Recent Thrifty/Dollar MCO pickup experiences

[Herding_Cats]

Do they at least have a different lane inside for the Dollar Express people? I seemed to see they had something for Thrifty people, but they weren't using it at all. That may take some of the sting away if they gave you SOME kind of advantage.

No. It only took about 10min at the counter for her to print all of the stuff and ask if we wanted to pre-pay for gas refill , and we were lucky that the line was short when we got there. There is basically no advantage that I can see to having the express membership at this point.

Would I still rent from them if they were the cheapest by at least $50? Yes. And we’ve waited in a 90min budget line because it saved us $400. But if the pricing is close, I will pick Alamo or hertz or enterprise and just skip the counter.

Speaking of thrifty, they’re the cheapest for a future trip we have planned, but there is no way to sign up for bluechip rewards that I can find; all of the links just go around in a circle and back to the main page.

 

[kittylady1972]

No. It only took about 10min at the counter for her to print all of the stuff and ask if we wanted to pre-pay for gas refill , and we were lucky that the line was short when we got there. There is basically no advantage that I can see to having the express membership at this point.

Would I still rent from them if they were the cheapest by at least $50? Yes. And we’ve waited in a 90min budget line because it saved us $400. But if the pricing is close, I will pick Alamo or hertz or enterprise and just skip the counter.

Speaking of thrifty, they’re the cheapest for a future trip we have planned, but there is no way to sign up for bluechip rewards that I can find; all of the links just go around in a circle and back to the main page.

Thanks for the information. Yes is certainly seems many of the rental car "memberships" don't offer much advantage at this point. Interesting that even the links were removed. In an age of streamlining and electronics, it seems those companies are going BACKWARDS.

I've had Thrifty or Dollar reservations as "backups" the last two times, but I just wasn't up for making the effort to go inside and deal with the potential lines even for the ~$50 savings for my timeframe. I know Dollar and Thrifty are cheaper, but even the condition of their vehicles the last few times has had me questioning my choice. I feel my safety is worth at least that $50. Now if we were closer to $100 or more...that might be tough. I am still unwilling to do the pre-pay option, which I'm sure is making them some money with very little risk to them.

I'll continue my stalking efforts on Alamo, but with us arriving to MCO after 10pm on our next trip, I am perfectly happy to pay extra to just go right to a car at Alamo, get in and drive off.

 

[DsneyDude1]

After 30 years of renting from Dollar at MCO, going National for the next trip in March. With a 7 and 4 year old with us, no way I am waiting at the counter even if I have to pay a bit more.

 

[leebee]

Just back. Did a 4-day rental from Thrifty with a manager’s special because I was really going for price and this was the cheapest on-site option (and all the off site reviews scared me). Arrived sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 pm. Even that late there were 5 or 6 agents between Dollar and Thrifty, so the line moved reasonably quickly. Waited maybe 15 minutes for my turn at the counter.

Speaking of thrifty, they’re the cheapest for a future trip we have planned, but there is no way to sign up for bluechip rewards that I can find; all of the links just go around in a circle and back to the main page.

@ClapYourHands Did they try to give you an electric vehicle with the Manager's Special? I have a pretty good rate with the "they pick" option but am worried it'll be an electric car. I can't be bothered on my vacation to have to find charging stations and all that.

@Herding_Cats I posted this question about Thrifty Blue Chip because I wasn't finding any way to sign up and responders said the program is no longer being offered. Seems like Thrifty/Dollar have phased it out.

 

[ClapYourHands]

@ClapYourHands Did they try to give you an electric vehicle with the Manager's Special? I have a pretty good rate with the "they pick" option but am worried it'll be an electric car. I can't be bothered on my vacation to have to find charging stations and all that.

@Herding_Cats I posted this question about Thrifty Blue Chip because I wasn't finding any way to sign up and responders said the program is no longer being offered. Seems like Thrifty/Dollar have phased it out.

Nope! This is why I picked them. I don’t think they have many EVs in their fleet. Interestingly, when I asked what kind of car I was getting, the rep at the desk said I’d have to go to the garage to find out, but that I had definitely not booked an EV.

Earlier in the month, I booked with Hertz. I used a third party, and there was the option of manager special EV and a manager special that was slightly more expensive than the EV one. I chose the regular manager’s special because I did not want the EV, and Hertz still tried to give me a Polestar. The upcharge to gas was more than I wanted to pay, so I pulled out my phone, and booked a Corolla with Sixt.

This is why I do not prepay for car rentals.

 

[kittylady1972]

Just booked a cheap Hertz rental through BJs Wholesale Travel for our upcoming October trip. I'm hoping since I'm Gold I can use the MCO Garage booth and not go inside. If that is NOT the case, then we'll just move to Alamo and our pre-paid ticket there.

