What's considered early return on car rental

[bbwhos]

Does anyone know what happens if we return our rental car (Alamo) 1 hour early (any penalty)? I don't want to book the half hour as rates go way up. I am debating going up to the next hour versus down just in case we need the time (although we always arrive to MCO 2 hrs prior to our flight).

 

[DVCconvert]

In general, anything (pick up or drop off) within one hour before to one hour after the selected time is ok, no penalties.

HTH

 

[seashoreCM]

Usually if you don't reduce the number of full 24 hour segments you had the car (such as from 5 full days to 4 days 23 hours) there will be no penalty.

 

[bbwhos]

Thanks. I saw on alamo's website, you are permitted up to 29 minutes late but it doesn't mention early at all. I don't like to be late; I think I will just stick with 11 am and be 2.5 hrs early for our 1:30 flight. We'll visit the mall before we go through security or something. Save the couple extra bucks.

 

[gmeh1]

In general, anything (pick up or drop off) within one hour before to one hour after the selected time is ok, no penalties.

HTH

Most of the car agencies have changed the drop of "grace period" to 29 minutes.

 

[robinb]

Returning a car less than 23 hours early should be perfectly fine. They don't mind as long as you have kept the car the number of car rental "days" you said you would. A car rental day is a 24-hour period, not a calendar day.

 

[jerlove]

That is correct most companies have changed the grace period to 29 minutes. If you are a few hours early it is no worries there are no extra fees for being early.

Typically the hourly fee is around 30% of the daily rate. Once the hour fees exceed the daily rate then it is determined to be an extra day.

 

[DVCconvert]

most companies have changed the grace period to 29 minutes

well that sucks! ...thanks for the heads up!

 

[seashoreCM]

Now that you know the grace period is 29 minutes (some rental agencies don't have a grace periods) you just need to plan.

Shoot to be back at the rental office X minutes before the rental period officially ends.

The extra hour rate and the extra day rate are not necessarily honored if you return the car late without permission.

I'll discuss what X should be at a later date.

 

[Brandon21]

any time before you drop off time

 

[bbwhos]

Alamo's rates shot up yesterday big time so we'll be sticking with my 11 am return time rez. Soooo glad I got the price I did before the spike in rates!

 

[disney_bob]

I picked up 15 minutes early once with National and upon return they tried to charge me another $150 (on a 3 day rental?). Needless to say I stopped in my tracks and the extra charge was removed.

They said that anything after the pick up time is fine but anything (even 5 minutes) before incurs extra charges. Beware.

 

[bbwhos]

Thanks. Yeah, I've tried to pu like 5 min early from Alamo (kiosk) and it didn't honor my rate. When I asked the counter staff, they said I had to wait until exactly 9 am (not 8:55 am) to pu. Hertz told me last May that if we pu half hour early then we'd have to return half hour earlier than our rez.

 

[jerlove]

I picked up 15 minutes early once with National and upon return they tried to charge me another $150 (on a 3 day rental?). Needless to say I stopped in my tracks and the extra charge was removed.

They said that anything after the pick up time is fine but anything (even 5 minutes) before incurs extra charges. Beware.

Not quite 100% accuarte.

Essentially rentals work on a 24 hour basis so if you pick up the car at 9:00am than the next day at 9:00am is one full day. If your reservation was for 9:00 am and you picked up the car at say 8:30am than 8:30 am the next day would be your full day. If you tried to return the car at 9:00am the next day after picking it up at 8:30 than yes there could be additional charges as you kept it for more than the 24 hours.

I have worked in the industry for nearly 15 years and have never heard of a company charging you more because you were minutes early. Not saying it did not happen in your cirucmstances but I have never seen or heard of it. Least of all from the major players such as National Alamo Hertz ect.

 

[JimboCh]

Not quite 100% accuarte.

Essentially rentals work on a 24 hour basis so if you pick up the car at 9:00am than the next day at 9:00am is one full day. If your reservation was for 9:00 am and you picked up the car at say 8:30am than 8:30 am the next day would be your full day. If you tried to return the car at 9:00am the next day after picking it up at 8:30 than yes there could be additional charges as you kept it for more than the 24 hours.

