Alamo may have won over this National fan

[At World's End]

We just returned from renting for 10 days from Alamo at MCO for the first time. I'm a big fan of National because of Emerald Aisle. Our experience was just as good with Alamo, and we saved over $50 on the rental. I had joined the Alamo Insiders club, checked in at the kiosk (2 minutes, max), walked out to the garage and selected from the full size aisle. Our reservation was for a full size for 10 days for $149.01 total. We arrived at 5:30 on Sat night and had our choice of Impalas, Chargers, crossover SUVs and a couple minivans. We picked a T&C minivan. Got in, drove to the ticket booth, added DH as a free add'l driver and were on our way. When we returned the car it was so fast, too. Drove up and an attendant was there within seconds checking us out, printing our receipt. Another attendant asked us if we needed help into the terminal and he loaded up the bags and brought us right up to the airline check in desk. We were very happy with the service and the ease of renting with Alamo, and will definitley be watching their rates for our next rental.

 

[helloirishkitty]

Thanks for the review! We just switched from Enterprise to Alamo, saving almost $50, and I'm glad you had a good experience. Hopefully mine is just as great on wednesday afternoon.

 

[disney david]

it funny national and Enterprise and alamo are owned by the same company but alamo always has the best rates out of the two.

 

[dudspizza]

it funny national and Enterprise and alamo are owned by the same company but alamo always has the best rates out of the two.

Alamo is geared more towards leisure travelers while National is geared towards business travelers......

 

[disney david]

Alamo is geared more towards leisure travelers while National is geared towards business travelers......

Thanks i Know alamo is geared towards leisure travel and national is geared towards business travel all i said was that alamo had better rates.

 

[dudspizza]

Thanks i Know alamo is geared towards leisure travel and national is geared towards business travel all i said was that alamo had better rates.

I guess my point was that business travelers always end up paying more......

 

[disney david]

I guess my point was that business travelers always end up paying more......

Your right sorry i was just trying to point out that it seemed fuuny for them both switch to alamo from their partner company.

 

[dudspizza]

Your right sorry i was just trying to point out that it seemed fuuny for them both switch to alamo from their partner company.

It is amazing that they are all the same company, but their rates can be so different!

 

[disney david]

It is amazing that they are all the same company, but their rates can be so different!

yes plus they use the same kind of cars it not like with national your getting A better car so a full size is the same for alamo and national. What with the big difference in price.

 

[funforfive]

Is the Insider similar to the National Emerald club? Do you book a certain class and choose from a certain aisle??

TIA

 

[dioxide45]

That attendant that helped you with your bags wasn't an Alamo employee, they were a porter that works at the airport. A big part of their wages come from tips of the people they assist.

 

[dioxide45]

Is the Insider similar to the National Emerald club? Do you book a certain class and choose from a certain aisle??

TIA

We were members of their previous Quick Silver program and were automatically switched over to Insiders. Personally neither one was very good, not even comparable to Emerald Club.

A 10% discount at best and maybe a free extra driver (though I don't think so). I can find far better options using other coupons all without having to front my payment credit card ahead of time.

 

[n2mm]

Is the Insider similar to the National Emerald club? Do you book a certain class and choose from a certain aisle??

TIA

I wondered this too. So OP were all of these cars available on the full size aisle? Or does Alamo now have a "Aisle" of various size cars to choose from. I'm confused. If you paid for a full size car, why did you not have a full size car. I've rented from Alamo and have always had to go to the aisle of the size I paid for and choose there. Is this something new?

 

[At World's End]

OP here:

In my experience, Insiders is just like Emerald Club. You book a certain class and select from that aisle in the garage. In our case, we had a full size reserved. In the full size aisle were Impalas, Chargers, crossovers, minivans. Maybe they are trying to compete with National's Emerald Aisle, where you can sometimes find similar cars when you rent a midsize. We would have paid $50 more to rent a midsize with National, and we ended up a nice selection of cars and it took maybe two more minutes (checking in at the kiosk near the counter) than it would have taken at National. Definitely worth it in our case.

In our case, we used a 20% off code for using a visa, so we didn't get an add'l 10% Insiders discount, but we had an add'l $40 coupon and I was happy with the final price. We did get a free add'l driver (spouse) just as with Emerald Club.

Edited to add: while researching Alamo, I read that people were finding HHRs, PT Cruisers and Impalas on the mid size aisle there.

 

[mlleelise]

I have a question: I got a great rental price through Hotwire.com with Alamo. I then joined alamo insiders, primarily to be able to check in at a kiosk, rather than stand in lin. I'm having a hard time getting anyone on the phone to associate my car reservation with my insiders number. Any ideas? Once we arrive, can we still use a self-service kiosk to check in, even though the reservation was made through Hotwire.com?
Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[SilverMickey]

I'm very pleased with Alamo Insiders. I'm also an Emerald club member but Alamo $ always wins. I love getting an Alamo insider e-mail with a $40.00 coupon for weekly or a $15.00 daily weekend rate!

Additional driver has always been free with it.

My April trip Alamo for 11 days for a full size is 219.00! $116.00 dollar savings over the emerald club. We don't need a mini-van... but if they have one on the full size isle we will take it!

 

[prncess674]

That attendant that helped you with your bags wasn't an Alamo employee, they were a porter that works at the airport. A big part of their wages come from tips of the people they assist.

Agree, I sure hope the OP tipped appropriately for that service.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Alamo and National share their fleet. When a car is returned and washed, it can end up on the National side or the Alamo side, depending on where cars are needed. If you're looking for a car on the Alamo side and can't find something you like, wander over to the National side and check there. The two are interchangeable. When you go to the check-out gate, they don't know from what side you picked your car and really don't care. So always go with the cheapest.

BobK/Orlando

PS-this advice applies to major airports where the company owns both operations. In some smaller airports there could be separate franchisees of each company and you can't take a car from the other company.

 

[Pembo]

After reading this I have a question, I have a mid-size booked for $165 and a van for $198 with Alamo. Should I take the gamble and go with the midsize...hoping there is something bigger than a midsize on the Aisle??? I'd love to save that $35.

 

[prncess674]

After reading this I have a question, I have a mid-size booked for $165 and a van for $198 with Alamo. Should I take the gamble and go with the midsize...hoping there is something bigger than a midsize on the Aisle??? I'd love to save that $35.

Always book the minimum size car you can live with. If you get there and there are only midsize will you be unable to cope? Think of upgrades as a nice surprise.