Avis vs Alamo vs National

[EllNat11]

We will be renting from MCO from 5/6-14

Currently Alamo and National are about the same, Avis about $70 cheaper.

We’ve always used Alamo or national and loved the ease of skipping the counter/ good vehicles, etc. That said I’ve not rented a car (nor been through MCO) since pre-pandemic.

Is Avis worth it for the $70? Looking at reviews it doesn’t sound great.

If not - is there any material difference between Alamo and National?

I don’t mind paying the extra money to avoid a headache.

Thanks for any input. I feel like I’m planning a trip for the first one times it’s been so long since we’ve gone!

 

[Lumpy1106]

IMHO, no real difference between any of those. I avoid the lesser named brands as I have only heard bad things about them (ACE in particular)

 

[Capt_BJ]

Alamo/National/Enterprise all owned by same umbrella company . . . in Canaveral they share one office

 

[MICKIMINI]

I just won a dispute with Avis for a bogus $1500 charge. I made a reservation and prepaid it based on a $1200 price tag. AFTER I *paid* for it, it showed up as $1500. I'm a seasoned traveler not easily tricked and have prepaid before during times where rental cars are scarce. We rent at MCO about twice a year and have been traveling to WDW for over 40 years as adults.

Thankfully, I pulled up a chat immediately and was told I had to pay a $50 fee to cancel. I said okay and I will dispute it with my credit card company. Well, Avis had the audacity to say that we never returned a car we never picked up! I copied and pasted the chat which I believe saved me, though they had no paperwork with a signature anyway. I submitted a copy of the chat and that took care of it.

Lesson(s) learned: 1. Never prepay for a car 2. Never use AVIS!

 

[EACarlson]

While Avis is my least favorite of the the marquee brands I would have no issues using them for a better price. Really I'll use any of the 10 that are on site at MCO without much of a question. I have my own rankings of them and how much I'm willing to pay to differentiate in my rankings. I have Avis above Alamo, below National with probably a $30-40 difference being worth it to me. That calculus is different for everybody. I rented last week with Enterprise, which shares space with National and seems to now use the same process. I could have been out of the garage 3 minutes after walking into it if I didn't have to wait for a colleague. Chose a car on the aisle the employee indicated, loaded up, handed my DL and CC to the guy at the booth and we were gone.

 

[EllNat11]

Thanks All! For such a minimal amount of the overall vacation budget I think I’ll stick with our tried and true experiences with National. I appreciate your advice!

 

[Lumpy1106]

Just gonna leave this here;
www.autoslash.com
This saves me $100s on nearly every trip. I'm as loyal as a stray cat though.

 

[LadybugsMum]

Just gonna leave this here;
www.autoslash.com
This saves me $100s on nearly every trip. I'm as loyal as a stray cat though.

I use Autoslash all the time and I actually recheck my prices every couple of days in the 2 months prior to the trip. I was able to get my upcoming rental down to $150 from $285.

 

[_19disnA]

Have mostly used Avis and never had an issue. Everytime I have returned a car, there is an Avis employee with one of those handheld computer things to check-in my vehicle and print me a receipt (verifies mileage and if gas tank is full). I have never returned a vehicle without some employee checking it in. I prepay since I make my reservations online. Have also used National in the past. With all of the major brands, it depends on where you pickup the car and if they have those 'bypass the counter' programs. At some airports, you have to board a bus for some offsite car location which can take a lot more time (and at some airports you end up waiting in TWO lines). Depends partly on where you travel and what those airports have regarding rental car facilities.

 

[aerxo17]

I arrived to MCO after midnight, on a Saturday in late May 2022. The lines for Budget, Dollar, and Thrifty were 30+ people long. Avis and Hertz - no line at all. We walked right up, got our keys, and went to our car.

I think as long as you stay away from "discount" brands, you should be okay. Avis is pretty decent.

 

[keahgirl8]

I used Avis on my last trip and had no issues. I can't seem to find anyone else with rates as good, except the ones I've never heard of.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We will be renting from MCO from 5/6-14

Currently Alamo and National are about the same, Avis about $70 cheaper.

We’ve always used Alamo or national and loved the ease of skipping the counter/ good vehicles, etc. That said I’ve not rented a car (nor been through MCO) since pre-pandemic.

Is Avis worth it for the $70? Looking at reviews it doesn’t sound great.

If not - is there any material difference between Alamo and National?

I don’t mind paying the extra money to avoid a headache.

Thanks for any input. I feel like I’m planning a trip for the first one times it’s been so long since we’ve gone!

The main difference between Alamo and National are small differences in their affinity programs work. Alamo Insider lets you check in online and skip the counter, go directly to the appropriate aisle, and pick a vehicle. Works for all their car classes, except possibly for the sub-compact size. National Emerald Club works the same, except the quotes are for mid size cars (think Toyota Corolla) and the Emerald Aisle may contain some larger class vehicles as well. When I have used it, I’ve frequently been able to select what they describe as a full size car (think Toyota Camry in car-rental speak). They also offer a similar skip the counter feature for higher car classes (Emerald Reserve) where you select a vehicle from the designated aisle for that size rental, similar to the Alamo Insider process. It seems to me the cars are quite similar and shared facilities in many locations mean the service is also quite similar. i used to think the primary differences were related to target marketing, with Alamo more leisure-travel and National more business-travel oriented. That may be immaterial today.

 

[EACarlson]

I've always found Alamo to have vehicles a year or two older than National. Usually not a big deal but if the prices are close I'd go with a newer one.