Alamo car rental and tolls?

[Thumper99]

We are renting a car for a week through Costco using Alamo from MCO next week. We will be staying at BCV but also one night at a Marriott hotel near the Basilica. We know we’ll encounter tolls on our travels (we’re also going over to Tampa after a stay at Disney but still flying back out if MCO) so reading the Alamo rental agreement it states $4 a day with a $20 cap for the rental period.
Anyone had experience with this? I’m inclined to just go with this as $20 seems like it’s worth not worrying about having to either take roads without tolls or figuring out how to pay.
Does anyone know if we have to accept or decline this service when picking up the car? We are Alamo insiders and will be checking in online and going right to lot to pickup car.
Thanks for any info!!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

You are only charged on the days you use the pass with a $20 max. We only used a toll road once by mistake. The toll charges were taken automatically off the cc we used about three weeks later. I really tried to use waze and decide if the toll was worth it.... most of the time it was not worth the added expense.

 

[JenLovesMM]

My experience is from 2 years ago so not sure if these have changed. At that time, Alamo charged a flat fee per day (probably that $4 you mentioned) but only for the days you actually went through a toll. Then on top on that, you are charged the fee for that toll.

We only had a rental for 6-7 days. We went through tolls on 3 of those days so we basically paid the flat fee x 3 plus whatever toll fee we went through. In previous years we hadn't done that, we were getting off at each toll and paying cash. Won't be doing the cash thing again!

 

[Woodview]

You know what In the overall cost of your vacation $ 20 is a very amount

How much is a Burger & Fries per person ?

 

[Akck]

Does anyone know if we have to accept or decline this service when picking up the car? We are Alamo insiders and will be checking in online and going right to lot to pickup car.
Thanks for any info!!

The service is automatic and activates the first time you drive through the electronic/photo lanes. You’ll end up paying pay by plate rates. When we last utilized it, we had charges for 2 days going to/from the airport. Total cost was $17-18, which included 2 day service fee, plus the tolls. For our following trip we got a Uni Pass transponder, that gets you discounted tolls. The savings in tolls and daily fees has paid for the transponder and all future trips will net a savings.

 

[Thumper99]

How do you get a Uni pass?

 

[erionm]

How do you get a Uni pass?

https://www.cfxway.com/uni/
Also available from amazon for a slightly higher price. Above linked page has both purchase options (direct from CFX & Amazon).

 

[Thumper99]

https://www.cfxway.com/uni/
Also available from amazon for a slightly higher price. Above linked page has both purchase options (direct from CFX & Amazon).

Thank you. Can I ask how we would use a UNI in a rental? How do we go through the toll with a UNI and it not trigger Alamos transponder??

 

[erionm]

Thank you. Can I ask how we would use a UNI in a rental? How do we go through the toll with a UNI and it not trigger Alamos transponder??

If you purchase a Uni transponder, you need to create an E-PASS account and add a vehicle. Since you have to add a vehicle, you should use the tag number of your own vehicle. If you order direct from CFX, creation of an E-PASS account is part of the order process. If you order from Amazon, you have to create the E-PASS account after you receive the transponder in order to activate it.

Once you've picked up the rental car, you need to edit the vehicle on your E-PASS account to reflect the tag number of the rented vehicle. You should also let the rental agency know that you are declining their toll-by-plate option. Affix the Uni transponder to the inside of the windshield of the rental car before leaving the airport. As you pass through any toll plazas, the plaza should read the Uni transponder and apply the tolls to your pre-paid E-PASS account.

After you've returned the rental car, you need to re-edit the vehicle on your E-PASS account to remove the rental cars tag number (reset back to your own vehicles tag).

You can also call the E-PASS service center to add/remove the rental car information on your E-PASS account. There is also an E-PASS mobile app that will allow you to edit the vehicle information and see any toll transactions.

