Any experience with expedia.ca?

[Canadamom]

Hello there. I've been searching out rental cars for our trip dates and currently hold a reservation with Thrify out of Tampa for $337 CDN (way higher this year but I hear it's like that all around). I can get the same dates with Dollar for $225 CDN. Other than locking in and prepaying with Expedia, is there anything else I should be worrying about? Thanks!

 

[Mickey1Fan]

I have not booked a car with expedia.ca but the trips I have taken have been without any problem.

I needed a car for one day in Florida and dollar rent a car was the best price. I also got a free upgrade coupon once I booked.

Do you have an entertainment book? They have really good rates as well. I used a coupon for a week in Nevada/California.

If you post asking for one someone might send one to you. I have sent coupons to several dis members.

 

[janecanadian]

just be aware that they charge fees to change anything...I needed to change our car from a mid size to a full size and the price difference was only 8 bucks but they charged me 50 bucks to change it...and the reservation number they give you will not work when contacting the car rental company directly...

 

[Canadamom]

If the company doesn't have a reservation number, do you think they at least have on file that a car is reserved under Expedia? I'd hate to get there and find out they didn't have a car for me! Even a $50 change fee is a cheaper rate than what I'm holding right now using a valid code (but I am counting my pennies!) Does anyone know if Expedia fluctuates in price like the rental companies or is it pretty much a standard rate?

 

[TammyLynn33]

I have not reserved a car through expedia BUT i reserved a hotel room through them. When I got there the hotel was booked solid and our room was NOT at all what we booked and they were like well not our fault nothing we can do type attitude..

After that I will only book directly through companies..

Good Luck

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I've never booked a car rental through expedia, but I booked my first trip to Disney through them. Disney had my name misspelled, not sure whose fault it was, but it all got straightened out and I had a great trip. Flight and hotel booked through expedia.

 

[LittleFlounder]

I haven't booked a car rental through expedia, but I have bought tickets for a flight to MCO from them and I had no problems at all. I like that if you go on expedia.ca you're shown prices in canadian dollars and for flights you're given the cost will all fees included.

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

DH uses Hotwire all the time, and on occasion has used Expedia.ca, with no problems. Just make sure you print out the booking confirmation and take it with you.

The thing with them is that they are giving you reduced prices, without much/any flexibility. So, when you use them you should be sure that you won't need to change anything about the reservation once it is booked. This even includes items like adding an additional driver (which would have cost us a lot more), changing car types, etc.

Do check around though, I have found that sometimes Expedia or Hotwire aren't always the best deals. Once in awhile booking direct with the rental company has given a better deal, especially if you have coupons.

 

[Canadamom]

Thank you for the replies everyone! Does anyone know if expedia prices fluctuate or go up as one gets closer to their travel dates? I'm thinking of leaving it a little longer to see if a better deal comes up by going direct through the rental companies, but so far this is the very lowest I can find. I'm also concerned about the inflexibility of Expedia if I don't get there at the designated rental time. (We have only 42 minutes to change planes in Houston and I'm afraid of missing that connecting flight - don't want to add in the fear of losing the rental because of this as well!)

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

I believe they will hold the rental for 24 hours (check the rules on the site), but I know from experience if you are late they still hold the car.

The only thing is with Hotwire - you cannot book within 24 hours from Canada, nor can you pick up your car early. Say you flight gets in early, or you take another flight and you have requested you car at 12 noon. If you show up at 10am you cannot get your car until 12 noon.

 

[redrosesix]

We booked our rental car from Alamo through Expedia.ca on our last trip. We actually didn't have to pay at that time, and we were able to modify the reservation and add a coupon (we used the Walmart code in Expedia) after we had made the reservation. I'm pretty sure we could have also cancelled it without charge, although we didn't have to because we never found a better price.

 

[janecanadian]

Thank you for the replies everyone! Does anyone know if expedia prices fluctuate or go up as one gets closer to their travel dates? I'm thinking of leaving it a little longer to see if a better deal comes up by going direct through the rental companies, but so far this is the very lowest I can find. I'm also concerned about the inflexibility of Expedia if I don't get there at the designated rental time. (We have only 42 minutes to change planes in Houston and I'm afraid of missing that connecting flight - don't want to add in the fear of losing the rental because of this as well!)

I have checked our prices on expedia since we booked a couple of months ago and they have gone up over $2000...I think it's just the flights filling up though so the airlines are causing the price jump...plus, be aware that what you see might not actually be what you end up paying...when I booked ours the price changed three times (lower each time ) every time I clicked 'book it' before the booking actually took place...was kind of exciting, but as this was my first time using expedia I wasn't sure what was going on...