Is my Thrifty rate too good to be true??

[Dewy]

I’ve read a few posts recently about other companies not honoring confirmed internet rates stating that they were mistakes. I have a resie for 10/16 – 10/23( 8 days) for full size Intrepid or similar that seems too good to be true… $130.25…including taxes and fees. (1 week at 103.23/week w/ unlimited miles; 1 extra day at $0.00) I’ve never been able to duplicate the rate after that.

Has anyone experienced Thrifty not honoring rates claiming the rate is a mistake? If I’m going to pay more I’d like to know now so I can book at an on-site company.

Comments/advice greatly appreciated

 

[AMaloy314]

Dewy,

I have not heard any problems with Thrifty.

I did want to point out that you might want to check again with National, though. I had a great rate with Thrifty of $116.83 for a full size for 1 week (base rate 95.88/wk). Today, I got on the National site and was able to get the same car, same dates for $125.28 with codes and a coupon. I figured that I would be paying $2 in tips each way to the shuttle driver for handling bags. That dropped that $9 difference to $5. Using the Emerald Reserve, we by-pass the counter at the airport...not to mention the shuttle ride over. It seemed to be a worthwhile $5. It would be worth looking at.

Good luck!

 

[lawgs]

dewy

what are your dates?

just in case someone else is looking at rentals around your time

 

[Lewisc]

Double check your pick up and drop off times. Prehaps the $0 for the extra day is because you're reserving for less than the grace period (59 minutes?)?

 

[Dewy]

AMaloy314

Thanks for the info. I've been checking National and just checked again. Using every code I could find on Mousesavers and EB coupon the best I could come up with was $218. I don't mind mind paying more for the convenience of an on-site company but the difference is too large. Maybe its the dates that I'm going Oct 16 - 23rd.

I'll keep trying but it looks like Thrifty is the rate winner here by a long shot. I just hope they honor the rate.

Thanks again.

 

[Dewy]

Originally posted by Lewisc
Double check your pick up and drop off times. Prehaps the $0 for the extra day is because you're reserving for less than the grace period (59 minutes?)?

Pick-up is 10 am and drop off is 3:30 pm.

 

[Took]

Your rate IS good with Thrifty, no doubt. However, Thrifty has been the subject of many complaints over the years. Some say THrifty has improved in the last year or two, but we'll never use them again (one pushy liar of an agent almost spoiled our vacation, though Thrifty does not have the monopoly on these!). At any rate, be careful about proferred upgrade opportunities and insurance scams.

Took

 

[Dewy]

Originally posted by lawgs
dewy

what are your dates?

just in case someone else is looking at rentals around your time

My dates are 10/16 - 10/23( eight days because of 10 am pickup and 3:30 pm drop off.

I hope others can get this rate too but every time I've checked it after the resie was made the best I've seen is $162...many times higher.

 

[jiminy14]

I just rented from Thrifty on our recent vacation and have to admit that it was a very hassle-free experience. I had a full-size car reserved for 17 days for a total of $376. This was $200 less than National with ER. The only problem My DH had was that they were out of the Dodge Intrepid that he had reserved. They offered a Ford Taurus but My DH does not like that car. The clerk then offered to upgrade him to a Dodge Caravan at no extra charge. Of course he agreed to that!
The shuttle ride was not a problem and my DH actually got to Thrifty, picked up the car and returned to the terminal before our luggage had arrived.
I suggest that you join Thrifty's Blue Chip program. You get a special line to wait in and they do not hassle you about the insurance. The clerk never mentioned it to my DH. You can join through their website.
After this experience, I would not hesitate to rent from them again.

 

[toystorymom]

I asked about Thrifty recently because I also felt like I had been quoted a great rate for a minivan in December. I am talking hundreds of dollars cheaper than anything I could find with Alamo or National. All of their codes seem to expire mid December. I got very good responses from this board about Thrifty. We also plan to have my DH go to pick up the car by himself while we wait for the luggage, hopefully it will be as hassle free as the last poster said.

You got a great rate, congrats! Bring a print out of your confirmation with you, I'm sure all will be fine. And be sure to report your experience back to the Dis for us!

 

[EdDome]

Originally posted by toystorymom
I asked about Thrifty recently because I also felt like I had been quoted a great rate for a minivan in December. I am talking hundreds of dollars cheaper than anything I could find with Alamo or National. All of their codes seem to expire mid December. I got very good responses from this board about Thrifty. We also plan to have my DH go to pick up the car by himself while we wait for the luggage, hopefully it will be as hassle free as the last poster said.

You got a great rate, congrats! Bring a print out of your confirmation with you, I'm sure all will be fine. And be sure to report your experience back to the Dis for us!

