Rental car newbie

[jmartinez1895]

We always stay on property and use Disney transportation, but this time we are staying off property and will need to rent a car/suv when we arrive.
We have never done the rental car thing so I’m at a complete loss on what the best options are going to be. We need it April 30-May7. When should I book for the best deals.
We will need something bigger than a standard car because we will have a car seat, stroller, wheelchair, luggage and 4 bodies ( 1 in the car seat).
Thanks for any advice.

 

[sam_gordon]

We always stay on property and use Disney transportation, but this time we are staying off property and will need to rent a car/suv when we arrive.
We have never done the rental car thing so I’m at a complete loss on what the best options are going to be. We need it April 30-May7. When should I book for the best deals.
We will need something bigger than a standard car because we will have a car seat, stroller, wheelchair, luggage and 4 bodies ( 1 in the car seat).
Thanks for any advice.

You can book something now (just don't utilize the "pay now" option). This locks you into something. Then, I would keep looking multiple times a week. Find a cheaper price? Book it and cancel the old. Rinse & repeat. Just make sure you're not booking something that you can't cancel.

 

[monorailsilver]

Look now, book now and check daily to see if the rate changes.

There are minivans that you can rent.

If you are a Costco member, book thru them. We are not but we belong to BJs so I book thru them.

 

[cruisin5]

Make sure the credit card you use to pay for rental matches the name of the driver.

Some companies like Avis, Budget, and Alamo allow you to skip the counter going directly to the garage to pick your car. Look for their preferred renter program, no charge to sign up.

Costco consistently has the lowest rates. Unfortunately, we don't have any where I live so AARP works best for me.

 

[richmo]

The advice above is excellent. I would encourage you to use one of the "at terminal" agencies. Most of the big names are onsite now. If you pick one offsite, you might get a better price, but its not worth your time.

If you're a Costco member, you can use costcotravel.com to check rates for your dates and you'll get an idea of what it will cost. As mentioned above, go ahead and book something, but don't do a prepay. If a Costco member, you can book on that site...or you can go to the agency site and usually get the same rates (bring any contract id's and coupons along that you found on Costco). If not a Costco member, you can use something like Kayak or travelocity for research to get an idea of what rates are, but I'd encourage you to book directly on the vendors site.

The other advice about checking back is good. Rates will sometimes go down, even within a week of travel. Sometimes the best rates are found between 3 weeks and 1 week before your trip...but don't count on this! Book something now, and check back when you can. Cancel previous reservations when you don't need them.

Also, its a good idea to sign up for the "insiders" or frequent renter program for whichever agency you use. Often this will allow you to online checkins, skip the counter, etc. If you can avoid having to stop at the rental counter before leaving the terminal, you can save huge amounts of time. (If you do have to stop at the counter, have the driver do that while family waits for luggage. At least you'll save a little time)

 

[rwdavis2]

A good way to check and compare rates is through Expedia. If you find one you like book it directly with the rental company, NOT Expedia.

 

[EACarlson]

Check the rental car coverage on whatever card you use. The Chase Sapphire cards include primary car rental insurance automatically, American Express you can purchase it. All of the other ones I'm aware of it's secondary to your own auto insurance, so your insurance pays for as much as possible, then they will pay what is left over.

Figure out if you really need to use their toll program or if you can either use your own or pay cash. If you are only going from the airport to WDW and back you can pay cash at the two tolls, I know there is another toll system where you don't have that option though.

 

[writerguyfl]

Check the rental car coverage on whatever card you use. The Chase Sapphire cards include primary car rental insurance automatically, American Express you can purchase it. All of the other ones I'm aware of it's secondary to your own auto insurance, so your insurance pays for as much as possible, then they will pay what is left over.

The primary/secondary insurance part is important. Although simplified, secondary means that if you get into an accident, it's likely that your insurance rates will go up.

It's probably also work noting that not all credit cards include rental car insurance. Also, not all personal auto insurance includes rental car coverage.

 

[rg35]

Some companies like Avis, Budget, and Alamo allow you to skip the counter going directly to the garage to pick your car. Look for their preferred renter program, no charge to sign up.

Some of these programs may require you to visit the counter for your first rental. For example when I signed up for AVIS preferred, I still had to go to the counter as it was my first rental since signing up for the program. I guess the purpose is to verify who you say you are. This was 4-5 years ago though and things may have changed since then.