 

[EACarlson]

Just booked a cheap Hertz rental through BJs Wholesale Travel for our upcoming October trip. I'm hoping since I'm Gold I can use the MCO Garage booth and not go inside. If that is NOT the case, then we'll just move to Alamo and our pre-paid ticket there.

Did you enter your Hertz Gold Plus number when you booked? If you log in to your Hertz account does the reservation show and say Canopy Service? If the answer to either of those is no, you're almost certainly going to have to go to the counter.

 

[kittylady1972]

Did you enter your Hertz Gold Plus number when you booked? If you log in to your Hertz account does the reservation show and say Canopy Service? If the answer to either of those is no, you're almost certainly going to have to go to the counter.

The answer to both of those questions is yes and yes. It shows up in my Hertz account as Gold Canopy.

 

[EACarlson]

The answer to both of those questions is yes and yes. It shows up in my Hertz account as Gold Canopy.

Gold Canopy means your name should be up on the board when you get to the garage.

 

[DsneyDude1]

My understanding with National is that unless you book Emerald Aisle and take a chance what might be there, you have to go to the counter. I need a Minivan, so doubt I can take a chance hoping that there is one on Emerald Aisle. Can anyone tell me about the National counter experience. Are they any faster than Dollar and other lower price companies?

 

[Pinnochio]

I have a full size SUV rented from 10/28 - 11/3 with Dollar....reading how i can't use Express anymore makes me want to switch but i have a $353 tax and all total that can't be beat so i guess it's off to the Counter for me ....argh!

the price just dropped to $321 total....full size SUV....that's over a $120 less than all the other companies....i hate to wait in line but for that i will, especially since some folks here are reporting 10 min waits in line...we'll see....fingers crossed....

 

[baggs32]

Can anyone share their experience pickomg up a rental from Dollar or National, or any of the other offshoots of Hertz and Alamo, late night or early morning? We are scheduled to land at 12:10 AM one night during the last week of December and I fear there will be one person at each rental counter that late at night meaning the lines could be long given the busy week. We used Hertz back in September when our flight was delayed 3 hours and we arrived at MCO around 12:45 AM so we didn't have to go to a counter and I did not pay attention to the counter lines. Right now I have two rental reservations, one from Dollar and one from National, which I'm considering canceling and eating the extra cost to use Hertz or Alamo. I know there's a price for convenience but I need more info if anyone can share theirs.

 

[EACarlson]

My understanding with National is that unless you book Emerald Aisle and take a chance what might be there, you have to go to the counter. I need a Minivan, so doubt I can take a chance hoping that there is one on Emerald Aisle. Can anyone tell me about the National counter experience. Are they any faster than Dollar and other lower price companies?

You book based on class, then can grab anything from that class or from the Aisle if you find something you like better. If you really want a minivan at MCO, you need to book one. I rented from National 10/11 and there were no minivans on the aisle. The largest vehicle on the aisle was a Buick Envision. If you have Executive Elite access, there were minivans there. I'm about 50/50 on getting minivans using National and Hertz. I prefer them and it's what I drive at home.

Can anyone share their experience pickomg up a rental from Dollar or National, or any of the other offshoots of Hertz and Alamo, late night or early morning? We are scheduled to land at 12:10 AM one night during the last week of December and I fear there will be one person at each rental counter that late at night meaning the lines could be long given the busy week. We used Hertz back in September when our flight was delayed 3 hours and we arrived at MCO around 12:45 AM so we didn't have to go to a counter and I did not pay attention to the counter lines. Right now I have two rental reservations, one from Dollar and one from National, which I'm considering canceling and eating the extra cost to use Hertz or Alamo. I know there's a price for convenience but I need more info if anyone can share theirs.

National is the parent of Alamo, not an offshoot. If your National booking says Emerald Aisle on it, I would choose that over any other company. Last week I was from walking into the garage to driving out in less than 5 minutes with National. Emerald Aisle works almost exactly like the Gold Aisle from Hertz. You grab whatever car you find in that aisle that you want, and drive out. National is staffed 24 hours at MCO.

 

[baggs32]

You book based on class, then can grab anything from that class or from the Aisle if you find something you like better. If you really want a minivan at MCO, you need to book one. I rented from National 10/11 and there were no minivans on the aisle. The largest vehicle on the aisle was a Buick Envision. If you have Executive Elite access, there were minivans there. I'm about 50/50 on getting minivans using National and Hertz. I prefer them and it's what I drive at home.


