I've rented a car the past 5 years in early December and the rates usually did drop about a month or so before. The fact that they have gone up is different than prior years. I paid around $115 last year. This year I have a reservation for $142 and it has gone up to $160 currently (Dec 4 to 10). I tried some different codes last weekend, $160 was the best and that was with priceless code and $20 Entertainment coupon (intermediate EA). I think there will be more people going at this time this year.