Q about Alamo Pay Later

[Peach026]

We only use Alamo bc we LOVE the skip the counter option... but also always prepay. My dates are astronomically expensive right now, getting anxious about not having a reservation. Curious - with the "pay later" option on Alamo specifically, can you still pay later (close to the trip date) and use the skip the counter option? Thank you so much!

 

[Donna M]

We love Alamo too and always pay later and skip the counter. My suggestion is to make a reservation now, but don't pay for it. Then you keep checking every once in awhile till about 3 weeks out. At that point start checking daily if not more. Make a new reservation and cancel the old one each time till you go on the trip.

I reserved our mini van in March for an Oct trip at $687, then booked a new one for $660 the next day. The prices are now around $1,000. I am expecting they will drop, and hope to get it for around $500.

I assume you are in their club.

You can skip the counter with Dollar/Thrifty too. We will get whichever is cheaper.

 

[georgina]

We only use Alamo bc we LOVE the skip the counter option... but also always prepay. My dates are astronomically expensive right now, getting anxious about not having a reservation. Curious - with the "pay later" option on Alamo specifically, can you still pay later (close to the trip date) and use the skip the counter option? Thank you so much!

I book Alamo through Costco and NEVER pay ahead. I must have cancelled and rebooked my Sept car at least 10 times so far as the rate drops. I give them a credit card when I check in for skip the counter, but it is not charged then, I think when I drop it off is when it is charged and they hand me a receipt.

 

[gharter]

We did our last trip. We reserved the car. A week before the trip, paid online.
Were able to skip the line, just walk in, pick our car and go.
10 minutes from selecting our car to our the gate.

 

[mickeynut1]

Curious - with the "pay later" option on Alamo specifically, can you still pay later (close to the trip date) and use the skip the counter option? Thank you so much!

We only use Alamo and use skip the counter all the time, but we never pre-pay. As the pp stated, with "pay later" your cc will be charged upon return. I always just have the receipt emailed to me (which hits my email within a few mins of returning the vehicle), but if you prefer, they will print you a receipt.

I book Alamo through Costco and NEVER pay ahead. I must have cancelled and rebooked my Sept car at least 10 times so far as the rate drops. I give them a credit card when I check in for skip the counter, but it is not charged then, I think when I drop it off is when it is charged and they hand me a receipt.

I also book through Costco (specifically Alamo) and I have yet to have a booking that I didn't cancel and rebook several times....lol. We just joined Costco a couple of months ago and we've more than paid for the membership through just rental cars! I can't believe how much cheaper Costco has been vs going through Alamo directly or through other sites (i.e., SWA).

 

[Peach026]

We love Alamo too and always pay later and skip the counter. My suggestion is to make a reservation now, but don't pay for it. Then you keep checking every once in awhile till about 3 weeks out. At that point start checking daily if not more. Make a new reservation and cancel the old one each time till you go on the trip.

I reserved our mini van in March for an Oct trip at $687, then booked a new one for $660 the next day. The prices are now around $1,000. I am expecting they will drop, and hope to get it for around $500.

I assume you are in their club.

You can skip the counter with Dollar/Thrifty too. We will get whichever is cheaper.

Oh I had NO IDEA you could skip the counter with Dollar! I'll need to check that out, thank you!

 

[Peach026]

We only use Alamo and use skip the counter all the time, but we never pre-pay. As the pp stated, with "pay later" your cc will be charged upon return. I always just have the receipt emailed to me (which hits my email within a few mins of returning the vehicle), but if you prefer, they will print you a receipt.



I also book through Costco (specifically Alamo) and I have yet to have a booking that I didn't cancel and rebook several times....lol. We just joined Costco a couple of months ago and we've more than paid for the membership through just rental cars! I can't believe how much cheaper Costco has been vs going through Alamo directly or through other sites (i.e., SWA).

I dont have a Costco membership... maybe I need to get one!

 

[Donna M]

Oh I had NO IDEA you could skip the counter with Dollar! I'll need to check that out, thank you!

I think there are others where you skip the counter too, not sure, maybe Enterprise and Budget. You have to be a member of their club.

 

[EACarlson]

I think there are others where you skip the counter too, not sure, maybe Enterprise and Budget. You have to be a member of their club.

I believe all 10 of the rental companies on-site at MCO have an option to skip the counter. Many if not all of them will require you to stop by the counter the first time you rent with them to verify your DL and CC. Sometimes that is skipped if they have already done that with a sister company. Even though I have used the skip the counter with both Alamo and Enterprise, I'm currently being told I have to stop at the desk to verify my CC with National for my rental in October.

No reason to ever Pre-pay for a car rental. All you are doing is giving an interest free loan to the company for however long between reservation date and return date.

 

[mickeynut1]

I dont have a Costco membership... maybe I need to get one!

Our membership paid for itself with our first car rental a couple months ago as we saved $90 over booking elsewhere. It's not guaranteed Costco will always be cheaper, but so far it's been a good deal for us.