Thrifty/Dollar..or just wait it out

[rackerlee92]

We need a rental car for 9 days late Jan. 2013-early Feb 2013.

I have enough SW points to rent an intermediate class through Thrifty for no charge.

OR

I see that Dollar has a standard for about $315 in their "city specials". Still rather expensive...

We've rented with Alamo in the past, but right now they are well over $500.

Is it too early?

Is Thrifty a good company to work with? What about Dollar?

Thanks!

 

[Wild4Walt]

I've rented through Thrifty the last two years and had no problems at all. They run pretty similarly to most other car companies.

We are renting a Mid-Size SUV for 306.00 with tax for 9 days starting next week, but that deal came out last week. I monitored for a few months - the same type started out at over 600.00 in May when I started looking.

Although, free is free if you use your points.

 

[jworthy]

I think its way too early to worry about a rental. We had a reservation with Dollar as a backup, but it wan't till a couple of days ago that we got a good rate of $159 for 9/full for Oct. 17. Your best rates will most likely be a week or so before you go.

 

[Michael623]

I've rented through Thrifty the last two years and had no problems at all. They run pretty similarly to most other car companies.

We are renting a Mid-Size SUV for 306.00 with tax for 9 days starting next week, but that deal came out last week. I monitored for a few months - the same type started out at over 600.00 in May when I started looking.

Although, free is free if you use your points.

I agree with this! I used Thrifty last month and it was a pleasant surprise, very easy. My previous experience with them at MCO was probably 10 years ago when they were off-site and it wasn't good at all. It seems since they moved their operation on-site they've really cleaned it up. I have a reservation with them for next month and I have no qualms at all about using them again. I can't really advise you on using the points. I usually just crunch the numbers and see which option gives me the best bang for the buck.

 

[robinb]

Make sure that you have a back-up reserved while you wait for rates to go down.

Would you use your SWA points for air travel? Anything else? It may be a good use of those points.

 

[rackerlee92]

I've rented through Thrifty the last two years and had no problems at all. They run pretty similarly to most other car companies.

We are renting a Mid-Size SUV for 306.00 with tax for 9 days starting next week, but that deal came out last week. I monitored for a few months - the same type started out at over 600.00 in May when I started looking.

Although, free is free if you use your points.

Glad to hear that you've had positive experiences! Free is free, but not worth it if we have a bad experience.

So...similar to other car companies in that we can go to the lot and pick out our car of choice within our catergory?

Thanks again!

 

[rackerlee92]

Make sure that you have a back-up reserved while you wait for rates to go down.

Would you use your SWA points for air travel? Anything else? It may be a good use of those points.

Thanks for the advice. We do have a back up reservation - although still quite high for my liking.

I use my SW card for everything and then pay off at the end of the billing cycle, so we rack up points pretty quickly. We've been fortunate enough to book all of our flights recently with points, but thought that saving the car rental fee would be a bonus. Not completely sure if we will go this route or not.

OT - we are about 2 hrs north of you. Love visiting WDW at the end of a long winter.

 

[robinb]

Glad to hear that you've had positive experiences! Free is free, but not worth it if we have a bad experience.

So...similar to other car companies in that we can go to the lot and pick out our car of choice within our catergory?

Thanks again!

Not all car companies allow you to pick your own car. I have not rented from them in a while, but I believe that you are assigned a car.

PSA: Make sure that you double-check the car for damage and mark it on the form. Thrifty was the only car company who ever tried to charge me with damage when I returned the car. I objected to it in writing and told them that it was midnight when I picked the car up and didn't see the damage. I am now extra careful when I pick up a car from ANY company since ANY company can attempt to charge you for damage done to their car. I have rented from Thrifty before then and since and would rent from them again.