I'm holding a one week reservation for a minivan with Thrifty picking up on 12/27 and used the AU02 code for a base rate of $169. By far the best I could do. I used the same code for our August trip and everything went smooth and fast. Car was new (<3500 miles), clean, and an extended for no extra charge. About as good of an "experience" as possible given that you're renting a car.

 

[hncg57c]

Originally posted by EdDome
I'm holding a one week reservation for a minivan with Thrifty picking up on 12/27 and used the AU02 code for a base rate of $169. By far the best I could do. I used the same code for our August trip and everything went smooth and fast. Car was new (<3500 miles), clean, and an extended for no extra charge. About as good of an "experience" as possible given that you're renting a car.

Did they ask you for anything (such as a Northwest Frequent flier card) for using the code? On Mousesavers site, it said code also gave miles, so I am curious about whether or not anything else is needed to use code.

 

[PooohBear]

Just a bump as I am curious about the code also! That rate is alot cheaper than I have found for my travel dates !!

 

[Dewy]

I joined the Blue Chip program and when the card arrived in the mail their was a coupon for 10% off enclosed. Here is the strange part that has me concerned. I originally tried the rate without the coupon...$267....with the coupon $130. I'm not sure how they calculated it. I'm glad I booked when I did because I've tried it several times again and it's never been so low again. That's also why I'm worried that they may not honor it saying it's a mistake.

 

[sweet angel]

If you have a PRINTED confirmation, wouldn't they have to honor it, even if it WAS a mistake?

This has me curious, because I have a reservation thru Dollar and it's pretty cheap. They don't ask for a credit card or anything, except your name and address. I printed out the confirmation screen, as well as the email confirmation and I'm hoping for the best.

 

[Dewy]

Originally posted by sweet angel
If you have a PRINTED confirmation, wouldn't they have to honor it, even if it WAS a mistake?

This has me curious, because I have a reservation thru Dollar and it's pretty cheap. They don't ask for a credit card or anything, except your name and address. I printed out the confirmation screen, as well as the email confirmation and I'm hoping for the best.

I have printed it and would think that they have to honor it but I read a post from PRaffen(dated 9/7) and it has me worried. I've copied and pasted it below. I didn't think they could do that with a confirmed resi.


"Last month, they did not honor the internet rate ($178; full size; 8 days) that I was given.

Dollar employee told my husband the rate was a mistake. I was not with him (I was getting the luggage). He just paid what dollar asked (he hates confrontations). I would have asked for a supervisor and insisted they honor the printed confirmation I had. Not a great way to start the trip as I was irritated we wound up paying alot more than I had budgeted for a car."

 

[matsterrocks]

Is the shuttle easy to get? Do you have to phone? I have collision insurance through my car insurance company do I need to get the liability insurance they offer?

 

[LeftCoaster]

THe shuttle is very easy to get to. It has its own "parking stall" along wiht Hertz, etc. and is pretty clearly marked.
You can decline the liability insurance even though you may still be liable for it. Check with your credit cards to see what you're covered for. Many credit cards companies will also cover rental cars too.
The easiest way to decline the insurance from them would be to enroll in their Blue Chip Program. You'll get to skip the line when you arrive their and won't have to deal with any add on sells. I'm very good at saying no but get easily irritated with the whole spiel.

 

[jiminy14]

I had a printed confirmation with Thrifty and had no problems whatsoever. My sister, on the other hand, had major problems with Alamo. She was delayed in arriving in Orlando due to Hurricane Charley (only a day late). She contacted Alamo and informed them of her cancelled flight and they assured her that they would honor her reservation. When she got to the counter with her confirmation in hand, the clerk advised her that he would not honor it and proceeded to charge her $50 more even though she was renting for one day less. She spent the next two days of her vacation on the phone with Alamo customer service trying to rectify the situation. After faxing her confirmation to them, she was able to get a credit.
As to the previous poster, the shuttle was very easy. My DH went to get the car and got back before our luggage had arrived. He did not have to call as the shuttle was waiting downstairs. He was very happy with the entire process and would rent from Thrifty again. We did not take the additional coverage.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

We used the Thrifty AUO2 code in August. We didn't have to show any ID cards (we didn't fly NWA either). Finding the Thrift blue shuttle bus was easy and they seemed to be running about every 5-10 minutes. Picking up the car took a little longer than I would have liked because the computers were down for 20 minutes but that really wasn't anyones fault.

We had to get out of Orlando the morning that Charley was going to hit. We turned our car in and made it back to the airport quickly. The shuttle bus was very efficient. I plan to use Thrifty for our November trip as I haven't been able to duplicate their prices with any of the other codes.

I was also impressed with Thrify when I received a "Thank you for using Thrify" email a few days after we returned from our trip. I had never received one from any other rental company.