January 2014 Rental Car Deal Watch

[vacation_junkie]

I'm totally new to this.

Just kind of deciding we want a rental, too.

We're at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo for four nights; then off-site at JW Marriott Grande Lakes for one night (this is due to stupid planning on my part, we have an extra night); then cruising for four nights from Port Canaveral.

Does anyone know if it's possible to rent at Orlando airport, incoming, and then return the car in Port Canaveral, before the cruise?

Our dates are Jan. 21 - 26. (Not including the cruise portion.)

Thanks, y'all!

Yes, we have done 1 day rentals several times.

 

[lilluv117]

Does anyone have any tips or experience renting a car to go from Disney to the port and then back to Disney? I was thinking of renting from the rental place at the Swan & Dolphin... I've never rented a car while at Disney before. I will be at Disney 1/29-2/3, then cruise from 2/3-2/7 leaving from Port Canaveral and then back to Disney from 2/7-2/8. I've gotten a quote online for $70-$90 for a one day rental each way. Should I wait and see if prices go down?

 

[keishashadow]

Looking forward to our 1st cruise in January. We are renting a van for just 2 days and the best price we have found is 113.00 from MCO to TPA (We sail out of The Port of Tampa.) Jan 3-5 noonish to noonish

I would love to find this rate or better to a more local to port rental place. (Westin with Alamo or National or a near port Hotel with rental car options) Port of Tampa does not seem to have any rental cars options.

Anyone have suggestions? Thanks for any suggestions!

it's been awhile since we sailed from Tampa but used Dollar to drop off rental from MCO. Complimentary shuttle service to port and back to airport but i'd check to verify if still available.

http://www.tampaairport.com/ground_transportation/rental_car_services.asp

 

[SilverMickey]

Thanks!

it's been awhile since we sailed from Tampa but used Dollar to drop off rental from MCO. Complimentary shuttle service to port and back to airport but i'd check to verify if still available.

http://www.tampaairport.com/ground_transportation/rental_car_services.asp

 

[megsablue]

Thought I'd let any Canadians watching this thread know that I scored a pretty good deal through Airmiles yesterday. Originally we were going to cash in our airmiles for gift cards for Budget - it was going to cost us 2900 airmiles + $30 since our rental was going to be $330 total (10 days for a standard).

Yesterday I was able to book through Airmiles' website directly and it was 1700 airmiles + $70 ($60 taxes & fees + the $10 airmiles admin fee). I thought that was a nice savings of airmiles for us Not sure if it was a "sale" or what, but I'll take it!

 

[acruisingfamily]

Does anyone have any tips or experience renting a car to go from Disney to the port and then back to Disney? I was thinking of renting from the rental place at the Swan & Dolphin... I've never rented a car while at Disney before. I will be at Disney 1/29-2/3, then cruise from 2/3-2/7 leaving from Port Canaveral and then back to Disney from 2/7-2/8. I've gotten a quote online for $70-$90 for a one day rental each way. Should I wait and see if prices go down?

I was able to get a mid-size with Budget for $46.57 incl taxes for p/u at Doubletree Downtown Disney on Jan 5th with d/o Port Canveral Jan 6th using BCD# U419900. No one-way d/o fee. This budget location will pick you up at WDW resorts (not sure about Swan / Dolphin).

 

[lilluv117]

I was able to get a mid-size with Budget for $46.57 incl taxes for p/u at Doubletree Downtown Disney on Jan 5th with d/o Port Canveral Jan 6th using BCD# U419900. No one-way d/o fee. This budget location will pick you up at WDW resorts (not sure about Swan / Dolphin).

Oh wow! Thank you! I'm going to look into it now!

 

[Bonacker]

Yesterday I was able to book through Airmiles' website directly and it was 1700 airmiles + $70 ($60 taxes & fees + the $10 airmiles admin fee). I thought that was a nice savings of airmiles for us Not sure if it was a "sale" or what, but I'll take it!

Oh, yeah! I was planning to cash in our Airmiles for the "gift card"/coupons for our rental. I'll try doing it directly. Nice tip, thank you.

 

[gcarney]

Any updates on promo codes? This should start buzzing now...

 

[SAT887]

Any updates on promo codes? This should start buzzing now...

So far nothing.... I've been checking daily in hopes of a drop!

 

[Disneykingofkings]

had a standard suv booked via avis for a great rate, 255 total for jan 2-9; but had to pick it up at the hilton in DD jan 2 afternoon which meant more money to get from mco to wdw and then drop it off at mco on jan 9; i kept trying and trying and today i got a minivan from hertz via priceline from mco on arrival to wdw and back to mco for only 264 total(26/day for 7 days or 182 + fees) for the week;

 

[vacation_junkie]

Does anyone have any experience with EZ Rentals or Fox? I have thought of using them, but I am a bit nervous since I know nothing about these companies.

AVOID
Fox , Payless , EZ , Firefly ...etc
Horrible reviews, cars not properly maintained.
If their rental car breaks down you pay for all service/tows.
Famous for bait & switch.
Mystery charges on your credit card for damage that really wasn't there...etc


Always stick with the Major players. The other ones are cheap for a reason!

 

[wonder4fam2011]

How is it that everyone seems to come up with great deals? I'm seeing 12/31-1/11 for $358/wk Standard size (pay later) or $329/wk Standard (pay now) thru Alamo, no coupon.

We are only willing to use National or Alamo. Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[donkeyandshrek]

We are only willing to use National or Alamo. Any suggestions? Thanks[/QUOTE]

^^^that's why you aren't getting the best deal. You can't limit yourself to name brand and be upset that generic is cheaper.

 

[keishashadow]

How is it that everyone seems to come up with great deals? I'm seeing 12/31-1/11 for $358/wk Standard size (pay later) or $329/wk Standard (pay now) thru Alamo, no coupon.

We are only willing to use National or Alamo. Any suggestions?

Thanks

we prefer national & Alamo but no issue with dollar when the upcharge for additional driver falls below our best rate.

some people may fall into a great rental car rate but many of us here realize it's a controllable $ cost and are willing to work at it over time to find 'the best' deal.

have you run the various codes for the above companies (search within this thread or google)?

rates change often, can be worth it to monitor them frequently.

good luck

 

[n2mm]

Guess I better jump on here. Our next trip is Jan. 22 to Feb 1

Coupons are generally tough to find for January, so will be watching. I normally get a pretty good rate for January.

 

[jensen]

We are only willing to use National or Alamo. Any suggestions?

Thanks

We also prefer National or Alamo (or Enterprise - as Enterprise owns both of them). My best advice is to keep watching and waiting... Prices will drop. I've never paid more than $125 for a mid-size for a week. Patience and diligence pays off.

 

[RMO87]

I rented earlier this year for a full week through Budget for $150, taxes included.

What kind of deals are people finding for a four-day rental?

Thanks in advance!
Ryan

 

[ziggy63]

I have gone at the first of January every year. A few years ago I noticed the price drops between November and late December. Sometimes the largest drop in price is right after Christmas. I prefer Alamo and last year my midsize car was only $110 plus fees and taxes. I currently have a reservation on Dollar for $149 January 5-10) and am checking rates several times each week until it drops below my current rate. Pretty sure I can get near that $100 mark again by January 1. Happy Hunting.

 

[Bonacker]

Well, I'm done! Following the suggestion of someone else on here, I booked thru Airmiles -- which is a Canadian points/reward program, mostly thru grocery stores.

My airmiles covered every cent of the car rental; I'm paying only the taxes and fees, which total $64, for a mid-size SUV for the week.