Alamo Sure Beat National Rate Wise

[RalphMouth]

I used national last visit to Florida & had no issues & have tried to find ANY deals but with no luck-

Flying into Ft lauderdale, FL April 21st- and will return car
to Orlando airport April 29th.

Best National can do w/all taxes & fees is $230.00

With Alamo I'm using a coupon from the Entertainment Book
and after all taxes & fees will be paying $177.58.

All rates are for compacts (Chev Cavalier)

I sure hope I don't get any hassles w/Alamo because $53.00 to me is a nice savings !!

Any comments or if you know a better deal please respond.
Thanks !!

 

[mad4themouse]

I had a bad experience with Alamo several years ago and will never use them again.

I plugged the following in this morning at National

• FLLT01 to MCOT01
• 4/21-4/29 (9 am to 9am, default times)
• Compact Car
• product rate code WWEB
• Contract ID # 5760339 (Carlson Wagonlit)
• Coupon ID # 10008613 (National Free 2-car Class Upgrade)

and got:

• Time & Distance 1 Week @ 143.84 143.84
• Extra - Time & Distance 1 Day @ 24.99 24.99
• Extra - Time & Distance 0 Hour @ 12.50 0.00
• Unlimited Distance-time & Distance 0 Distance @ 0.00 0.00

Base Rate : $168.83
Less Discounts: -$25.32

SubTotal: $143.51

Concession Recoupment Fee 10 Pct $14.35
Fl Schrg/tire Bat Fee 2.05 Usd/dy $16.40
License Recoupment Fee .49 Usd/dy $ 3.92
State Tax (6.0%) $10.69

Total Estimate $188.87

That's still more than you'd be paying for the compact with Alamo but for $11 more you're getting a standard-size car. Plus, for me it's worth the extra not to have to deal with Alamo. And, of course, it will be higher if the times that you're picking up and dropping off are more than an hour apart from what I put in.

 

[Esmerelda]

Hi Ralphmouth,

Please, do yourself a favor and do a search on here for "alamo". Unfortunately, I think you will see lots of posts.

I had two bad experiences with them in the past myself.


Esmerelda

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

For my vacation time, Alamo beats the price also. I have yet to have a problem with Alamo's rental cars (they share the cars with National), a small problem with one agent in Tampa, which was handled quite well. One thing to remember, they do like to sell add on insurance, like most other agencies, so when they ask you about insurance tell them I don't want ANY insurance. One of the "tricks" they use is to ask if you want just the basic insurance.
That basic insurance will add a lot to your car rental cost. It is not free. Be specific about your not wanting insurance and READ before you initial or sign anything.

 

[n2mm]

I have a National reservation. I have a 11 day rental April 28-May 8 and my total is $218....all taxes and fees included. Intermediate, Emerald Aisle, so will probably be a full size (my record is about 99% full size or larger on emerald aisle). I'm using the free day because it expires soon, but could use a $20 entertainment coupon and bring my price down by another $4 (just don't want to waste the coupon). Also using the priceless vacation code 6600330. I have never had a bad experience with National and that's with about 25 rentals in the past 5 years. You can probably get a National reservation pretty close to what you have and possibily a bigger car. The base rate dropped today for my trip to $128 weekly for intermediate. Not sure about compact, so would have to assume it's lower.

 

[RalphMouth]

Originally posted by mad4themouse
I had a bad experience with Alamo several years ago and will never use them again.

I plugged the following in this morning at National

That's still more than you'd be paying for the compact with Alamo but for $11 more you're getting a standard-size car. Plus, for me it's worth the extra not to have to deal with Alamo. And, of course, it will be higher if the times that you're picking up and dropping off are more than an hour apart from what I put in.

THIS SOUNDS great !!!
I just need to make sure that if I use those codes I DON'T have to present any type of coupons upon arrival at Ft lauderdale.
You have gone out of your way to help me & to me Alamo must of really upset you. For $11.00 it's worth it to me.

 

[HeatherC]

Dear Mad4theMouse:

Can you tell me whether the two car upgrade coupon requires an actual coupon? Or...can I just use that to reserve the car? Thanks so much.

I have booked about 6 different reservations for National for May 7-16 and have gotten a ton of different rates. The lowest came in at $192 for a compact. But...if I could get a better rate or free upgrade, I'm all for that. I think their codes make my head spin too much. I feel like I have tried all different combinations and can't even think straight anymore!!!

Heather C

 

[nuthut]

Say no to the crooks at Alamo. Lies, overcharges, poor attitudes and customer service, what's that?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by HeatherC
Dear Mad4theMouse:

Can you tell me whether the two car upgrade coupon requires an actual coupon? Or...can I just use that to reserve the car? Thanks so much.

I have booked about 6 different reservations for National for May 7-16 and have gotten a ton of different rates. The lowest came in at $192 for a compact. But...if I could get a better rate or free upgrade, I'm all for that. I think their codes make my head spin too much. I feel like I have tried all different combinations and can't even think straight anymore!!!

Heather C

Yes, you need the coupon.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by nuthut
Say no to the crooks at Alamo. Lies, overcharges, poor attitudes and customer service, what's that?

They do not lie, they do not overcharge, they do not have poor attitudes and the customer service has been 99% excellent.
You simply have to follow what you agreed to do. You really should tell people WHY you think Alamo is so bad.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by RalphMouth
THIS SOUNDS great !!!
I just need to make sure that if I use those codes I DON'T have to present any type of coupons upon arrival at Ft lauderdale.
You have gone out of your way to help me & to me Alamo must of really upset you. For $11.00 it's worth it to me.

You will need the coupon for the two car class upgrade.

 

[Esmerelda]

. You really should tell people WHY you think Alamo is so bad.

If you do a search on Alamo, you can see from past posts exactly what happened to folks as I asked the original poster to do. I won't take up more board space retyping mine. I just don't want to see someone else have a bad experience....vacations are meant to be fun!!

nuff said...
Esmerelda

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Esmerelda
If you do a search on Alamo, you can see from past posts exactly what happened to folks as I asked the original poster to do. I won't take up more board space retyping mine. I just don't want to see someone else have a bad experience....vacations are meant to be fun!!

nuff said...
Esmerelda

I have been here for years, my memory is excellent. I know what happened with Nuthut, and that is who I asked the question of.

If I stopped using businesses that people complained about, I would not go anywhere or do anything. Alamo has worked well for me, I like them, they are onsite at the airport, the cars are fine, the agents are fine. So, right now, we have a tie, I like them, you hate them. Both sides of the coin have been presented, now, the consumer has to make up his/her own mind.

 

[NotUrsula]

Just a reminder that as of mid-2003, Nat'l and Alamo are now effectively the same company. At many stations they now have a single staff pool and use a joint pool of vehicles. All bets are now pretty much off in regard to the attitude of the staff or the condition of the cars.

I've generally had decent experiences with Alamo, but their service is slower than Nat'l because they do a higher-volume business. I'm not fond of waiting in line for over an hour to pick up a car. The solution to this (with Alamo or any other big rental company) is to join their frequent-renter club, which gives you priority in the line, and largely eliminates the whole "do you want insurance/do you want fuel" sales pitch.