Car Rental Codes

[battymum]

Over in the transportation section a lot of posters talk about car rental codes - which gives them significant discounts on car rental - (actually super cheap, wouldnt bother with buses at that price!)

Does anyone know of such codes or where to find them and are Australians entitled to use them.

Am I too early in looking for car hire discounts in September

I intend on paying for car rental with a gold credit card that has OS car hire excess liability insurance included, do I need additional insurance.

 

[DVCAustralia]

I have found mousesavers.com has a pretty comprehensive list of car rental codes, particularly for WDW. The details of who can use them are on there and many of them are for use by anyone, including Australians.
However make sure you check National as Australians get access to pretty great pricing (it is actually an extension of UK pricing). Also, National and Alamo are the same company so you will effectively be with the official WDW rental agency and have the benefit of free on-demand shuttles between Disney resorts and the depot near the TTC car park entrance. Also you can choose any car in your category from the large selection at the airport which means you can often get an almost brand new vehicle.
Car rental can be booked up to 12 months in advance and the best thing is that not only can you cancel anytime but since they do not even take credit card details there is no risk of being charged if you decide not to use it or get a better deal at the last minute.
I would NEVER avoid taking the CDW and liability insurance when renting a car in the USA no matter what credit card you use or travel insurance you have, whilst it may technically mean you avoid liability the car rental company will have no hesitation in taking the money from you first and leaving you to sort out the rest. The National rate is automatically inclusive of both and most companies offer an 'all-inclusive' price to Australians. From what I have read it does seem that Americans can rely on their own car or household insurance but since I will never fall into that category I do not know the details.

 

[Jade+3]

I always use National and Alamo too. Also, once you have made a reservation it does pay to keep a check on the pricing as the prices do change. I have already looked at car hire for our trip next September. Just need to work out the flight times.

 

[HappyFingers]

ok but doesnt hiring a car present other cost ?

parking or valet or tips or all three at the onsite hotels ?

 

[PrincessInOz]

I have normally found that using a US code provides a cheap daily rate. But the US code does not include CDW or insurance. I ALWAYS purchase CDW and insurance from the rental agency; irrespective of any credit card stated extras.
I recommend that you do the comparisons and determine what is the cheaper rate.

If you use the US code, the on-line system assumes that you are an American/North American residence.

If you nominate that you are an international/Australian citizen, the companies mostly do an "all inclusive" rate for CDW and insurance in the total; which is bundled and cheaper than buying it separately as the Americans do.

If you are an AAA/RACV (I'm not sure what the equivalent is in NZ), you can nominate this as the discount code. If you have an RACV card, turn it over to the back of the card. There is small print at the bottom Right Hand side of the card, under the AAA sign with a Club Code. Use this code for your discount code.

Picking International traveller and using the AAA/RACV code has always been cheaper than any US code so far.

If anyone has a different experience, please post and share....I'd love to know how else to get car hire cheaper.

 

[PrincessInOz]

p.s. Happy Fingers - If you are staying on site, you will be provided with a printout on check in that you put on your dashboard.

The printout will let you park at the Parks for free. The attendants at the toll points will just waive you through.

I cannot speak for every resort but the ones that I've stayed at - POR, BCV, CSR - all have free self-parking. I've never had to tip anyone or used valet for a hired car.

I'm not even sure I've noticed if any of the resorts have valet parking.

 

[battymum]

Can anyone tell me the name of the closest Alamo / National office to Port Canaveral, nothing comes up in the search feature of their website.

 

[Jade+3]

I don't think National or Alamo are in or near Port Canaveral. Mousesavers has a list of the car rental agencies near the Port.

When we went on our cruise we kept our car and paid for parking at the port. This was the cheapest option for us.

 

[battymum]

Sorry to be a pain,
I am searching the Budget site, I cant find where to put my NRMA / RACV code in.
There is a section for a BCD code, (1letter 6 numbers) or coupon (4 letters 3 digits) my NRMA club code is only 3 digits.

Help please!

 

[PrincessInOz]

BattyMum - I usually avoid Budget because I don't find them very budget friendly at all. It's just a personal opinion.

We tend to use Hertz because it is the preferred supplier for DH's work.

