US Alamo vs UK Alamo

[GirlDreamer]

I'm so shocked right now! I knew Disney has very different prices for UK people, but I had no idea the same was true for Alamo. I heard of the insider thing, so I signed up to see what prices they had to offer. The UK site doesn't offer that, so had to do it on the US site. The price for a rental car for 14 days next sept. was about £900 with a 10% discount ($1400 and that includes the necessary insurance and GPS)!!! On the UK site with no discount codes what so ever the price for the same car with the same insurance and GPS was £300 ($470).

Is it like this with all car rental companies?

 

[tinka-belle]

Most car rental companies in the U.S. post their discounts, coupons, and sale rates much closer to the travel dates, I'd estimate 3 or maybe 4 months out. September 2012 is too far in the future for any discounted rates. And in the U. S. car rental rates can change as often as airline fares do!

So even when you've got an acceptable rate, keep checking to see if it goes down further as you get closer to your trip. September is an off travel month here, rates will most likely be very good when they post discounts.

 

[NotUrsula]

Yes, generally it is. The reason for that is that if you are on the site for your country of residence and renting in another country, you qualify for special rates that are not offered to residents of that country, and which typically include all needed foreign insurance cover at a flat rate, rather than as a daily add-on fee.

As a general rule, even though it seems to defy common sense, doing an international transaction and sort of proudly announcing that you are planning on driving in an unfamiliar country will induce the company to offer you a better rate.