Official December 2010 Car Rental Thread

[robinb]

It's never too early to get a good car rental rate! In fact, the rates are already getting bad for Christmas/New Years.

I just pulled the trigger on my airfare and had to make some adjustments to my car rental . I'm bummed because I had a kick-butt car rental rate but my bigger kick-butt airfare trumped it and now we're flying in/out of Tampa.

The best rates I could find from MCO are for 9 and 10 day rentals with Alamo. I booked a compact car and am currently using the contract ID from Vacation Outlet 7014182: http://www.vacationoutlet.com/car/default.asp and the 1 class upgrade coupon AU2729MJW from Mousesavers. I get $240 (inc taxes) for a midsize car from 12/22 - 1/1 and $218 for a midsize car from 12/23 - 1/1. I think this is a weird glitch with Alamo because shorter rentals and longer rentals are hundreds of dollars more.

 

[briabbysmom]

I reserved with Alamo too and have been playing with the dates etc. We will be there Dec 10-17 and don't really need a rental the whole time.

I found with the free weekend day code (on their site) a Fri-Mon would be 77.17 which was alot better daily than the free upgrade rate ($156 Mon-Fri). Ideally we would have a car the whole time just for the freedom of it. Oh! And I did notice that booking at Disney for pickup (and drop off) was a lower rate - must be airport taxes or fees? It was cheaper for me to get the car at WDW and return to the airport than to do both from the airport.

Not a ton of codes good to Dec right now, but a few to play with - thanks for starting the thread - I look forward to seeing where it goes!

 

[briabbysmom]

My question is - can you have 2 rentals back to back? The weekend rental is 3-5 day and must be over a Saturday. Can I reserve that (say Fri-Mon) and then have a new ressie Mon - Thurs?

 

[robinb]

Sometimes it's cheaper to rent from MCO and sometimes it's cheaper to rent from a location near WDW. You skip the airport concession fee away from the airport but sometimes the base rate is higher. For me, it's cheaper at the airport.

Yes, you can book back to back rentals but you will probably have to "officially" return and re-rent the car. Thrifty once allowed me to keep a car over two rentals, but that was an anomaly. I currently have have 4 (yes, FOUR) car rentals cobbled together for my 16-day December trip. I hope that things shake out a little better as things get closer but it's my experience that it really doesn't.

 

[robinb]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share the rate I finally got. There are REALLY good rates on Dollar/Thrifty for Christmas. Depending on your exact dates you can get a compact car out of MCO for $113 per week, an intermediate for $129 per week and the Lock N Go for $135.

I booked a compact car for 11 days for just $268 including taxes!

 

[briabbysmom]

good deal! I am not getting those deals for my dates (10-17) So far I'm best just having a short rental 10-14 (3pm) at WDW Alamo for $112

 

[briabbysmom]

Anyone know anything about them? I got a reservation Dec 10-17 at MCO for $175 all in. ($117/wk rental) I think the convenience of it may outweigh the short term WDW rental (11-14th for $77 all in) but not if there will be any unpleasant surprises!

 

[pooksma]

We need a rental for 5 for Dec. 27 and Dec. 28. We will be going from Disney to FLL for a cruise. Any advice on car rental? Is it better, rate wise, to book for the 4 days we are in Orlando or just do the 2 days?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[robinb]

We need a rental for 5 for Dec. 27 and Dec. 28. We will be going from Disney to FLL for a cruise. Any advice on car rental? Is it better, rate wise, to book for the 4 days we are in Orlando or just do the 2 days?

Any help would be appreciated!

You won't gain anything by booking 4 days v/s 2 days. You will have to pay daily for both since the weekly rate usually starts at 5 days. Be aware that you may pay a "drop off" fee for your one-way rental.

This is a good place to start:
http://www.carrentalsavers.com/index.html

 

[TinkerBellToo2]

When will all the good deals start coming out for December???

 

[SnackyStacky]

I always try to book with National. LOVE Emerald Aisle, and usually it's not too much more than other companies. I like the convenience and flexibility of not only skipping the line, but picking my car too.

I book 1 year to the day we travel, if I plan that far out. We're traveling December 30 - January 7, so I booked it last December.

I think there may be an Emerald Aisle Contract ID, but it's too early for coupons for National. I've got the 8 day rental for $247.34 including all taxes and fees.

 

[robinb]

When will all the good deals start coming out for December???

January. The best time to get good rental car rates for late December is in January before they jack up to the "holiday pricing". I would not wait for a better deal. I would book now and re-book if something better comes along. Also, if you are looking to rent in late December and are hoping for a coupon ... don't. Most coupons and some rate codes are "blacked out" after December 15th. Since I don't know exactly what my dates will be until I get airfare I usually book cars at both MCO and TPA for my likely dates. This time I skipped TPA because the price was too high ... and of course ... my flight is into TPA .

SnackyStacky: Doesn't Alamo allow you to pick our your car too?

 

[briabbysmom]

I booked a Hertz reservation from Dec 10-17 1pm-1pm for $175 all in.
Hope that helps someone!

 

[robinb]

I booked a Hertz reservation from Dec 10-17 1pm-1pm for $175 all in.
Hope that helps someone!

Thanks for the update! What codes did you use? How big of a car?

 

[DisGirl81]

SnackyStacky: Doesn't Alamo allow you to pick our your car too?

Not SnackyStacky, but I did pick out my car when I rented with Alamo a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas.

 

[Yzerbear19]

Alamo does let you pick your vehicle at MCO.

 

[briabbysmom]

Sorry for the delay in replying - I seem to have lost my subscription to this thread, but I'm back now!

Hertz is the $190 for a Nissan Versa or similar it was $190 after adding an extra hour.

Budget was $175 LESS a $20 coupon from rentalcarmomma so $155 for Dec 10-17 which I am very pleased with!

MCO

car compact 2- or 4-door
automatic
air conditioned
car class B
FOCUS 4DR/5PSGR
or similar

Rental Car Momma BCD X793200

coupon MUGZ005
Hope that helps!

 

[skinnerfamily]

Dec. 3-9 Hertz full size car through Hotwire for $187 total. You must pay in advance, but it was a great deal for a full size at 19.95 a day.

 

[MyMuse]

I just booked through Alamo using Costco codes for Dec 3-14 (+ extra hours) for $235.78.

I think that's pretty good! I'm hoping it will go down a bit more.

I ought to check through Budget just to see as well!

 

[momto2inKC]

Booked a convertible with Enterprise through carrentalsavers (thanks to the person who posted the deal on the other thread) for $175 for 9 days (Dec 11-Dec 19), all fees included.