thelionqueen
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2005
- Messages
- 5,384
Hello all, after having read many different opinions and "facts" regarding car rental through Costco, I thought I'd share our recent experiences.
Many people wanted to know if you needed to be a Costco member and show your membership card when picking up your car. The "official" response from Alamo and Costco is that YES you needed to be a member at the time of pick-up and it was mandatory that you show your Costco card.
We rented through Alamo (through Costco.com) and used the coupon they offered. I am a Costco member, and made sure to pack my card.
Upon pick-up I handed the girl my reservation and coupon. She was typing all the info. in when I asked her if she needed anything else (not trying to lead her in any way). She looked over the entire reservation for a while and said "No, I have everything I need." After the entire reservation was complete and I was getting ready to walk away, I asked her why she didn't need to see my Costco card. She looked over the reservation again, and stated that it "in no way" references a Costco membership discount, nor is the card required. I briefly told her the debate on these boards and she said "yeah, they want you to be a member, but honestly anyone can get this discount. Discounts are coded, and the agents don't know the majority of the codes listed. She said there were "hundreds"
Another Alamo rental (Las Vegas), same reservation scenario (Costco.com) w/coupon. To save lots of worthless info. basically the same result. Never asked for card and didn't need it (or want it) even after I explained the situation. This agent said that in her 8 years as an Alamo agent, she has never asked about a Costco card needing to be shown at pick-up.
Basically, take this info. for what you will. This is the 3rd time in total I've used Costco travel for rental cars and no one in 3 different cities have asked for my card. Of course the "official" word is that you must be a member and must show your card at time of pick-up. But our "real world" experience thus far does not support this. Just wanted to let you know.
Many people wanted to know if you needed to be a Costco member and show your membership card when picking up your car. The "official" response from Alamo and Costco is that YES you needed to be a member at the time of pick-up and it was mandatory that you show your Costco card.
We rented through Alamo (through Costco.com) and used the coupon they offered. I am a Costco member, and made sure to pack my card.
Upon pick-up I handed the girl my reservation and coupon. She was typing all the info. in when I asked her if she needed anything else (not trying to lead her in any way). She looked over the entire reservation for a while and said "No, I have everything I need." After the entire reservation was complete and I was getting ready to walk away, I asked her why she didn't need to see my Costco card. She looked over the reservation again, and stated that it "in no way" references a Costco membership discount, nor is the card required. I briefly told her the debate on these boards and she said "yeah, they want you to be a member, but honestly anyone can get this discount. Discounts are coded, and the agents don't know the majority of the codes listed. She said there were "hundreds"
Another Alamo rental (Las Vegas), same reservation scenario (Costco.com) w/coupon. To save lots of worthless info. basically the same result. Never asked for card and didn't need it (or want it) even after I explained the situation. This agent said that in her 8 years as an Alamo agent, she has never asked about a Costco card needing to be shown at pick-up.
Basically, take this info. for what you will. This is the 3rd time in total I've used Costco travel for rental cars and no one in 3 different cities have asked for my card. Of course the "official" word is that you must be a member and must show your card at time of pick-up. But our "real world" experience thus far does not support this. Just wanted to let you know.
