online car rental booking

[Wonderdis]

I just need to clarify something with online care rental booking.

If I book through major car rental companies like Alamo, National, Budget etc via their website, the booking can be change/cancelled without penalties - right ?

How about websites like carrentals.com, rentalcars.com, priceline etc .... if i book through them, these are all prepaid and non cancellable - right ?

If I find prices cheaper at websites like carrentals.com, rentalcars.com, priceline; does the major car rental company try to match these cheaper prices?

Is calling the major car rental companies going to allow me to negotiate the price or going to their website the best option in terms of prices.

Sorry for all the questions ... I am just a little confused and do not want to tie myself to any company incase something cheaper comes up.

thanks very much !

 

[mmmgood]

Booking directly with the Rental Company:

There are generally three reservation options:
Prepaid
Non-Prepaid (or a standard reservation)
Guaranteed Reservation

Prepaid you pay at time of booking - you can usually cancel or change but you will pay a small fee ($5-10) - policies vary by company. It can increase if you no-show rather than cancel in advance.
Non-Prepaid - A standard reservation, can be canceled or modified at any time - no credit card required at booking. You can also no show without penalty.
Guaranteed Reservation - These are very rare and usually only apply to specialty vehicles at peak periods. The rental company will require a credit card to guarantee the reservation. If you no show or cancel too late you are charged around $50.

Third Party Rental Sites:

Sites like carrentals.com, carrentalsavers.com, rentalcars.com generally have two booking options:

Non-Prepaid (or a standard reservation)
Guaranteed Reservation

The terms are as above.

Bidding or Opaque rental sites such as Hotwire and Priceline (name your own price) only have the prepaid option. You pay in advance and you can not cancel or change these reservations.

Calling rental companies on occasion can yield good results but again varies by company. Some companies do not permit agents to negotiate rates.

You can find the best rates by using discount codes and checking third party sites for deals, in addition, mousesavers.com and carrentalsavers.com are good for discounts. Book the best non prepaid rate you can find as early as possible and keep checking. Check for last minute specials then check Priceline/Hotwire about two weeks out if you are sure your times and dates will not change.

Good luck!

 

[Wonderdis]

Thank you for the very detailed explanation.