Any Canadian Advice on Car Rental in Florida for August ?

[Wonderdis]

Where can we find cheap car rental rates for Aug 23-Sept 1 ?

Do you know of any good discount codes ?

What is acceptable for a week to 9 days rental ?

 

[Tabetha]

I tend to use Hotwire.com and have managed to get rates between $11 and $14 per day.
Put a farewatch on your dates, and when a price comes along you're comfortable with, snag it!

 

[aristocat65]

Where can we find cheap car rental rates for Aug 23-Sept 1 ?

Do you know of any good discount codes ?

What is acceptable for a week to 9 days rental ?

We like Alamo/National. Are you looking to get it at the airport? Sometimes it's cheaper off airport. We usually use Magical Express to the resort (if you're staying on property) and P/U the car at the Dolphin or the Car Care Centre the next day.

There are good codes on Mousesavers.com, rentalcarmomma.com, and people on the Transportation board usually post good ones. You can sometimes combine these codes with Canadian coupons on alamo.ca.

As far as what is acceptable for 9 days, it depends what kind of car you're renting. We've been able to get intermediate size for as low as $79. I prefer to book directly on the rental car website though, because you don't have to pay anything until you pick up the car.

I would recommend booking at as low as you can get now, and keep checking the rates. You can cancel and rebook as many times as you like. Last trip, I think I rebooked about 5 times and ended with a fantastic price based on a code someone posted on DIS transportation board.

Lastly, play around with your pickup and drop off times if you're able as that can sometimes affect the rate.

Hope this helps

 

[michelle1]

We are going almost the same dates (22nd to 31st) and I've been checking daily for a month now but the rates are way more than I'm willing to pay. I usually check Orbitz or Expedia just for convenience because it gives most of the rental companies on one page so I can compare. If I see something reasonable there then I would go right to that company's web site. If I see a good rate I would book it but keep checking...National has good last minute deals and Hotwire can have good rates also. If using Hotwire make sure it is a good rate because you will be prepaying. I figure the worst case scenario would be we don't get a good deal and we will use Disney transportation.

 

[petunia]

I agree, we always use magical express, then pick up a car at the disney car care centre. Make a ressie now, then keep reapplying new codes as they come out, and they will, as we get closer to the dates...we are also going at the same time!

 

[Wonderdis]

Thank you all ....

PLEASE if you are going around the last 2 weeks of AUgust and come across good discount codes .... Please share.

Thank you again.

 

[caisland]

We rented from Alamo in August 2008 for 12 days. I used Airmiles to get 2x$100 gift certificates for only 1300 airmiles and it ended up costing us just over $200 for the 12 days. We rented at the airport. It went very quickly and easily. This was for a mid-size SUV. I wanted something big enough to load all the luggage for the 4 of us. They told us to go pick 1 out of the line up. We took a Toyota Rav 4 and loved it.
Getting ready to do same for this August. Gift Certificates are already here.
Just pre-booked on Alamo and then gave them the certificates when we got there.

Going to try and use a discount code first this year then add certificates.

 

[michelle1]

What size car do you need? You can book a midsize at Advantage for your dates for $208 tax incl and then watch for something better (which I'm sure there will be). To me that's high compared to what I've paid in the past but it will do if nothing better comes along and we feel we really need a car.

 

[surfer_ed]

I always use the costco site in the us and pick up the car at Disney. You avoid the airport fee and if you use Me the also take care of your luggage.

 

[petbren]

I always use the costco site in the us and pick up the car at Disney. You avoid the airport fee and if you use Me the also take care of your luggage.

What is the Rental Car company at Swan/Dolphin, Alamo, Budget, National, etc.? Since staying at BCV, this would be good for us.
Also, what company is the Airmiles gift cards for?

Thanks

 

[jmann]

What is the Rental Car company at Swan/Dolphin, Alamo, Budget, National, etc.? Since staying at BCV, this would be good for us.
Also, what company is the Airmiles gift cards for?

Thanks

Their website says National/Alamo desk. http://www.swandolphin.com/aboutus/transportation.html

We got National rental certificates from Air Miles last year.

 

[Canadamom]

We went in March and booked with uscarhire. They are a company out of the UK. I think the only option for Canadians and Americans renting through them is Budget. We paid $238 US for 8 days (mid-size car) and that included all our insurance and fees as well. The price was the same whether renting from Tampa, Orlando or elsewhere in Florida. Everything went smoothly and they were great to deal with.

 

[c&m]

We are going Aug 25-Sep 1. Last week, I managed to get a small SUV from Alamo for $179 before taxes, $192 after taxes. Pickup and dropoff at MCO.

My coupon code and discount code were from Costco.com. I was surprised at getting those rates. It took days and weeks of trying. The rates seemed to vary all the time. I was initially looking at $300 rates. I suggest you try every day like I did and you'll come across a rate that will be more agreeable. Good luck!

 

[Wonderdis]

We are going Aug 25-Sep 1. Last week, I managed to get a small SUV from Alamo for $179 before taxes, $192 after taxes. Pickup and dropoff at MCO.

My coupon code and discount code were from Costco.com. I was surprised at getting those rates. It took days and weeks of trying. The rates seemed to vary all the time. I was initially looking at $300 rates. I suggest you try every day like I did and you'll come across a rate that will be more agreeable. Good luck!

When going to the costco site .... do you choose the weekly rental rate if renting for 7 days or more ? the codes are automatically entered by the system, right ? depending on the offer you choose.

these rates cchange daily ? i wish the costco sites comes up like expedia that list all company rates in one screen.

 

[Wonderdis]

We are going Aug 25-Sep 1. Last week, I managed to get a small SUV from Alamo for $179 before taxes, $192 after taxes. Pickup and dropoff at MCO.

My coupon code and discount code were from Costco.com. I was surprised at getting those rates. It took days and weeks of trying. The rates seemed to vary all the time. I was initially looking at $300 rates. I suggest you try every day like I did and you'll come across a rate that will be more agreeable. Good luck!

OR did you go straight to alamo site and just entered the costco codes ?

 

[c&m]

I went to the Costco site. I picked the 3-day min. option because it gave me the bigger coupon savings ($25 off).

Discount ID#7014627
Coupon #AD63637RM

When I selected the Click to Book button, it took me to the Alamo site. The Discount ID # is already in the field. But I think I had to type in the coupon # myself. That brought my price down.

Of course, one thing to keep in mind, the base price was pretty good when I booked, so all the discounts just made them better. If your base price isn't good, your end price with all the discounts may still not be satisfactory. That happened to me a few times when I was pricing it out. But just keep trying and you'll hit a good one!

 

[CanadianPaco]

Bumping!

 

[jmann]

I agree, we always use magical express, then pick up a car at the disney car care centre. Make a ressie now, then keep reapplying new codes as they come out, and they will, as we get closer to the dates...we are also going at the same time!

That's great advice....it's what we have done. I re-booked the car 3 times right up to the day we left because I kept getting a better price. As long as you re-book first then cancel the old res that way you still have a car. Also with the Magical Express you get your luggage taken to the hotel for you. The Rental car shuttle picks you up right at your resort too.

 

[petbren]

Their website says National/Alamo desk. http://www.swandolphin.com/aboutus/transportation.html

We got National rental certificates from Air Miles last year.

I like the Air Miles idea
I checked the Airmiles site, and in "the terms and conditions" it states:

"This certificate is valid at all participating Canadian locations"

You had no problems using it?

 

[CdnDad]

Use corporate code SW2358 at dollar. If it is the rate you like go to southwest airlines website and become a member and print the membership card. Its free.