I have worked in the industry for nearly 15 years and have never heard of a company charging you more because you were minutes early. Not saying it did not happen in your cirucmstances but I have never seen or heard of it. Least of all from the major players such as National Alamo Hertz ect.

What would Alamo do:

I have 2 car rentals, Both are One ways from MCO to FLL

Premium Car- Pickup Tuesday 10pm--Drop off Sunday 10pm..........Cost $179

Fullsize Car Pickup Tuesday 10pm--Drop off following Tuesday 10pm Cost $118

Now heres the question? I really only need the car until Sunday like the first reservation, What will Alamo charge me if I bring the car back on Sunday if I use the second reservation? Will they still charge me $118 or try to charge me the daily rate since I'm bringing the car back early?

 

[disney_bob]

Not quite 100% accuarte.

Essentially rentals work on a 24 hour basis so if you pick up the car at 9:00am than the next day at 9:00am is one full day. If your reservation was for 9:00 am and you picked up the car at say 8:30am than 8:30 am the next day would be your full day. If you tried to return the car at 9:00am the next day after picking it up at 8:30 than yes there could be additional charges as you kept it for more than the 24 hours.

I have worked in the industry for nearly 15 years and have never heard of a company charging you more because you were minutes early. Not saying it did not happen in your cirucmstances but I have never seen or heard of it. Least of all from the major players such as National Alamo Hertz ect.

Its as accurate as what I was told and the experience I had. 12pm on one day to 10am three days later.

 

[gmeh1]

What would Alamo do:

I have 2 car rentals, Both are One ways from MCO to FLL

Premium Car- Pickup Tuesday 10pm--Drop off Sunday 10pm..........Cost $179

Fullsize Car Pickup Tuesday 10pm--Drop off following Tuesday 10pm Cost $118

Now heres the question? I really only need the car until Sunday like the first reservation, What will Alamo charge me if I bring the car back on Sunday if I use the second reservation? Will they still charge me $118 or try to charge me the daily rate since I'm bringing the car back early?

There is a penalty for bringing the car back early. You might want to call Alamo and get an accurate answer to this question or you could have found the answer on Alamo's web site: Early Return Policy

An Early Return fee is charged at a rate of $15 per rental when a vehicle is returned at least one calendar day early and total daily/weekly charges is less than the initial charged amount. You can find a very comprehensive list of policies by going to Alamo's web site and clicking on "site map" and then "rental contract" and then " rental policies".

 

[NotUrsula]

Its as accurate as what I was told and the experience I had. 12pm on one day to 10am three days later.

And the rental was Thursday to Sun, right? IME, it does matter if you have a weekend rate that requires pickup AFTER 12pm on Thursday and requires a Saturday night keep.

 

[crashbb]

There is a penalty for bringing the car back early. You might want to call Alamo and get an accurate answer to this question or you could have found the answer on Alamo's web site: Early Return Policy

An Early Return fee is charged at a rate of $15 per rental when a vehicle is returned at least one calendar day early and total daily/weekly charges is less than the initial charged amount. You can find a very comprehensive list of policies by going to Alamo's web site and clicking on "site map" and then "rental contract" and then " rental policies".

It might actually be worse than just a $15 fee. If the booking was a weekly booking (and Tuesday to Tuesday sounds like it might be), by returning it on Sunday the PP may no longer meet the requirements of the rental agreement and may be charged the daily rate for the days that he (or she) did have the car.

Car rental companies know that people (not necessarily the OP) will try to book under a weekly (or some other special) deal for which they do not qualify and then just "return early".

 

[gmeh1]

It might actually be worse than just a $15 fee. If the booking was a weekly booking (and Tuesday to Tuesday sounds like it might be), by returning it on Sunday the PP may no longer meet the requirements of the rental agreement and may be charged the daily rate for the days that he (or she) did have the car.

Car rental companies know that people (not necessarily the OP) will try to book under a weekly (or some other special) deal for which they do not qualify and then just "return early".

Could be,but, I was just copying and pasting from the Alamo web site. Best bet, call the car rental agency and ask.