Sunpass and MCO car rental

[CyndiLooWho]

Can you still "borrow" a Sunpass toll pass at MCO? Back in May, Sunpass was offering a complimentary pass you could pick up at MCO and use for the duration of your trip. It sounds like you completed some info and they attached your credit card to a hang tag for your rental car. I can't find any mention of it on the Sunpass website today, just the May 2019 article in the Orlando Sentinal.

We are renting a car Jan 23-30 for our WDW / USO trip. We normally drive and I have a Sunpass sticker on my out of state car. Love skipping the cash lines at toll plazas and the toll by plate fees. I don't want to fly with a bunch of change, but I also don't want to pay full price at the tolls plus a "convenience fee" to the rental car agency if I can get away with it.

edit to correct date

 

[snoopboop]

Honestly, I chalk the convenience fee up to just that - the convenience of being able to just breeze through those toll l locations without having to worry. It's worth it to me to pay a nominal fee for that convenience - but that's just my two cents.

For what it's worth, you could purchase your own Sunpass transponder if you travel to Orlando with some frequency. I'm not seeing anything online about the "borrow a transponder" program - it sounds like it was just a pilot and perhaps they didn't find the program to be well-received or worth their expense.

 

[Chris Ehlers]

Most if not all the Rental cars include the pass as it is tied to the license plate.they will just add it onto your bill after you return.

P.S. there is a convenience charge so if your just using it to get from MCO to Disney I would just pay out of pocket at the toll booths

 

[CyndiLooWho]

For what it's worth, you could purchase your own Sunpass transponder if you travel to Orlando with some frequency. I'm not seeing anything online about the "borrow a transponder" program - it sounds like it was just a pilot and perhaps they didn't find the program to be well-received or worth their expense.

I do have a Sunpass account, but we didn't get the movable transponder, since we haven't flown to Orlando in decades. I have the one that sticks to the windshield. Worth it, since we've driven to Orlando 4x so far with this car. Same with the old car. Now that we travel without the kids more often, I'll probably change to a movable transponder at some point, maybe when EZpass works on all the toll roads in FL & GA, we can move to that.

 

[erionm]

Can you still "borrow" a Sunpass toll pass at MCO? Back in May, Sunpass was offering a complimentary pass you could pick up at MCO and use for the duration of your trip. It sounds like you completed some info and they attached your credit card to a hang tag for your rental car.

The "Visitor Toll Pass" program has been temporarily suspended due to the pandemic.

I can't find any mention of it on the Sunpass website today.

You won't find it on the SunPass website because it's not from SunPass. The Visitor Toll Pass was being operated by the Central FL Expressway Authority (group that operates the other FL toll system called E-PASS).

Visitor Toll Pass website: https://visitortollpass.com/

 

[leebee]

Also remember that different car rental agencies charge different "convenience fees" with different "usage" requirements. For example, in addition to the cost of the toll, Hertz charges a $5 (or maybe $6) fee for using plate-pass ONLY on the days it is used. Dollar charges a $13 fee for plate-pass, and once you activate it you are charged $13 for EACH day of the rental, even if your car is parked in a resort parking lot the whole time, even if you don't actually use the plate-pass until your last day of vacation as you are returning the car to the airport.

I miss the toll-pass program, as it was easy and accurate. I think if we go back to Florida again I'll get the "free" sticker for the rental car. It's a pain to have to sit in the parking garage and add the car info to your account, but it's better than paying Dollar $13 a day for nothing.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

The "Visitor Toll Pass" program has been temporarily suspended due to the pandemic.

You won't find it on the SunPass website because it's not from SunPass. The Visitor Toll Pass was being operated by the Central FL Expressway Authority (group that operates the other FL toll system called E-PASS).

Visitor Toll Pass website: https://visitortollpass.com/

Perfect! Can't use it this trip, but I'm working hard to make this a recurring January event, so with a little luck, this will work for us in Jan 2022.

 

[Akck]

We got the Uni portable transponder for our trip in December and it was well worth it. The savings from discounted tolls plus no rental car service fees paid for the transponder that trip, so future use will be all savings.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

We got the Uni portable transponder for our trip in December and it was well worth it. The savings from discounted tolls plus no rental car service fees paid for the transponder that trip, so future use will be all savings.

Thank you! Looking at getting this from Amazon before our trip. Looks like it works in several places where I've been billed by plate in the last couple of years (VA, KY, IL) so this will be worth it. Now I will just have to scrape the SunPass sticker off my windshield after I use the last of my credit.

 

[erionm]

Thank you! Looking at getting this from Amazon before our trip. Looks like it works in several places where I've been billed by plate in the last couple of years (VA, KY, IL) so this will be worth it. Now I will just have to scrape the SunPass sticker off my windshield after I use the last of my credit.

If you order a Uni from Amazon, you will pay more than if you order direct from the Central FL Expressway Authority. It's $18.50 from Amazon, while only $14.95 direct from CFX. When you order from CFX, they will add $10 to the total price which will fund the initial balance on your E-PASS account.

https://www.cfxway.com/uni/

 

[disney212]

We have been using our portable transponder for 7 years on rental cars, we don't have rolls in our area. It's still works.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

If you order a Uni from Amazon, you will pay more than if you order direct from the Central FL Expressway Authority. It's $18.50 from Amazon, while only $14.95 direct from CFX. When you order from CFX, they will add $10 to the total price which will fund the initial balance on your E-PASS account.

https://www.cfxway.com/uni/

That's true, but the CFX website says it takes 7-21 days for delivery v. free with Prime shipping arriving Sun/Mon. We leave in 11 days; I don't have the time to wait. We'll save half that $3 on the discounted tolls during our first stay. Beats the heck out of $5.95 per toll day + non-discounted tolls at Hertz. Plus I'll have it for a lot of other trips.

If I were more on the ball, I'd get it from CFX, but I was expecting to get the Epass placard at MCO.

 

[Akck]

It took over 21 day to receive the transponder from CFX for us. I was worried enough that I ordered a free sticker at the 21 day mark and they both arrived about the same time. It did cost us another $10 deposit, but that was spent during our December trip.

 

[joelkfla]

Thank you! Looking at getting this from Amazon before our trip. Looks like it works in several places where I've been billed by plate in the last couple of years (VA, KY, IL) so this will be worth it. Now I will just have to scrape the SunPass sticker off my windshield after I use the last of my credit.

You can close the SunPass account, and the balance will be refunded eventually. https://www.sunpass.com/en/support/faq.shtml

If not, be sure to keep UNI in an RF-shielded bag if it's in the car when you're using up your SunPass sticker, so you don't get double-billed. I think it will be delivered in an RF-shielded bag.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I used a Uni on my last trip. It works great. The only issue I've had is that you're supposed to be able to update the license plate on the app, but I've had to call every time. Each time, it tells me that the plate is already in use. They can fix it quickly when I call, it's just a nuisance.

 

[Spartan86]

I used a Uni on my last trip. It works great. The only issue I've had is that you're supposed to be able to update the license plate on the app, but I've had to call every time. Each time, it tells me that the plate is already in use. They can fix it quickly when I call, it's just a nuisance.

Sorry for your trouble. I have moved my UNI between cars at home and rental cars fairly easily by using the EPass app. I wish it stored a list so you didn't have to re-enter your primary vehicle information when you are done with the rental, but it is a minor nuisance.