Having a hard time- Deal on Rental Car?

[SDSorority]

Hi all! We're going to the world in September. It might be too early to look for a rental car, but I gotta tell you... I'm having a REALLY hard time finding a deal. I'm on Mousesavers, but even with those codes, the cheapest rental I can find is through the Costco Alamo discount, and that is still $214 out the door. I only need the car for Monday through Saturday. That might be my problem- no Saturday overnight stay.

Anyone else notice that car rental prices are SKY HIGH!? Last year i got an economy for a week with $126 out the door.

Guess I just need to keep checking??

 

[scootch]

Y937800 you can try this budget code, not sure how long it is good, but I got a one day rental off of it for $39.

 

[HunnyPots]

I was able to get a much better deal through Hotwire.com. About half of what any of those coupon codes got me.

 

[gobledygook]

I've noticed car rental prices have really been going up too. I just got back today and I rented through Alamo. I got a pretty good discount by joining their Alamo Insiders program. I don't know if they let you but maybe you could try to stack a few codes.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

My rates for our March rental were pretty high ($300 for a minivan for a week), so I saw a tip on here to use my American Airlines miles to rent the car.

It was great. I don't usually fly AA anymore, so it was a great way to use my miles.

If you have some extra frequent flyer miles lying around, check and see if they are available to rent a car.

 

[shortbun]

I would reserve now and keep checking for better deals. Just don't do any of the 'pay in full' deals. Check with your airline for a combo price.

 

[IDoDis]

Prices SHOULD come down as you get closer to your trip. We are going to Phoenix next month, but when I first started looking for a rental 2 months ago, they were around $40 each, even on hotwire.

I just checked hotwire tonight -- for our dates and the prices were $23.00 per day. Still not great but 1/2 of what they were 2 months ago. So I went to priceline and bid $17 and my first bid was accepted. I got a car from Alamo. I probably overbid, but oh well. You can usually get a priceline rental for $6 less per day than hotwire.

Check carrentals.com, too. Their prices seem to be pretty low when I compared -- even without a code. I checked the website and put in MCO airport Sept. 12th - 16th which is a Mon-Fri rental just to see what came up and you can get an economy car for $183.96. Book that for now so you have something and then keep checking as you get much closer to your travel date or bid lower prices on priceline.

 

[pinkprincess30]

I just booked in Aneheim for our upcoming DLR trip. The best price through Costco was $379 out the door. I tried Priceline and got $275.00 out the door on 7 days for a mini van. It's worth a try.

 

[mrsfascinating]

I always book my car rental 1year out with alamo using various codes. Then check periodically between now and then to see if It changes. Right now I have a standard rental from alamo for 10 days for $202. I have noticed since I have been checking lately they have been around $400 that's crazy.

 

[vegasnative]

We are going the end of Aug and I was also having a hard time getting a car for a reasonable price. I checked everywhere too, and found the cheapest (I thought) with Costco and Alamo, like Op said. However, I then checked with Hotwire and got the BEST deal. We were looking for a mini van and it was around $900-1200 everywhere else, found it at Costco for $800, booked it with Hotwire for $655.

 

[mrsklamc]

Book the cheapest you can find and then try priceline a few days before to see if you can get something cheaper.

 

[bananasplitkids]

In order to use priceline name your own price do you have to use a major credit card?

 

[deva]

Have you tried Mousesavers.com? We often find a good code there. Have had luck with the Orlando Magic Card code at Dollar.

We usually reserve with best deal we can find and then try Priceline name your own price starting 4 days out. Have gotten great last minute deals that way too.

 

[aras4007]

Thanks for this info. We are also trying to find a cheap rental car for May. I just priced out some things and hotwire was the best. The only thing is I don't like not knowing where its coming from until after you book.

 

[G's mommy]

Just booked a car for next week in Palm Beach using Priceline, name your own price for $15 per day, $128 out the door for a week rental, car is coming from Hertz. Everywhere I checked was $200+ and Hotwire was $163. I was pretty happy with the $128 considering it's Spring Break and still high season in south Florida.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I can usually get a pretty good deal when we go in Sept. using codes from Mousesavers and/or Entertainment book. I have noticed prices seem pretty high right now though for Fall. I think they will fall as your trip gets closer.

My Dsis is going to WDW in May and I did all that I could to get her a great rate. Tried everything but couldn't get less than $320 for a mid-size for a week. She went on hotwire and got the same size for just under $160 inc. all fees. After she booked it came up as Hertz so it was a great deal! If you use hotwire or priceline you should be fine on which company as long as you make sure you select a company that's at the terminal. That's what she did and got Hertz.

If rates don't fall by Sept/Oct. ( I use Alamo or National) I think I will have to, for the first time, use hotwire or priceline myself.

One tip I read was to look on hotwire and see what offer you get. Then go to priceline and make an offer for a little less. Many disboarders have posted that this has worked for them.

 

[Marionnette]

If you have a Signature Visa you can get discounted car rentals and free ugrade codes. I was able to book an intermediate at National for Memorial Day weekend (Thurs. - Mon.) for just over $120 including all taxes and fees. That's just over $30/day, which isn't bad for a holiday weekend. If you have an Emerald Aisle membership, you can take any car on the aisle regardless of class.

You have to go to the visa.com/signature website and click on discounts to get the coupon code and contract id.

 

[simonsmom]

Last time we were in florida we rented for a week and returned in 5 days because the weekly rate was cheaper than a 5 day daily rate

 

[Dictator]

Sunday I went to Priceline, named my own price, and got a Premium car from Hertz for $11 day for my trip in Sept.

 

[Dictator]

In order to use priceline name your own price do you have to use a major credit card?

Yes. You have to use a C/C. And if your bid is accepted, the charge is put on your C/C right then. You cannot cancel.