@ webworm or Ted in Halifax.....a car rental question

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hey there webworm and/or Ted in Halifax,

If my memory serves me correctly, you had mentioned some perks of renting from Budget via expedia.ca, but I can't seem to find the thread that covers that discussion.

Was it something about having a free additional driver?

We are going to make our automobile booking for our August trip later this week, and Expedia.ca's prices are by far the best. Dollar is slightly cheaper than Budget (by $5 for the week), but if there's an advantage to book Budget over Dollar, then I'm happy to pay the additional cost.

Would you also know if you can add a coupon to an Expedia booking? (I'm sure you can't, but can't blame a girl for asking!! )

Still hoping we can get the super-low last-minute rate through Alamo that we secured this last trip ($68 taxes in for the week for a Chevy HHR) but we can definitely live with $140 for the week for a full-size with Expedia if the rates don't come down.

Anyone else who may know the answer to these questions, feel free to chime in as well.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

Budget has a standard Second Driver free policy. here's an article on it http://seniortravel.about.com/od/transportationoptions/f/AdditionalDriver.htm

expedia.ca does have a place for a coupon code

I would try both budget and expedia and see what comes up cheaper ... although if you use expedia, Budget has the free second driver (as I understand it)

Read the fine print about expedia.ca ... you pay when you book and I can't recall if there is a cancellation change.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Budget has a standard Second Driver free policy. here's an article on it http://seniortravel.about.com/od/transportationoptions/f/AdditionalDriver.htm

expedia.ca does have a place for a coupon code

I would try both budget and expedia and see what comes up cheaper ... although if you use expedia, Budget has the free second driver (as I understand it)

Read the fine print about expedia.ca ... you pay when you book and I can't recall if there is a cancellation change.

Thanks Ted! That was exactly what I was looking for!

I am totally okay with paying at the time of booking, and they are great for cancelling....we had an Expedia ressie for our New Years trip, and was able to cancel between 7 to 10 days out with no penalty when we found the better rate with Alamo directly. They refunded my payment to my credit card within 24 hours too. Earlier on, I cancelled and rebooked when a cheaper rate became available, again with absolutely no hassle or penalty. I was very impressed!

I will see about adding on a coupon........I thought you could only apply a corporate code. Silly me .

 

[bankr63]

National has second driver free if you are an Emerald Club member (join free on their website). I have used both Budget and National at MCO and much prefer the National experience with the Emerald Aisle. The lineups at the Budget counter inside can be brutal. With National you walk straight out to the lot, pick any car on the row for your size class, and get your paperwork at the gate on the way out. That way you (usually) get some choice for type of car and colour.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Be cautious with expedia...there is a special low rate that requires you to pay in full at time of booking and does not allow you to change or cancel.

Make sure you read everything before you book.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

that requires you to pay in full at time of booking and does not allow you to change or cancel.

As I mentioned before, I am totally okay with paying in full when I book . $139, all taxes and fees included and in Canadian funds, is a good rate that I would be completely satisfied with.

As for the cancellations, I was absolutely able to cancel and rebook (twice) without penalty in late December for our New Years trip. No fuss, no muss, no hassle. All payment was refunded to my credit card in just a day or two.

 

[HunterBoo]

If you have the Budget Fastbreak (free) then you can bypass the counter inside of the airport at MCO. We used it last year and I went out to the wicket in the carport and was the only person there. We did the paperwork and then I went right to the car that he gave us. Easy peasy!

We have a good code ... it is the one I got off of Mousesavers and if you search the Transportation forum you will find a lot of info about it. I don't book expedia, but direct. So far have 225 for a van for the week - which I think is really good considering it is a peak week!

The code is ... X474200 ... it is a code for anyone who has looked at the website Travelocity. I used it last year too.

 

[dancin Disney style]

As I mentioned before, I am totally okay with paying in full when I book . $139, all taxes and fees included and in Canadian funds, is a good rate that I would be completely satisfied with.

As for the cancellations, I was absolutely able to cancel and rebook (twice) without penalty in late December for our New Years trip. No fuss, no muss, no hassle. All payment was refunded to my credit card in just a day or two.

It's not all reservations.....it's a special rate that they offer. You just have to watch what you are booking. The special that is nonrefundable usually has that little detail in red letters on the page right before you pay.

I would be OK with $139....I think that is a fair price for a weeks rental.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

It's not all reservations.....it's a special rate that they offer. You just have to watch what you are booking. The special that is nonrefundable usually has that little detail in red letters on the page right before you pay.

I would be OK with $139....I think that is a fair price for a weeks rental.

So I went with a full size vs. a standard, and it increased the price to $143. Still a great rate considering my other ressie for a smaller car was $275 USD. And this one includes a free extra driver (spouse) which the other did not.

And yes, it *is* cancellable. Copy and pasted from Expedia's website:

Refund
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Car
Refund Amount: C$143.52
Cancellation penalty: -C$0.00
Cancellation penalty:
Standard policy: -C$0.00
Other amount: -C$ Recalculate total refund
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total refund: C$143.52 (Please allow 7 days to process credit due.)


Hopefully this will help someone......it can be a good alternative to booking direct. And I will continue to watch for a better price closer to our travel date .