National is the parent of Alamo, not an offshoot. If your National booking says Emerald Aisle on it, I would choose that over any other company. Last week I was from walking into the garage to driving out in less than 5 minutes with National. Emerald Aisle works almost exactly like the Gold Aisle from Hertz. You grab whatever car you find in that aisle that you want, and drive out. National is staffed 24 hours at MCO.

Actually Enterprise Holdings owns all 3 but started out as just Enterprise, then acquired Alamo and National later, so I guess two wrongs don't make a right. Anyway, I didn't book Emerald Isle becasue we couldn't take the chance of getting a small car and that meant we were going to have to go to the counter. I've moved on from this plan since my last post and we booked through Budget who had a better rate and offered 20% back in an Amazon gift card on top of it. Plus I can skip the counter with them at MCO so everyone is happy. I saw that Budget brought the offer back earlier this week so if anyone is interested keep checking their site to see if they do it again.

 

[EACarlson]

Actually Enterprise Holdings owns all 3 but started out as just Enterprise, then acquired Alamo and National later, so I guess two wrongs don't make a right. Anyway, I didn't book Emerald Isle becasue we couldn't take the chance of getting a small car and that meant we were going to have to go to the counter. I've moved on from this plan since my last post and we booked through Budget who had a better rate and offered 20% back in an Amazon gift card on top of it. Plus I can skip the counter with them at MCO so everyone is happy. I saw that Budget brought the offer back earlier this week so if anyone is interested keep checking their site to see if they do it again.

We have seen many reports over the last few months that Budget is no longer providing preprinted folios out in the garage for Fastbreak members at MCO and everyone has to go to the counter. When I was in MCO last week the Budget counter was wrapped up almost to the doors.

 

[baggs32]

We have seen many reports over the last few months that Budget is no longer providing preprinted folios out in the garage for Fastbreak members at MCO and everyone has to go to the counter. When I was in MCO last week the Budget counter was wrapped up almost to the doors.

Not that this forum is the end all be all for truth but the thread below says otherwise. Looks like you posted in it too but didn’t mention any long lines. The OP was there last week too and went straight to the car so I guess we’ll see what happens. I’m literally saving hundreds over Hertz or Alamo so it’s worth it either way it turns out.

You seem to really like National’s Emerald Isle. Have you ever had to settle for a vehicle too small for 4 adults and their luggage when you’ve used it? Figure 4 medium to large suitcase and 4 backpacks. I avoid it for that reason but if there are always larger vehicles at MCO I may try it out.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/my-mco-recent-budget-rental-car-experience.3932054/#post-65110424

 

[EACarlson]

Not that this forum is the end all be all for truth but the thread below says otherwise. Looks like you posted in it too but didn’t mention any long lines. The OP was there last week too and went straight to the car so I guess we’ll see what happens. I’m literally saving hundreds over Hertz or Alamo so it’s worth it either way it turns out.

You seem to really like National’s Emerald Isle. Have you ever had to settle for a vehicle too small for 4 adults and their luggage when you’ve used it? Figure 4 medium to large suitcase and 4 backpacks. I avoid it for that reason but if there are always larger vehicles at MCO I may try it out.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/my-mco-recent-budget-rental-car-experience.3932054/#post-65110424

I like National, Enterprise and Hertz for what I'm looking for. It's hit or miss what types of vehicles you find on the aisle. Last week the biggest thing on the aisle for National was a Buick Envision, which would not have held four adults and luggage. It would have been fine for three adults and a normal amount of luggage. I was on a business trip so had some equipment I had to bring and my colleague was the same. We would have been fine with the Toyota Camrys or Chevy Malibus that made up the rest of what was available. In previous trips I've gotten minivans, large SUVs. On one trip the best I could do was a Prius. Plenty of space for two and luggage but not much extra.

 

[staceyj2]

Anyone pick up for Dollar/Thrifty recently and have any updates? We rented the end of July and checked into the terminal even though we are blue chip. We arrived around 11:30 pm and the line was a few people long and we waited about 20 minutes. We are arriving again the Friday before Thanksgiving so I expect it to be really busy. I would like to go with another company, but the price difference is big. I have $407 with Alamo/Costco but I have $259 with Thrifty for a managers special for 6 days. My other fear is that I might get an electric vehicle. I would not have the first clue how/where to charge an electric vehicle.

Also, does anyone have any Alamo discount codes? We have Sam's, Costco, AAA, Disney annual pass and Universal annual pass but I still can't find a better rate than $407.

 

[Pinnochio]

Anyone notice lately if Dollar Express skip the counter is back and operational??

 

[Pinnochio]

Anyone notice lately if Dollar Express skip the counter is back and operational??

bump