What I found out today about Alamo's reservation time changes.....

[jgraney106]

Today I found out that my Airtran flight time was changed.So, first thing I tried to do was change the pick up time on our Alamo rental car. (We have a really good rate now of $428 for a full size for 2 weeks) When I tried to modify the reservation the price went up to $1071 for the same time frame only it would only be a couple hours later to pick up. I nearly fell over!
So I called Alamo and told them that my flight had been change by Airtran and when I tried to modify my reservation it was 2 1/2 times more in cost, for just a pick up time change.
Well , Alamo told me on the phone that your reservation is held for you, for 6 hours! I didn't know that! So, to make a long story short , my reservation still is booked at the same low rate and the new flight time is well within the 6 hour time frame!
Hopefully this will save someone else the problem of thinking they need to change the time on their reservation, and possibly lose a great rate and pay a whole bunch more by using the modify online. It sure saved me !

 

[a1tinkfans]

Glad the car situation worked out for you. I keep hearing about Airtran and these time changes, thats awful.
Good Luck!!!! Hope it all works out for you!

 

[twinsplusone]

Glad you could keep the same great rate. I've been in the similar situation and Alamo was wonderful to deal with when I called. They changed the time on my reservation just to make me feel better. I didn't want any confusion with my reservation.

 

[WendyisDarling]

Add me to glad it worked out.
Not sure if that happens much to others, but a couple of times Air Tran has changed the time only to send an email a couple days later to change it back.

 

[keishashadow]

OP i've called & asked both Alamo & National to change times on existing ressies when AT has moved things drastically, they've always been accommodating & ive kept the same low rate. Not sure if they only do it for members of their reward programs or not.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Did the reservation agent say your rate was valid for up to 6 hours after pick-up time or just that your reservation is held for you up to 6 hours? This is important because rental agencies can re-rate your reservation at time of pick-up or return if you failed to meet the original rental agreement (times/dates). Based on the duration of your rental I wouldn't think a change of a few hours would effect your rate, but others with different lengths of reservation may find themselves not meeting the rate requirements.

 

[jgraney106]

Alamo said the original reservation was held for 6 hours from the original time it was booked. (Example: Our original pickup time was 5:00pm. So it would be held until 11:00pm. We will be picking the car up at 8:30pm, so we are in the 6 hour time frame.We made it clear that we didn't want to increase the total owed, and she said it would remain the same as long as it was picked up before the 6 hours ran out.) We did book a car with Dollar just in case . It is a smaller car (intermediate) than the Alamo car (fullsize) is , but the prices are within $8.00 of each other. We will just cancel the one we don't use when we get there.

 

[leebee]

I have a cousin who works for Alamo. She said this is why the car rental agencies ask for your airline info. They can easily check and see if your flight is early, late, cancelled, whatever. It helps them with their inventory, and of course is good for customer service because they know what's going on with your flight and will hold the ressie for you if there's a flight issue.

 

[dioxide45]

This is good to know. I have always suspected this but it is good to confirm it. The problem happens though if your flight changes to an earlier time. They usually won't let you pick up six hours in advance.

 

[goofy370]

My problem is this...

I booked a flight with Spirit with a lay over. We were scheduled to arrive MCO at 1:50 pm. Spirit cancelled that flight and put me on a direct flight arriving at 9am. My rental is of course at 2. Everything is so expensive now. Do you think Alamo would let me change the pickup location and keep it the same rate or close?

Thanks,

Tracie

 

[jgraney106]

I would call Alamo and tell them your situation. Is your old flight number on your original reservation?That way they could check if they wanted to see that the original flight was changed. I would think they would let you keep the reservation price as is, because it wasn't your fault that the flight was changed. Give them a call. Good luck, I hope things all work out for you.

 

[jessrose18]

was doing a search on this same question..thanks for posting. Scored a great car rental for december trip, now found best airfare for 2 hours later than I reserved the car for and rate goes way up if i try to modify the ressie. I will just call and explain and hopefully keep my rate. I really have liked alamos service at mco.