Costco Car rental

[hcortesis]

Anyone ever book through Costco with Avis?

I always do.

 

[mjhtvchick]

I always do.

Has your experience been good? I have a little bit of a different situation as we will be picking the car up offsite after our Universal stay and returning it at MCO when we fly home.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I hope it's okay to ask this here-not trying to take over a thread! Question for those who have booked through the Costco site. It's in USD ($299 USD - $375 CDN), so if Expedia.ca is $25 more ($400 CDN), when all is said and done (after credit card fees) am I better off going with Expedia because it will charge me in Canadian Dollars?

You book on Costco. ca - if you book a vehicle in the U.S., it'll be in USD. If you book a vehicle in Canada, it's in CAD. I don't know anything about Expedia, either, but don't you have to pay outright at Expedia? With Costco, you don't pay until you get your vehicle. You just reserve... and cancel as many times as you need. They even tell you to do this on their site.

 

[ebharris]

So, if it’s in the the US it’s USD, regardless of where I am?

That makes the total I pay dependent on the exchange rate in July, as well as the conversion my card charges?

I think if that’s the case I’ll just go with the Expedia rental (no prepayment and change/cancel up to 6 hours before rental) and I’ll watch Costco.

Thanks!

 

[FigmentSpark]

So, if it’s in the the US it’s USD, regardless of where I am?

That makes the total I pay dependent on the exchange rate in July, as well as the conversion my card charges?

I think if that’s the case I’ll just go with the Expedia rental (no prepayment and change/cancel up to 6 hours before rental) and I’ll watch Costco.

Thanks!

Well, they're booking a rate for you, but you're still paying the rental company at time of rental, not Costco. You could book that rate, then convert money and keep it in your USD account and use a USD CC if you wanted to be sure of your rate.

Anyway, I didn't know that you could cancel Expedia. Interesting. Do they charge you upfront and then refund you or is it the same... just a booking but a guaranteed price that you pay in the end? Do you pay Expedia or the rental company?

 

[ebharris]

Well, they're booking a rate for you, but you're still paying the rental company at time of rental, not Costco. You could book that rate, then convert money and keep it in your USD account and use a USD CC if you wanted to be sure of your rate.

Anyway, I didn't know that you could cancel Expedia. Interesting. Do they charge you upfront and then refund you or is it the same... just a booking but a guaranteed price that you pay in the end? Do you pay Expedia or the rental company?

Thanks for that, that makes sense. It got me looking ~ Expedia is the same. While my booking is in Cdn dollars, if I go back into the booking it gives the price in USD, so that means the Costco booking would be $6USD cheaper, and I would get the second driver added free. There are some perks with Expedia, as I could use Ebates, but I’m guessing I also get 2% back on my Costco card. So, all kind of a wash- I’ll book with Costco in hopes of an upgrade! Where should I watch for upgrade coupons?

 

[ebharris]

I didn’t completely answer your questions - you don’t pay upfront with Expedia either, and I’m guessing now that I see the USD breakdown that I’m just paying the rental company (in that case it was enterprise).

 

[ChisJo]

I hope it's okay to ask this here-not trying to take over a thread! Question for those who have booked through the Costco site. It's in USD ($299 USD - $375 CDN), so if Expedia.ca is $25 more ($400 CDN), when all is said and done (after credit card fees) am I better off going with Expedia because it will charge me in Canadian Dollars?

Be really careful with Expedia. They quote you BEFORE all the fees are added on (the base price only). Once you get all the fees, the price is actually much higher. Costco is the total price. I've never gotten a quote better than Costco. And I check every day from the second I find out the dates we are going until the day before we leave.

 

[Mama Bear Me2]

Hi ... have not read through this thread but just wanted to advise that when I called and spoke to a rep at Costco car rental to check rates etc. I was told that Canadians need to book car rental through the Costco.CA site and Americans needed to book car rental through the Costco.COM site. I did not understand "why" but recall being told it had to do with the "fine print" re: terms & conditions for Canadians & Americans, respectively (they were "different"??).

Anyway ... just a suggestion ... perhaps it's a good idea to inquire about the above noted if you're considering renting through Costco. Good luck!

 

[ebharris]

Be really careful with Expedia. They quote you BEFORE all the fees are added on (the base price only). Once you get all the fees, the price is actually much higher. Costco is the total price. I've never gotten a quote better than Costco. And I check every day from the second I find out the dates we are going until the day before we leave.

Thanks, I did end up booking with Costco because of the second driver, but checked and the Expedia booking was after all taxes/fees.

 

[hcortesis]

Has your experience been good? I have a little bit of a different situation as we will be picking the car up offsite after our Universal stay and returning it at MCO when we fly home.

Usually no problems. I often get a text right after deplaning, letting me know where exactly my car is. And also my name is usually on the avis board with the same info as the text. And unless I want to switch out vehicles (which I just do on my own if I see a car I prefer better than the one I have) I just get into the car and proceed to the exit.

 

[ChisJo]

Hi ... have not read through this thread but just wanted to advise that when I called and spoke to a rep at Costco car rental to check rates etc. I was told that Canadians need to book car rental through the Costco.CA site and Americans needed to book car rental through the Costco.COM site. I did not understand "why" but recall being told it had to do with the "fine print" re: terms & conditions for Canadians & Americans, respectively (they were "different"??).

Anyway ... just a suggestion ... perhaps it's a good idea to inquire about the above noted if you're considering renting through Costco. Good luck!

Thanks for posting this. Its so funny because I've booked quite a few vacations on the costco. COM site before and never had an issue. This was my first time booking a vehicle though. We'll see what happens.

 

[mort1331]

If booking with Costco, does the amount go towards the earn 2% with the executive card? Would be a nice little bonus.

 

[FigmentSpark]

If booking with Costco, does the amount go towards the earn 2% with the executive card? Would be a nice little bonus.

Yes... but not the taxes/fees, I think. Still better than nothing, as they say.