national's rates (right now)

[mkymouse4ever]

Been playing around on national, and right now the prices are lower than they have been for months. Getting 223.99 / wk (full size, EA) from mco. Maybe its a trend, and they will continue to go lower? We can only hope, keep your eyes peeled!

MKY

 

[lawgs]

just tried national for our dates

the base rate is still 228.99 ....final price with discounts 203$ +for full size EA

this has been that way for about 4 weeks now...

the time period is november 30 - december 7

of course this is around american thanksgiving

we got our october 16 - 23 full size for 172$ ( about 2 months ago ) but now it is 203$ so they have gone up not down

 

[RobinLyn]

lawgs,

If you are interested in renting from Dollar Rent A Car (onsite at MCO), the weekly rental price TODAY for a full size Dodge Intrepid at their web site, was $140 for a weekly rental, with tax $181.64 from Nov. 30th - Dec. 7th. Use code ENTERTAIN in the promo code box, no coupon or special card is needed. This code is for anyone. We have rented from them many times and never had a problem.

RobinLyn

 

[lawgs]

thanks robinlyn...


will give that a try...will not hurt to have backup plans...

that rate seems to be the best now...

 

[n2mm]

Just wanted to say thanks Robinlynn. I went back and modified my reservations with Dollar and went from a base rate of $125 for a compact to $140 for a full size. I booked this deal for our trips in August, September and October and got this rate on all three reservations. We belong to EA, and have not seen a good deal there in a very long time. We used EA last week at $194 for the base rate of a full size, with a one day free coupon. Still very high, but even Dollar's rates were high. I hope this is a trend that the rates will start droping, but I'm happy with this new Dollar rate, though we have to wait in line now, it's OK. I will still watch both sites.

 

[mkymouse4ever]

This is the price for end july / aug, and was over 250, base rate for about a month now. My october rates are also cheaper. I to made ressies earlier in the year getting about 155 / wk but with plane changes had to change and then got stuck with the highest rate. Yes, its always a good idea to do them early. Maybe next year I should make a couple in case ata changes things around again. Don't think we ever flew ata that they haven't made some sort of change. MKY

 

[Mish]

I just booked with Dollar and we got a minivan for 9 days in November for $312.00 using the MCC code. I thought that was a great deal since i got a quote of $250.00 from National for a full size for the same amount of time. Michelle

 

[the Legend]

Two months ago, I booked Intermediate cars MCO (11 days) and LAX (5 days). In light of this thread, I reviewed my rates and heres the outcome.

I have 3 different contract numbers I can use at National.
2 are Disney Club-based and the other is my EA contract.
Tried all three contracts on the Joe Public quote screen on Nationals Home page for a Fullsize and Intermediate for 1 week from and to LAX and got 6 different results (Rate includes Full LDW) as expected

EA Contract ID Fullsize ... 308.35. Intermediate 273.92
DC (Old) Contract ID Fullsize ... 270.67. Intermediate 231.15
DC (New) Contract ID Fullsize ... 317.47. Intermediate 271.02

This confirms other threads who are saying that the new contract ID being touted by Disney Club is worse than the older one from the start of the year. My EA contract is better than the new DC contract which surprised me even more.

Logged on to Emerald Club and redid the same thing, the results were pleasantly different. Because I now have the option to choose Emerald Aisle and Counter, prices were standardised thru a range of sizes.

EA Contract ID Fullsize, Standard and Intermediate 274.24
DC (Old) Contract ID Fullsize, Standard and Intermediate 231.47
DC (New) Contract ID Fullsize, Standard and Intermediate 271.34

So for a few cents more I was getting a two car upgrade from Intermediate! What a bonus! Confirming the advice that when using Emerald Club membership through Nationals Website, Intermediate, Standard and Fullsize Cars are the same price when specifying the Emerald Aisle option.

Initially, I had booked Intermediate class cars for MCO (11 days)and LAX (5 days). With my new found knowledge, I changed both bookings to full size cars. My MCO quote rose by $40 (due to LDW increase) on the best combination of DC Coupon and Contract but my LAX reservation dropped over $20. So extra $20 for 2 2-size upgrade rates well for me and has been done.

