Car Rental - Did we get ripped off?

[WDWorld2003]

We recently did a trip to WDW and used points my husband gets through work to rent a mid-size automobile through Alamo. The only thing we had to pay was tax. Points are worth approx. $20.00 each and we used 12. We rented from a Fri. at noon to the next Sat. at 3 p.m. (8 nights).

When we arrived we decided we wanted a full size instead because of luggage. They charged an additional $8.00 per day - then we paid tax. Total for this free car was then $143.00. Is this in line? In the future should we just rent a car on our own. We could have used these points for Sea World or possibly flights...... Thanks for any advice. We plan on going back some day so just want to know if we can get a better deal.

 

[DisneyKidds]

There are always a lot of ways to look at this sort of thing.

If all you actually paid (the only cost to you) was the $143, that isn't too bad for a full size car for 8 or 9 days. Reservations directly with a rental car company for that little are not unheard of. However, I'm sure you probably saved somewher between $25 and $100 versus what you might have paid.

The other thing to consider is the value of the points you used. You could consider the total cost of the car as having been $383 ($20X12=$240+$143=$383). That isn't very good at all.

Bottom line is, if you have nothing else you could use such points on you might as well use them for this and save a little out of pocket cash. However, if you could use those points for something else that might save you more out of pocket cash you might be better off doing that and making a regular car reservation in the future.

I assume that those points are from some kind of frequent traveller program. Managing those programs and determining the most cost effective use of those points can be difficult.

 

[seashoreCM]

What rental car base rate is used as a starting point?

Some (not all) points programs allow you to use the points only with undiscounted rates (rack rates at hotels). If the rental company or airline or hotel or grocery store offers other discounts at certain times, your points are never worth the $20.00 the points program says they are worth.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[mom_rules]

Our 11 day rental at Dollar for fullsize was $309 total

 

[inkkognito]

We don't use points for car rentals, but we bid via priceline. As a basis, I search for the lowest rate, which is usually through L & M unless I can find a particularly good discount code. Then I make sure my bid is below that lowest rate. It takes a bit of research, but I always know if I got a decent deal.
Barb
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