December 2014 Car Rental Discount Watch

[rlduvall]

Just booked Alamo from MCO 12/20. Drive to lunch, get groceries, and BLT. Next morning 12/21 drive to Dolphin, return car, and boat to DHS. $28 for a full size using American Airlines frequent flyer code.

That's pretty reasonable!

 

[rlduvall]

Currently, I am booked with Alamo 11/29 - 12/7 [8 day rental] using the Disney AP discount and free day e-coupon from Alamo [AF5365ODH] @ $225. total for a standard/full size. Not horrendous but hoping for lower.

 

[pigletto]

Come On Piggie! You know this has become our annual ritual...hunting for those December Deals!!!

I think you are right!! I got all excited when I saw this thread bumped up because I thought maybe it meant some deals were coming out. Old habits die hard.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I was stalking the November rental thread looking for bargains, when someone posted that they used the AAA rate at Thrifty.

I was able to drop my Mid-Size SUV from $367 at Dollar to $293 with Thrifty. http://www.thrifty.com/Programs/BusinessSpecials/AAA_CAA_CD_Numbers.aspx
Here is the link to there AAA codes if you are a member of AAA

The AAA rate for Dollar provides the Mid-size SUV for $298.
http://www.dollar.com/en/Business/D4BMain/Corporate/AAA_CAA_CD_Numbers.aspx?iata=00170201

Be sure to look down the list, the Mid-Size SUV is significantly cheaper than even the cheapest economy/compact.

Does anyone have an opinion of Dollar v. Thrifty? We belong to both the Dollar Express and Thrify BlueChip. We haven't used Thrifty in years, but both are on-site now.

 

[pigletto]

I haven't been able to find anything better than the Dollar rate I booked with CAA a few months ago. I just checked Thrifty as well, but it's only $10 cheaper. We've rented with Dollar before, but never Thrifty. I'll leave it as is for only a $10 difference, but hopefully they will continue to drop.
I'm sitting at $231.63 for a Standard from 12/5/14 to 12/14/14. Not too bad but of course I'd be happy to lower that.

 

[pigletto]

Our rate dropped with Dollar today using our CAA discount(or AAA if you are American) through the Dollar website.

We are now at $201.02 for a Standard car with Dollar for one week and three days (December 5th through December 14th). Not too shabby!

 

[Disneykingofkings]

been trying for a while unsuccessfully but today i pricelined a bid for a mid-size suv from hertz for dec 2-8 for $25/day; total $175 plus taxes and fees = $249.67;

 

[pigletto]

My rate has dropped another $2 since I booked this afternoon. I didn't bother rebooking yet, but I am going to keep checking as this seems to be a price drop weekend.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Both my Thrifty and Dollar reservations went up this week, glad I booked when I did.

I feel good that they are under $300, I will just keep watching for any other reductions.

 

[pigletto]

Thrifty is even cheaper than Dollar today and would bring my reservation down to $178 vs the $195 I am sitting at with Dollar. Every little bit helps. I am not too familiar with Thrifty but reading recent posts suggests they are no better or worse than Dollar. Any other opinions? I would sign up for Bluechip to be able to go directly to the garage.

 

[peel]

I currently have a National reservation for 12/3-12/7 (returning at 7pm, so 12/7 is counted as a full day). The total is $194, using the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines code. I hope to add in a National coupon for a free day or discount when they are valid for my dates.

I booked my ressie back in June, and today I found something I've never seen before. I put in the same dates with a different code to check rates and it told me there were no vehicles available in that location. I really hope this is a glitch and not an indication that they are completely booked up!

 

[pigletto]

I currently have a National reservation for 12/3-12/7 (returning at 7pm, so 12/7 is counted as a full day). The total is $194, using the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines code. I hope to add in a National coupon for a free day or discount when they are valid for my dates.

I booked my ressie back in June, and today I found something I've never seen before. I put in the same dates with a different code to check rates and it told me there were no vehicles available in that location. I really hope this is a glitch and not an indication that they are completely booked up!

The code is no longer being accepted so if you alter your reservation in any way, it will take the code off. People on other threads are reporting that they are phoning in and being told that the reservation with the code will still be valid if already booked, but that it can't be used for new bookings. You might want to call and get confirmation of this yourself. But that is why it's showing no vehicles available.. it's the code.

 

[Judyat]

No glitch. Sadly KLM is no longer accepted at National. We really liked National with this code and we are lost without it. Have been doing OK with Alamo but do miss National.

 

[peel]

But I successfully used it to book my original reservation, and I got that message when I was not using a code at all.

If I can't modify the ressie with a coupon code I'll definitely have to switch companies, or else find another code that gives me that good of a rate. I checked Dollar, and after all the taxes and fees it's about $30 less than my National ressie. I was hoping I'd get close to their rate once I applied a coupon.

 

[mousefanMI]

I just re-booked my Dollar reservation for a Standard car for 11 days from Thanksgiving to Dec. 8 -- for $220 (!)

That's a good chunk of savings from my previous reservation of $305.

 

[pigletto]

Yep.. Dollar and Thrifty keep dropping for me. Down to $180 right now for a 10 day Standard rental with Dollar.

ETA) It was down to $166 for the same with Thrifty but by the time I entered all my info to sign up for Bluechip the rate had gone up so I will keep watching.

ETA again) now down to $175.63. It's a bit of a pain to rebook and cancel every few hours but it's also fun to watch it go down!

 

[SFailla]

which promo codes are you using to get these prices. We are going from Dec. 18-30 & are paying $400 +tax.

 

[rlduvall]

which promo codes are you using to get these prices. We are going from Dec. 18-30 & are paying $400 +tax.

Pigletto mentioned she was using the CAA discount, which would be AAA in the U.S. If you are a member of AAA the code to enter for your state chapter is on the rental car website.

I just ran your dates with that code and you're right, mid-size SUV is $400+ tax, but you are going during one of the most busy times of the year.

 

[pigletto]

Pigletto mentioned she was using the CAA discount, which would be AAA in the U.S. If you are a member of AAA the code to enter for your state chapter is on the rental car website.

I just ran your dates with that code and you're right, mid-size SUV is $400+ tax, but you are going during one of the most busy times of the year.

Yes this is with the CAA discount. You can go a page back and there are links to the codes for your AAA chapter, or you can go to your local AAA website and book it online through them usually. I recommend just using the code on the car rental agency website because it goes through an agent with AAA and you have to contact them to cancel it which is a pain if you are rebooking every time there is a drop. And of course, you do have to be a member.

 

[3redheads]

I just checked the rates again at car rental savers dot com.

My rate dropped to $152.76 for a standard car. Pickup 12/13 at 1pm and dropoff at 10am 12/20. It's through Alamo. That's a $67 drop!