February 2014 Car Rental Deal Watch

[eeyoreland]

I must be doing something seriously wrong with Alamo. I'm not seeing the rates fall and I can't even get the site to accept any discount codes. I've tried Visa, AARP and Alamo's own Insider and all say not valid at this location.

 

[robin19871]

Okay so I'm reading horrible reviews online for Thrifty, old cars, lots of damage on them, and long waits at the counter. Sigh....wish Alamo would drop their rates!

In 7 years, I have never had a problem with Thrifty. The same company also owns Dollar and Hertz.. Sign up for the Blue Chip program (It's free) and you will not wait in the lines with the others. Just speaking from my experience at MCO and LAX..

 

[Ranger111]

In 7 years, I have never had a problem with Thrifty. The same company also owns Dollar and Hertz.. Sign up for the Blue Chip program (It's free) and you will not wait in the lines with the others. Just speaking from my experience at MCO and LAX..

Robin is the

While my mainstay rental is National, I have on semi-frequent occassions rented from Thrifty in a variety of locations (although not Orlando) and never had any real issues.

You can't get too involved in all this....regarding reviews, yes they are helpful -- especially with hotels -- you have to know that mostly only the unhappy people post.

And, reading through a number of "unhappy" reviews, it seems it is often something very strange they complain about and often times is actually their fault.

If you are with Thrifty with a good rate, I would say -- to borrow from Alamo -- Don't Worry, Be Happy.

 

[Belle599]

I must be doing something seriously wrong with Alamo. I'm not seeing the rates fall and I can't even get the site to accept any discount codes. I've tried Visa, AARP and Alamo's own Insider and all say not valid at this location.

What if you try costco Contract ID 7014627?

 

[MinnBoy]

I have a reservation with Enterprise on Feb 20 to Mar 01 and am paying $480 total for an Intermediate (Toyota Corolla or similar). I booked this roughly 6 weeks ago. I see some of the Feb rates are trending downward for others. Generally speaking, when are some of you finding that prices begin to trend down for a given date? One week out? 3-5 days? I am hoping to improve on my rate but since I've seen nothing but $700 + for comparable cars across all on-site agencies for my dates, I'm not to down with a sub-$500 cost for 10 days. Any thoughts?

 

[Belle599]

I have a reservation with Enterprise on Feb 20 to Mar 01 and am paying $480 total for an Intermediate (Toyota Corolla or similar). I booked this roughly 6 weeks ago. I see some of the Feb rates are trending downward for others. Generally speaking, when are some of you finding that prices begin to trend down for a given date? One week out? 3-5 days? I am hoping to improve on my rate but since I've seen nothing but $700 + for comparable cars across all on-site agencies for my dates, I'm not to down with a sub-$500 cost for 10 days. Any thoughts?

This time, 9 or 10 days for me. That being said, there have been other times in the past year where there was no decrease in the last 2 weeks.

Have you tried Costco or the National KLM code? They might be a bit better?

 

[CassieF]

My prices dropped to the lowest 2 days before check in, so keep checking up to the last minute! I went through 5 reservations with 3 companies but saved over $70 from my original.

 

[redrosesix]

I keep getting emails from Alamo to use their coupon for $25 off the weekly rate (now only for rates of $175 and up) and it doesn't work for any of their Orlando locations.

Has anyone found a coupon code that will work? I could use the free upgrade but I'd rather just save money since we technically could use a compact.

 

[Belle599]

More downward movement this morning - yay!

9 day rental looking for the least expensive car (no size requirements here)

I am down to:

Alamo $178 - Economy
Budget $196 - Economy


Dollar would be $241 - Economy
Firefly would be $251 - Economy
National would be $258 - Midsize
Avis would be $258 - Compact
Hertz would be $279 - Compact


Don't forget to click through ebates when making your car rental folks

 

[TwoAtDisney]

If I sign up for the rental car companies programs/clubs/memberships, it requires my credit card info. So, as a signed up member, when I complete the reservation online, will my cc be charged?

If I forget to cancel, will my cc be charged?

Must I cancel within a certain time period to avoid a cc charge?

Costco - If I reserve via Costco, must I give my credit card info & are there charge/cancel issues as mentioned above?

If I reserve via Costco, do I have control of "dealing" with my reservation, or must I go thru Costco instead of direct to the rental car company?

