Car Rental Help - March 16-25, 2012

[DCTM]

Would anyone here be willing to help me price out rental for the following dates - picking up on March 16th at 9am and returning on March 25th at 9am (Birmingham, Al airport or nearby area)?????

I have never rented a car before and maybe I am not entering codes I have found correctly,or maybe the prices are just outrageous. We would love a mini van, but could also use some type of SUV. There are 4 of us and we w/ have a stroller to pack also.

ANY help is much appreciated!

 

[kamms]

If you go to the Budget site and use discount code D454300 it will give you the following:

Full size= $282.66
Standard SUV= $335.69
MiniVan= $470.23

I don't know if these are better prices than you have seen elsewhere, but they don't seem too bad. I've been coming across much higher prices on other sites. Good luck!

 

[richmo]

The Budget code kamms mentioned in the previous post seems to be one of the better deals going right now.

Since you haven't rented before, my main two pieces of advice are: book something non-binding now (don't prepay for anything) and keep looking right up until the day you rent.

Many times the best deals are to be had in the last week or two before you need the vehicle. If the location has excess vehicles, the last-minute deals can be quite good. On the other hand, if you happen to be renting at a peak period, the supply is shorter and the prices go up. So do book something now, but don't pay for it. Most of the major rental companies only need your name and an email address...no need to give a credit card yet. If you find a better rate, simply cancel the older reservation (and, technically, you don't even have to since they don't have your credit card, but I would, as a courtesy)

 

[DCTM]

Thank you both

 

[Inkmahm]

Go to the March car rental thread and look for the posts there about the code from Air France for National. With that code and a $35 coupon, I have a minivan for March 13-20 for about $272.

 

[DCTM]

I used the Air france code on National and my cost is now around $448, so I have it held. Also, I was just reading on mousesavers and it has the following about National . So does this mean I could book a midsize car and when I get there if there is a van available we could select that? Sorry, first time renting so i am uncertain.

Emerald Aisle -

With Emerald Aisle Service, you reserve an Intermediate (midsize) car. When you arrive at the rental lot, you go straight out and choose any available car from the "Emerald Aisle." All of the Emerald Aisle cars will be at least Intermediate size. You may also find full size and specialty cars, which you can take at no extra charge. The Emerald Aisle option is only available to Emerald Club members who reserve an Intermediate car.

 

[richmo]

I used the Air france code on National and my cost is now around $448, so I have it held. Also, I was just reading on mousesavers and it has the following about National . So does this mean I could book a midsize car and when I get there if there is a van available we could select that? Sorry, first time renting so i am uncertain.

Emerald Aisle -

With Emerald Aisle Service, you reserve an Intermediate (midsize) car. When you arrive at the rental lot, you go straight out and choose any available car from the "Emerald Aisle." All of the Emerald Aisle cars will be at least Intermediate size. You may also find full size and specialty cars, which you can take at no extra charge. The Emerald Aisle option is only available to Emerald Club members who reserve an Intermediate car.

Yes, you can take a van from the Emerald Aisle if there's one that is there.

However, don't count on it. There may be nothing but intermediate cars.

Also, not all airports have Emerald Aisle service. Since you're renting from Birmingham, see what they have. When you're reserving for that location (once you're on Emerald Aisle), if you see the level of service as 'Counter', you won't be able to just go out and pick one.

On a side note concerning the Air France code, for some reason using that code causes the reservation to not be modifiable or cancelable online. I had made a reservation using that code and wanted to cancel it -- wound up contacting National directly to cancel it. None of that really matters, except for some reason they're giving that code special handling, so I would bring positive identification to use it (meaning, if you need to be an Air France ff member, make sure you bring documentation to support it)