?

My guess is no. For at least some dates in March, a full size passenger van at Budget is showing as the least inexpensive rental and it is a remarkably low rate for a vehicle that is usually quite expensive to rent. If you see that rate for your dates, it wouldn't hurt to play around with some coupon codes, since there are some out there for Budget.

 

[Kelli4Cy]

Kelli4CY did you have a code for this rate?

I used BCD W810011 and coupon code MUGZ025. Both codes were found on carrentalsavers.com. HTH!

 

[pigletto]

Question for anyone that might know. We are new Costco members. I have priced out my dates at Costco.ca and can get a Standard with Budget for my week for $220 all in. Do you have to prepay with Costco? If so I will take the risk and wait to see if it comes down.

 

[richmo]

Question for anyone that might know. We are new Costco members. I have priced out my dates at Costco.ca and can get a Standard with Budget for my week for $220 all in. Do you have to prepay with Costco? If so I will take the risk and wait to see if it comes down.

Unless it's different in Canada, you don't prepay with Costco. In fact, usually you can take the codes from the Costco site and book directly with Budget or other agency, if you wish.

 

[pigletto]

Unless it's different in Canada, you don't prepay with Costco. In fact, usually you can take the codes from the Costco site and book directly with Budget or other agency, if you wish.

Thank you. I'll give it a try. I guess I can always quit if it takes me to a payment screen. I tried using the codes shown on the Budget.ca site but it came up quite a bit higher.

 

[richmo]

Thank you. I'll give it a try. I guess I can always quit if it takes me to a payment screen. I tried using the codes shown on the Budget.ca site but it came up quite a bit higher.

That surprises me a little. I've usually been able to take Costco codes and use them directly on the agency's site with the same results. Sometimes I've even used the Costco corporate code with a coupon from a different source to get better results. Anyway, my experience is more with Alamo and it could work differently in Canada. You're right that you can always bail if they ask for a credit card, unless you're happy with the rate. I'd like to think you'll do a little better than $220 for a standard/wk, but everything seems a lot higher this year, so who knows?

 

[mrsboz]

Does anyone know who qualifies for the VROOM VROOM rate? I put it in and they took it, but I don't know if I qualify.

 

[richmo]

OK, March rates are depressing, so its time for another simulation to pick up spirits a bit. My actual trip is March 19-25; a Thursday thru Wednesday which gets weekly rates at almost all agencies. The way I run the simulation is to use actual dates, then run again backing up a week at a time. The rates I'll list are for a Compact at Dollar using the City Special. Not using any other codes:

March 19-25 $236 (+4 weeks til departure)
March 12-18 $236 (+3 weeks)
March 5-11 $236 (+2 weeks)
Feb 26-Mar 4 $127 (note: midsize also $127, minivan $147) (+1 week)
Feb 19-25 $298 (+0 weeks)

As you can see, the rates about a week out from departure are easily the best. Does this prove anything? Not really, and you should keep in mind that overall March demand will be somewhat higher than that Feb 26-Mar 4 period. It does show a trend that I've seen many times in the past...anywhere from a few days to a few weeks (about 3) out the rates usually come down. To me it shows there is hope... It also tells me that its still too early to do a prepay (for my dates).

The usual disclaimer though: this is just a simulation...don't count on it. If you don't have anything, book something non-binding.

And those of you in very early March...its time to pay very close attention if you want to get the lowest rate you can.

 

[traveljunkie]

those using Costco for car rentals--check your rental dates. I had booked my rental car in January for March 22-30 and it was/is $169 for an intermediate (MCO-TPA) and it slowly has risen to over $400 for the same dates. Today it went back down to $169. Granted I am flying into MCO and returning car to TPA....

 

[dancin Disney style]

I just checked Budget and the rates have dropped a little. They are still showing the full size van as the lowest rate.

 

[SplashMom]

I have a full sized car booked from March 11-23 for $322 (Alamo). It still seems a bit high. I booked it months ago using the Costco code and it has only gone up since then. I'm checking daily, hoping for a reduction. I would really like a minivan but it is almost double the price. Hopefully, they will drop soon. This time last year, the price dropped over $100 a few days before we left. Hoping for the same this year!

 

[pigletto]

Is there any reason you guys with Costco memberships in the States can't book through Costco.ca? I don't know, I'm just thinking when I book though car rental websites (Alamo, Budget etc) I always just use whichever one is giving me the best price.. sometimes that's the .com website.. sometimes it's the .ca. There might be some rule against it that I am unaware of, though I do know I can use my Canadian Costco membership in the U.S.

