Rental Car Discounts?

[njmeisje]

Does DVC avail any discounts in renting a car at WDW? Can you recommend the best company to use when renting a car at Orlando airport?

Thanks much
Diane

 

[JimMIA]

Disney CRO has car rental deals, so I assume MS also has some. However, I've found that almost any time I check out a "deal" on a rental car, I'm paying more than I could have paid without the "deal."

I travel quite a bit, and here's the strategy I use.

First of all, a car is a car is a car. There is no difference between a Thrifty Neon and an Avis Neon. It's a car. There are two things that flow from that realization: 1) it doesn't matter a bit who you rent from, and 2) you must compare car to car, not category of car to category of car. The latter one is because some companies call a particular model a "compact" and another company may call exactly the same car a "mid-size" and charge more for it. Or less.

Second, get familiar with the various travel sites on the WWW. I like Expedia, Travelocity is good, there are lots of them. Pick several and compare prices. I have invariably found the lowest prices on these sites, not through airlines, hotels, travel clubs, etc.

Third, after you enter your requirements and get a list of available cars and prices, look for the little place that says "Sort by." That first list you are getting is sorted by how much the various car agencies PAID to be listed that way, not by anything that matters to you. So, find "Sort by" and click on "sort by price."

Once you sort by price, amazing things happen. Tiny cars become expensive and mid-sized cars are often priced lower than economy cars. Sort by price. Then rent from the cheapest, or the one who offers more of what you want.

If you qualify for a senior citizen rate, you might check that, but be sure to compare it to the regular prices. I usually find the "senior discount" is more than the regular price with rental cars -- don't know why.

Once you reserve your car, go to that rental car company's website and sign up for their customer loyalty program. It's free, and it will save you time at the rental counter. You'll also get offered upgrades at the counter, and those are often very good deals.

Company sites also offer "discounts" for their club members, but frankly I've always found those either the same as I was paying or more.

Shop carefully, be a smart consumer, and have a great trip!

 

[1000th happy haunt]

You might also want to check Mousesavers' car rental page. They provide coupons and codes for the various rental agencies, as well as suggestions for the best and worst companies.

 

[BostonDisneyKid]

For Disney/Orlando specifically - I'd advise as 1000th Happy Haunt has already done.

1000th happy haunt -
You might also want to check Mousesavers' car rental page. They provide coupons and codes for the various rental agencies, as well as suggestions for the best and worst companies.

MouseSavers is where I have gotten the best discount & group codes/promo's for rental cars in Orlando. It can be a little work to find the best match for your specififc trip and/or needs but it is well worth it to save $100's each trip. During my last reservation I saved over $400 on a single reservation with a discount and group combo codes from mousesavers.

 

[Jimbo]

I agree that a car is a car, although I don't necessarily agree that it doesn't matter who you rent from. There's a couple of "no name" rental companies out there, and they have provided some nasty surprises for some people.

So, given that... I use Priceline for rentals, and I've never deen disappointed. First I shop around, and find what the best rate is for the car I want and book it. Then I bid about 60% of that rate. It usually works, and if it doesn't, try again the next day. Eventually I'll get it, and then I cancel the first reservation. There's never a penalty for cancelling.

Priceline doesn't deal with the "no name" companies, because they aren't big enough to bother with. So you don't have to worry about that. We got a great deal on a fullsize with Avis for our last trip. Plus when we got there they upgraded us to a RAV4 for no extra charge.

Note: If you do this, make sure you use their "name your own price" feature. Their website also acts as a basic booking site, and they've sort of hidden the link to name you own price. But it's there.

 

[surfer_ed]

I use costco.com and codes form rentalcodes.com. Try a bunch of different combinations and check back frequently. I just went back in today and got a much lower quote than a month ago, so I cancelled my previous ressie and booked a new one.

Renting at Alamo is the best for onsite. Most convenient anyway.

 

[disneynutz]

We use the Mouse Saver codes and rent from Alamo or Dollar. We fly SWA and also use the double frequent flyer points code.

 

[evenpar4me]

Check out Enterprise,after shopping for 2 months got a super deal for Sept on a full size,cheaper than Avis or Alamos economy.

 

[jekjones1558]

A couple of other things that matter to me, though not to many others:
1) If some companies are at the airport and some require a ride in a van to an off-airport site, I only want the ones at the airport.
2) We usually want to have an additional driver and this can add a lot of cost to a rental, which is why I almost always use a Walmart code for Alamo that gives an extra driver for free.

 

[mikesmom]

Can you tell me where to look to get the Alamo code for an extra driver? We almost always use Alamo. You can check in online and breeze right past the line to get your card. It would be awesome to be able to have another driver!

 

[Jimbo]

Priceline just did it again for me. We're in Orlando for 8 days starting Monday and wanted a fullsize for the trip. So I shopped around, using mousesavers.com's discount codes, and the very best deal I could find was at Dollar. I reserved a car from them a few weeks ago.

Yesterday I bid on a fullsize at Priceline, offering $100 less than Dollar's price. My offer was accepted by National, so I cancelled my Dollar ressie. That's $100 less than the best rate I could find anywhere, and a whole lot less than National was charging for the same car I'm getting.

It seems to work best if you wait until you're near your trip, and it doesn't work well on convertibles, probably due to limited availability. The other thing is that much of your rental's cost is Florida taxes and fees of all sorts, and you have to pay those no matter what. That means there's a limit to how much you can save.

Still, that's an extra $100 in spending money for next week!

 

[jekjones1558]

Can you tell me where to look to get the Alamo code for an extra driver? We almost always use Alamo. You can check in online and breeze right past the line to get your card. It would be awesome to be able to have another driver!

I.D. #430710. Alamo also now has kiosks for check-in at MCO and many other airports, which will also allow you to enter the extra driver's info. Then just go pick out a car.

 

[SoloCan]

From other thread:
#1 - VOTED BEST Avis AWD discount code C031529
C031529
-Avis is an outsanding business class car rental agencies. Above average car and service.
-Excellent Rate
-Free unlimited miles
-Discounted one way rentals
-No driving area restriction (except you shall not drive into Mexico)
-NO ID check is needed in order to use this code. The code belongs to some technology company
-Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) included ($3000 deductible)
-Outstanding fleet

Stack your saving with coupon. Check this thread: AVIS

#2 - VOTED BEST HERTZ CDP discount code 1757580
Hertz CDP discount code 1757580
Bookable on Hertz.com

-Best premium business class car rental agency
-Excellent Rates
-Outstanding fleet. Interesting Hertz Prestige/Fun/Green Collection.
-Unlimited miles (even for one way trips)
-Anyone can use this code, this belongs to Car and Driver Magazine
readers (go pick one up from a magazine stand?)
-Hertz has excellent area / branch coverage
-Most airport locations are 24 hours and will stay open late until your
flight arrive

Stack your saving with coupon. search for the Hertz coupon thread.