However, I am still vigilent and looking for more elusive savings but the prospect of bagging a PT Cruiser, SUV or convertible on EA is still motivation enough to persist with National. With our trip planned for September, I am hoping that things will only get better.

 

[RuthAnne123]

I got 99.00 dollars 7 days base rate! It came to 133.00 inclusive.

What a great tip!

Rooth

 

[Pkdcoastrs]

Wow! All I can say is that we were able to get a weekly rate of $150.00 at the L&M website! Add onto that the additional per day rate and taxes and the final cost for 11 days was only $318 for a midsize! This may not seem cheap as in the past, but for right now this is incredible!

Everyone we used them last year and they were great, let us upgrade for a low fee to a mini-van the night we got the car!

Mike

 

[RobinLyn]

Watch out for L&M, they have been known to give you a car that is considered compact by most other leading rental agencies at MCO and call it a midsize. Did they say what kind of car (type, model) you will be getting Pkdcoastrs? They are fairly new at the airport (they are independent, not nation wide) and there have been mixed reviews here at the DIS forum about renting from them at MCO. You can do a search and read some reviews from others who rented from them in the past 6 months. Dollar, National, Budget, Avis and L&M are all onsite at MCO. Dollar USUALLY has the best prices without coupons, using codes. We personally had a bad experience with L&M and left their booth at MCO and rented from Avis (business trip). I will not go back no matter what price they offer, especially on a vacation. I hope you have better luck than we did Pkdcoastrs. So glad the Dollar code helped some of you get a better rate/ car. The rates are higher this summer so every little bit helps.

RobinLyn

 

[lawgs]

n2mm....

you should also look into applying for Fastlane....it only took about 2 weeks from the time i signed up, faxed in the info that i had my card in hand....

in addition, they send a coupon in the starter package for a "free upgrade:...

smilawgs

robinlynn

posted this elsewhere, but it does seem L&M lo balls the base rate and then adds on "VRML" or somehing like that ....which adds about 3$ a day to the rate ( think this is something the others call vehicle licence recovery and they only charge 30 - 50 cents a day )

and as i stated there......the bottom line is what we finally do look at......but after toying with renting with l&M ......i will stay with national and dollar as rentals of choice at MCO

 

[DVC Daisy]

Thanks RobinLyn!

I was able to get a good rate at Dollar for my Aug trip using the ENTERTAIN rate.

One question - do you know by any chance where the ENTERTAIN rate came from? I just want to make sure I don't need a special coupon or card (like the entertainment card or a secret handshake when I pick up my car.

I did also apply for a FastLane card - these tips are GREAT!

Thanks so much!

Deb

 

[RobinLyn]

The entertain code with Dollar is NOT from the Entertainment Book, this years or last years. The MCC code and the ENTERTAIN code were in the "Official Orlando Visitors Guide" and "Olrando Accommodations Guide" available to anyone. I have one of these guides with one of the Dollar ads in it. The codes are there for anyone to use, no coupon and no cards needed. Dollar does not usually offer coupons like National and Avis so codes seem to be their thing.

RobinLyn

 

[minnie56]

I just managed to book a full-size for Dec28-Jan04/03 for $140 base rate!!!That's picking up in Orlando and dropping in Miami on the 4th (going on a cruise).
Thanks for the 'entertain' tip!!!!

 

[Jo-Anne]

I can't believe how much the National Base rate has jumped this year. I booked a full size car in January for our Sept trip. The base rate was $166 and with discounts it came to $113...$153 taxes etc included. Even trying the Dollar entertain code a full size comes to $140 (without taxes etc) which still puts me above my January booking. Boy, I'm sure glad I booked way back! It pays to book early and keep checking....you never know when those prices will go up and down!

 

[DVC Daisy]

RobinLyn,

THANKS so much, you have put my mind to ease that I will not need the "secret handshake"

You saved me some money off of my Aug rental so a big THANK YOU to you!

Deb