But when we travel on holiday, I'm finding Alamo/National to be more competitive these days. I went in last night to look at Alamo and I think it has the same field requirements as Budget. I think the 4-digit alpha code is for NRMA or RACV and the 3-digit numerical code is the code at the back of the card. However, Alamo didn't recognise the RACV code for me.

But I did notice that Alamo was running a special promotion (for California) and when I followed the promotion through, the system did populate a pin/code in the discount field. Seemed to give a great rate with the code.....

Now...if only I could encourage my DH to organise Car Hire for our January trip....hmmmm.

 

[Oz-kateer]

Another hands up for National/Alamo here - have uesed them several times in FL and elsewhere in the US and they were head and shoulders in price and service.

Agree that using a car in WDW doesn't present any hidden costs - if you are a resort guest all on site parking is free - resort car parks (even ones you aren't staying at) and the amusement parks and DTD car parks are all free.

We used valet parking at the Grand Floridian when we went there for a meal but it was only $10. We could have parked ourselves for free but we were running a bit late and I thought - stuff it. Just pay.

We paid for parking in Universal. I paid for valet there simply to save time, and a long walk. And the drama of trying to find the car again. It didn't cost that much (about $20 for the whole day and evening) and was fast and efficient.

Everywhere else we went off site in Orlando the parking was gratis.

 

[battymum]

Can anyone give me an idea of what sort of prices you paid -

I am going out of my mind on this -
I was under the impression that car hire was much cheaper in Florida than Aus, I know i have to factor in insurance and I do want a minivan- but 300-400 for two and a half days - If thats what it is, then so be it,maybe I will look at a shuttle.

I cant help but feel "ripped off" for not having a code or coupon

 

[DVCAustralia]

Rental of a minivan with everything included should be less than US$100 per day.
I just put in three days mid-September for National in Orlando and it gave US$282 as the total, I hope that helps.

 

[Jade+3]

Our minivan last October was $873 USD, for 19 days including all insurances. That was from National.

 

[Travel Mum]

Whilst I love researching all things hotel, themepark, WDW dining, cruise etc, I have to admit that rental car research really bores me. I do want the best deal so I know I've got to shop around but I do wish this was something that my DH had a real interest in! Nope, all things travel have always been my domain and that's the way he wants it to stay. So, I guess I'd better start to get onto it but will look forward to hearing anything you find out Battymum

 

[PrincessInOz]

From memory, we spent about $375 for 1 week car hire - mid sized - from Alamo/National in Floriday. This is including insurance, CDW etc.
The second driver added $$$ to the cost.

 

[Sugarglider]

I just did a trip in June and used Alamo most of the time with good rates. I used codes I got from Mousesavers.com. they have one from a local real estate agent and only once was I questioned about "oh - so you know this real estate agent?" and I just stood there and said "yes" - no problems.
I purchased the additional insurance. Check the allowances on your gold credit card. I also have the gold credit card insurance and it had only $2000 allowance for a rental car. I figured if I crashed a car it would cost WAY more than that!
I always declare that I am Australian in the Alamo quote thingy, and got better rates than leaving the residence as US - esp at Alamo Orlando.
I do find that there are lots of bits and pieces added onto car rentals and no matter how good a deal I thought I had when I hand back the keys the bill is higher than I thought.
I found driving around WDW really easy and saved me HEAPS of time from catching buses everywhere. and yes - another cost - the valet. But you could park for free if you are prepared to walk across the car park.

 

[Toy Story]

In April, we used a Travelocity code that is in one of the threads on the board, we opted for not extra insurance as our travel insurance also covered car hire.

We went through Budget, for the three nights prior to checking into Disney. We picked up at the airport and dropped of near Down Town Disney.

A Jeep Cheroke cost $211 (2days 23hours). We did not have any extra costs apart from petrol.

 

[battymum]

Travel mum, I really am so over it, i have spent all day on this - I really must give it a rest - a lot of the codes I have come across expire 31/12,

As we really only need a car to travel to the port I am now looking at a car service at $136 + tips- then we will need the return, and transfer to airport....oh and we want to do Kennedy and shopping......grrrrr

 

[darren123]

Hello I used happytoursusa.com and got a Caddy for 1 week hire at USD $270 which was half price at the Alamo website
includes all insurances and a no extra cost to return to LAX

Having a great time very cold here in Anaheim will do a full trip report when I get back next week

Sorry will not be doing a trip report