National or Alamo?

[jodycat]

We currently have cars reserved through National and Alamo. Which company would you use and why? I know National is in terminal and Alamo is not. I am just getting nervous about National because of the bad experiences people have been having. We leave on July 1, so I need to make a decision. Thanks for any and all replies.

 

[sgtdisney]

As bad as the experiences I have been hearing about National, Alamo I have heard much worse. I personally will never rent with Alamo again due to their customer service, bait and switch tactics and loooooong lines at checkout. Things may have changed since I stopped using them, but they burned me twice and I vowed it would never happen again. Others have had good experiences with them but mine were beyond horrible.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Given the choice, I would opt for National. They are onsite. Have had no problems with National.
I have had great experiences with Alamo, but, they are, alas, offsite.
I avoid the lines at Alamo by using Quick Silver, which is free to join at either the Alamo site or via www.biztravel.com go to cars then specials and sign up there.

 

[sgtdisney]

Using Quick Silver may have eliminated one of the bigger problems that I have had with Alamo in the past. The other problems may be localized to specific locations, I don't know. I do know that letters and calls to Alamo Customer Service after my problems got me no where, unlike what I have heard with people who have contacted National after they had a problem...

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Once we had a very rude attendant ( I don't consider that a problem, just an annoyance), we called the line for QS members and received immediate satisfaction, also, I wrote to customer service via the web and we received three free days.
You may be right regarding the location. This happened in Tampa, once. Never had it happen in Orlando. QS is the way to go.

 

[pbhunt]

It' a tossup, go with the best price maybe? I agree with the posts above regarding National and Alamo, I think the level of customer service you receive varies with location and employee. jodycat, you didn't mention in your post whether you are an Emerald Club or Quicksilver member. If not, you can't really join either by July1,(processing time involved). You should, however, think about joining one or both on your return. Membership is free, most times you can avoid the counter and the lines, there's a special phone# for members of both clubs, Free upgrade w/quicksilver, EA, EC w/Emerald Club. The price of rental cars varies widely with location, and onsite/offsite, we use both, they can be a hassle or very efficient (some airports are all offsite). Either way, if you have one of the club cards, you can save a lot of time obtaining the rental.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

The interesting thing about Alamo and National is that they are "sister" companies. I found that very interesting.

 

[pbhunt]

Sister companies Gail? Like the cruise lines, Carnival, Holland America, Cunard, all owned by same company, Bad experience w/ Carnival, DH & I boycott entire fleet. How are National & Alamo related? Just curious, Thanks.
(Sorry, off topic Jody)

 

[jodycat]

I am a member of Quick Silver and Emerald Club and they both have comparable rates. This will be the first time of using either QS or EA and didn't know quite what to expect. It has always been such a hassle waiting in the lines to get a rental car. With QS do you bypass the counter?

 

[Beverly Lynn]

I have rented from both in the past and never had any problems. if the price is the same then I would choose national due to the location.

 

[pbhunt]

With Quicksilver you can bypass the counter, except for, unfortunately, the first time you use it. You simply insert your card into a computer terminal and it will spit out your rental agreement based on your reservation (+upgrade). The first time you use it, it will also spit out a master agreement which requires a signaure and must be presented at the "silver counter". (shorter lines). Since you have EC, maybe National would be the way to go, plus they're onsite.

 

[Scotch]

Originally posted by pbhunt
With Quicksilver you can bypass the counter, except for, unfortunately, the first time you use it. You simply insert your card into a computer terminal and it will spit out your rental agreement based on your reservation (+upgrade). The first time you use it, it will also spit out a master agreement which requires a signaure and must be presented at the "silver counter". (shorter lines). Since you have EC, maybe National would be the way to go, plus they're onsite.

You can do Alamo's QuickRent online www.alamo.com and use the Quicksilver counter to bypass the regular lines -- and you don't have to be Quicksilver member. all the info re how it works is on the web site. We tried this new service for the first time this past April when we found good rates for our Maui car rental. Since we had a horrible experience waiting in the rental car line at Maui last year (about 1hr.) we tried the QuickRent. With that, you process your entire rental agreement online. For example, you pick your waivers, insurance, input the drivers' drivers license numbers, etc. and read the terms of the rental agreement (print out), input credit card, etc. Then, you get a confirmation with directions on how to get the car. Basically, we went to this Quicksilver or Quickrent kiosk placed right in the entry of Alamo, inserted the credit card we used, got this little printout, brought it to the Quicksilver desk, gave the man the printout, showed him a driver's license, and he handed over the key. We signed a short acknowledge form -- acknowledging our receipt of the key. Then we were told the car was waiting right out the doors -- not in the regular parking lot in the back with all the other rental cars. And it was. We received a free upgrade-- rented a compact and received a mid-size. When we exited, we didn't even have to go through the regular exit check out guard (since that's located by the exit for the regular parking lot). We loved this entire process so much -- took less than 10 minutes (there was one custumer inline at the Quicksilver desk before us)-- we plan to use it in the future if it is an available option.

I prefer this over joining quicksilver. No membership card to carry -- I have sooo many cards -- and no master file on us with master rental agreement. I like doing one transaction at a time.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

pbhunt,
Sister companies means they are owned by the same people. Which is the case for National and Alamo.
Also, with Alamo, the first time you use QS, it does indeed spit out the master rental agreement, but, we just handed it to the gate attendant when we were leaving. No lines, no hassle.
Not sure about this upgrade thing. I understood it to mean for business rentals, not pleasure. What did I miss?

 

[pbhunt]

Thanks Gail, I did'nt know they were related. I have Quicksilver w/Alamo for government employees. We alternate between National and Alamo for business and leisure trips depending on price. We have always received a one category upgrade with our Quicksilver Alamo rentals. I don't recall them every asking what the purpose of our trip was? Of course, I also ask for the government rate on hotel reservations, and they don't seem to ask either.

 

[Lewisc]

There is always the chance of human error with any agency. National has been giving incorrect discounts on the internet system (which they are honoring) which has caused delays with some customers. If the price is similar (or even a little higher) I'd go with an onsite agency. Why have to go on a shuttle bus if you don't have to?