Anyway, if it's allowed, you might want to check Costco.ca because for my dates (March 18th to 25th) the rates are about $125 lower in all categories on the Canadian Costco site than they are the American one.

 

[pigletto]

Just booked through my credit card rewards travel engine. Fullsize with Avis for a 7 day rental. After I applied the $40 in points I had, I paid $170. The best part is it was in Canadian funds so I'm not getting socked with our horrible exchange rate. I had hoped for a little lower but it's in line with what I am used to paying and much better than I had been seeing thus far. I'm happy with it.

 

[richmo]

Is there any reason you guys with Costco memberships in the States can't book through Costco.ca? I don't know, I'm just thinking when I book though car rental websites (Alamo, Budget etc) I always just use whichever one is giving me the best price.. sometimes that's the .com website.. sometimes it's the .ca. There might be some rule against it that I am unaware of, though I do know I can use my Canadian Costco membership in the U.S.

Anyway, if it's allowed, you might want to check Costco.ca because for my dates (March 18th to 25th) the rates are about $125 lower in all categories on the Canadian Costco site than they are the American one.

Interesting...I took a peek and the Costco.ca rates for Budget were decent; the rest seemed about the same. I looked at the fine print and it did say "for Costco members residing in Canada". Personally, I won't try getting a rate I can't document...but if someone in the USA does, I'd recommend having a backup reservaton somewhere.

 

[SuzyQue]

I have a full sized car booked from March 11-23 for $322 (Alamo). It still seems a bit high. I booked it months ago using the Costco code and it has only gone up since then. I'm checking daily, hoping for a reduction. I would really like a minivan but it is almost double the price. Hopefully, they will drop soon. This time last year, the price dropped over $100 a few days before we left. Hoping for the same this year!

I booked 3 times, Feb. 5th, 7th, and 10th with Alamo for our March 1-12 trip because the price dropped three times from what I had been seeing previously. I thought wow this is great, it's dropping already and we're a month out! Well then the site went down for a night and rates have been TERRIBLE since then. I did snag a full size (full and standard were the same rate) for $249 using the Visa and Costco codes, but it's over $400 now. We leave a week from tomorrow, I'll let you know if rates drop before then...

 

[pigletto]

I booked 3 times, Feb. 5th, 7th, and 10th with Alamo for our March 1-12 trip because the price dropped three times from what I had been seeing previously. I thought wow this is great, it's dropping already and we're a month out! Well then the site went down for a night and rates have been TERRIBLE since then. I did snag a full size (full and standard were the same rate) for $249 using the Visa and Costco codes, but it's over $400 now. We leave a week from tomorrow, I'll let you know if rates drop before then...

Yes, it was the same for me. I think I even posted a "Here we go!" post when rates started to drop. Finally we were going to play the rate drop game.. and then... Nothing. They shot back up within a day and never went back down. Sigh. Nothing about this experience has been the same as my other trips. Though, I was saying the same thing in December so I am wondering if this isn't the new normal.

 

[Good Deeds]

We are going 3/28 - 4/3. Read on these boards that it is sometimes cheaper to rent from the Car Care Center instead of the airport. Using Costco codes I was able to rent an intermediate SUV (Rav4) for $275.00 vs. $495.00. ??? WOW... We will take the MExpress to SSR then will get a complimentary shuttle to the CCC. Takes a bit more time but to save over $200.00 it was a no brainer. Hard to believe that there is such a huge $$ difference. Thanks DIS boards!!

 

[nedidajohn]

We are going 3/25- 4/3. I found an intermediate Thanksgiving weekend for $245 They usually drop signifigantly 1-2 weeks prior. I keep checking Costco and carrentalsavers.

 

[bop28]

We're leaving next week on March 3, and Finally I see the rates dropping on Alamo. In the past, the rates seem to have dropped about a month prior to rental, but they haven't gone down once, since I booked it in November, until now. If you have a car booked with Alamo, check your rates today.

 

[richmo]

We're leaving next week on March 3, and Finally I see the rates dropping on Alamo. In the past, the rates seem to have dropped about a month prior to rental, but they haven't gone down once, since I booked it in November, until now. If you have a car booked with Alamo, check your rates today.

It isn't that Alamo rates have gone down. They haven't. The key here is that you're a week out. From what I've seen lately, that seems to be the sweet spot for rate changes (see my post #88 above for an example).