 

[Akck]

Thank you. Can I ask how we would use a UNI in a rental? How do we go through the toll with a UNI and it not trigger Alamos transponder??

Alamo doesn’t have a transponder. They do pay by plate, that is, when you drive through the scanner, they take a picture of your car’s plate and charge the toll to the registered owner. I read in another thread that when you shouldn’t change the plate too quickly when returning the rental. It was something about the toll system not updating quickly and led to a service fee and toll being charged by the rental company. I waited until we were through security and at the terminal before changing it.

Oh, and be aware that if you order the Uni through CFX, it can take 3-5 weeks to get it. So if your trip is shortly coming up, you may not get it in time.

 

[Brian Noble]

Count me as another fan of the Uni (though I have the slightly older E-Pass Xtra). I sometimes use Ohio and Illinois toll roads, and having a single transponder that works in Orlando plus here at home is great.

 

[TinkSassy]

Can't you just go through the cash lanes and avoid charges with Alamo? I haven't driven there in quite a few years and I will be doing that in a few weeks myself.

 

[Akck]

Can't you just go through the cash lanes and avoid charges with Alamo? I haven't driven there in quite a few years and I will be doing that in a few weeks myself.

Yes you can, but there are exits that are cashless.

 

[TinkSassy]

Yes you can, but there are exits that are cashless.

Ah - thanks - that is new. I will check my routes as my hotel is right off the toll road.

 

[Leigh L]

Ah - thanks - that is new. I will check my routes as my hotel is right off the toll road.

From MCO to Disney, we paid cash last month, (I'm almost positive it was just one toll.)

 

[Thumper99]

I’d like to try this. In the old days I had loads of quarters. Do they have a toll person to take money or still have those coin baskets?

 

[Leigh L]

I’d like to try this. In the old days I had loads of quarters. Do they have a toll person to take money or still have those coin baskets?

There was a toll person on the line we were on. The cash tolls were off to the right

I remember those days

 

[Klismania]

Anyone had experience with this? I’m inclined to just go with this as $20 seems like it’s worth not worrying about having to either take roads without tolls or figuring out how to pay.

I used Alamo for my trip in January and it was the easiest car rental I've EVER done in Orlando. EVER. I typically use Enterprise but I'm an Alamo convert now.

I used the "skip the line" app on my phone, the nice gentleman walked me to my row, I chose the car I liked, then I left. I went with their automated toll feature and my card was charged $17 or $18 about a week after I returned home.

Pfft. $17 or $18? That's less than the price of a WDW lunch or dinner and about what I paid to park for one night in front of my cabin. WELL worth it for me to be able to drive wherever I wanted without having to worry about tolls.

 

[diznee princess]

I used Alamo for my trip in January and it was the easiest car rental I've EVER done in Orlando. EVER. I typically use Enterprise but I'm an Alamo convert now.

I used the "skip the line" app on my phone, the nice gentleman walked me to my row, I chose the car I liked, then I left. I went with their automated toll feature and my card was charged $17 or $18 about a week after I returned home.

Pfft. $17 or $18? That's less than the price of a WDW lunch or dinner and about what I paid to park for one night in front of my cabin. WELL worth it for me to be able to drive wherever I wanted without having to worry about tolls.

Cash tolls from mco to WDW is only 2.50 each way on the B-line or i think around 3.25 each way going via 417. I-4 does not have tolls. Unless you are driving on a lot of toll roads in other areas of Orlando, (there aren't many around Disney world, or Universal), its saves to pay cash or get a unipass. There are side roads that bypass the tolls on Osceola pkwy.

 

[Spartan86]

Be careful using UNi. We came home last Friday. We used a rental and our Uni. Due to a few return issues and getting to our flight I neglected to re-enter our personal vehicle info on the E-pass app until after we were home. Sure enough, later in the week there were 4 new charges on our account for the rental vehicle later on our return day. I spoke to the CFX folks and they said I could email my rental receipt showing return time and they would take care of it.