Must I be a member of Costco to get the rental car deals?

 

[CassieF]

If I sign up for the rental car companies programs/clubs/memberships, it requires my credit card info. So, as a signed up member, when I complete the reservation online, will my cc be charged?

If I forget to cancel, will my cc be charged?

Must I cancel within a certain time period to avoid a cc charge?

Costco - If I reserve via Costco, must I give my credit card info & are there charge/cancel issues as mentioned above?

If I reserve via Costco, do I have control of "dealing" with my reservation, or must I go thru Costco instead of direct to the rental car company?

Must I be a member of Costco to get the rental car deals?

Regarding a the costco questions, yes, you have to be a member, no credit card info is taken, and for me, with an alamo reservation through Costco, I was not able to cancel it online but a call to alamo (phone number on the paperwork) was quick and easy.

 

[Ranger111]

If I sign up for the rental car companies programs/clubs/memberships, it requires my credit card info. So, as a signed up member, when I complete the reservation online, will my cc be charged?

If I forget to cancel, will my cc be charged?

Must I cancel within a certain time period to avoid a cc charge?

Costco - If I reserve via Costco, must I give my credit card info & are there charge/cancel issues as mentioned above?

If I reserve via Costco, do I have control of "dealing" with my reservation, or must I go thru Costco instead of direct to the rental car company?

Must I be a member of Costco to get the rental car deals?

Your credit card will not be charged unless you book one of the pre-paid rates, which is made very clear to you when you book the reservation -- AVIS is the big dog in prepaid rentals.

Nowadays, most agencies bury language in their terms of contract that fail to cancel will result in a charge. They can charge you whether they have your card number or not, just by tracking you down and sending you a demand letter (e-mail).

However, in actual practice I have never seen this happen and I have seen many posts about this on other boards. HOWEVER< your mileage may vary as they say.

I keep track of all my reservations in a simple word document, so I can cancel them at the last minute with no scrambling around in e-mail.

 

[bastraker]

Check Alamo rates again. Mine dropped a couple times today. I just cancelled and rebooked.

I'm down to $201 for 10 days starting 2/8 for a full-size car using the Costco code.

 

[TwoAtDisney]

Thank you for your replies & the info. Got the facts now!

 

[Belle599]

More downward movement this morning - yay!

9 day rental looking for the least expensive car (no size requirements here)

I am down to:

Alamo $178 - Economy
Budget $196 - Economy


Dollar would be $241 - Economy
Firefly would be $251 - Economy
National would be $258 - Midsize
Avis would be $258 - Compact
Hertz would be $279 - Compact


Don't forget to click through ebates when making your car rental folks

No movement on Alamo today, but Budget is down to $176.

Nothing else under $200.

 

[eeyoreland]

What if you try costco Contract ID 7014627?[/QUOTE

Thank you, unfortunately even with that I'm getting close to $400.

 

[ashleyrm]

Some rates creeping down. Dollar had a city special today for a standard for my dates for $210.49

Get a full size (if not better) from my current National Emerald Club. Will keep looking...

Just checked carrentalsavers.com and found a full size with Budget for $186.11 for my dates (2/7 - 2/13). Standard is $156.56.

Going to check individual sites now.

 

[CareHeartsDisney]

I just booked a standard car at Alamo using Alamo Insider's and a coupon for Alamo Insiders members AD2845VAN which gives an extra $25 off. All the other coupons I tried for my dates (2/14-2/21) have not worked so I was very excited when this one did. The rate is $257.58. I like that with Alamo I could choose my vehicle and that there is no charge for an extra driver. I also have a reservation with Dollar that I'm planning on canceling for $265 for a full size vehicle booking through BJ's. Dollar was fine when I rented from them last year but I like Alamo better.

 

[Belle599]

No movement on Alamo today, but Budget is down to $176.

Nothing else under $200.

Today's update at 5 days out:

No movement on Alamo - still at $177.

Budget is down to $168.

Firefly is down to $189

Dollar is down to $203.

The rest are too high for my liking.

 

[ashleyrm]

Today's update at 5 days out:

No movement on Alamo - still at $177.

Budget is down to $168.

Firefly is down to $189

Dollar is down to $203.

The rest are too high for my liking.

Belle - what are your dates?