May 2019 Car Rental Thread

[twoolle]

Check Trip Advisor. Lots of bad reviews.

Uh oh i have a minivan booked with them for $220 for 5 days. It was $100 cheaper than anything else, now I am worried.

 

[twoolle]

We haven't rented a car at an airport in over 10 years. Can someone please walk me thru what the logistics are from deboarding to driving off in car? We booked with Advantage. We will have 4 kids with us so any tips are much appreciated!

 

[goobylal]

Uh oh i have a minivan booked with them for $220 for 5 days. It was $100 cheaper than anything else, now I am worried.

Advantage was $22 cheaper than Alamo (using Costco code) for me. Not worth the lower price for the potential hassle.

 

[goobylal]

We haven't rented a car at an airport in over 10 years. Can someone please walk me thru what the logistics are from deboarding to driving off in car? We booked with Advantage. We will have 4 kids with us so any tips are much appreciated!

When the kids were younger, I would help DW with the luggage, go get the car, and then bring it outside the luggage area, and then we'd load everyone and everything in.

 

[staceyj2]

I got a much cheaper rate today than I did a week ago. Full-size. 5/27-6/4 (9 days) for $238. Used Costco travel site. Last week it was $360.

 

[Halle]

We haven't rented a car at an airport in over 10 years. Can someone please walk me thru what the logistics are from deboarding to driving off in car? We booked with Advantage. We will have 4 kids withI highly recommend us so any tips are much appreciated!

I highly recommending having a Skycap help you with the luggage so you can concentrate on the kiddos.

 

[wings91]

We haven't rented a car at an airport in over 10 years. Can someone please walk me thru what the logistics are from deboarding to driving off in car? We booked with Advantage. We will have 4 kids with us so any tips are much appreciated!

In the case of not being familiar with renting and with having children along, I would really suggest going with Alamo even if it's a higher rate. Check-in is all done online so you go DIRECTLY from baggage claim to the Alamo section of the garage (short walk), and pick the car you want out of the type that you reserved. If you keep watching and using all the codes, you can usually get within $100 if not even closer compared to the discount chains.

The ease at which Alamo is done is well worth the extra cost.

Good Luck

 

[madaboutMickey]

Finally booked airfare for our May/June trip. Got a much better price if we added a day which meant I had to change our Alamo car rental and that price went down also!!!!! 7 pass Minivan 5/29-6/5 $414.24 p/u & d/o at MCO

 

[rlduvall]

Finally booked airfare for our May/June trip. Got a much better price if we added a day which meant I had to change our Alamo car rental and that price went down also!!!!! 7 pass Minivan 5/29-6/5 $414.24 p/u & d/o at MCO

Don't you just love when it works out that way!!!!

 

[madaboutMickey]

Don't you just love when it works out that way!!!!

 

[madaboutMickey]

Yes! And to make it even better, today I changed my p/u time 1/2 earlier and it dropped down to $384.47!!

 

[Day-Day]

Finally booked flights so just got into booking a rental. The best rate I have so far is through my company's discount code along with AU2291VYT coupon (free upgrade) with Alamo. Dates are May 23-June 1 (THU-SAT); $334 full size.

My company discount is never the best deal but it is at the moment and is still not a "good" rate. On my last trip, I used my USAA discount which had never before been the best deal I could find so you just never know.

ETA: Just checked today using Costco code 7014627; Costco price is $6 cheaper than my current rate. Also, the Visit Orlando code 7016220 also gave me the same price today as my company discount.

 

[SinCityMMAFan]

Alamo has worked well for me in the past and no exception for this up coming trip May 9th - May 18th. Got the standard or mid-size car reserved the other day using the coupon code AD2824JAR and contract id 552858 and paid $273 in total. I am also an Alamo Insiders member. Love using them because they have the skip the counter option where you enter all your info and credit card info before you leave and print out your paperwork then when you arrive at MCO you grab your bags and head right to the parking garage to select your vehicle. Keys are inside and you just drive to the booth hand over your DL and CC and in a minute or two are on your way.

 

[wings91]

Alamo down $40 today for May 3-11. SUV with costco & $25 coupon.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Check those rates, fellow May travelers. Prices for my dates have been nudging down bit by bit over the past few days, and we're now under $300 for our trip (Standard SUV, May 4th to 11th inclusive). Current price is $287.94. Under $300 was the goal, and we've met it. Now.....how low will it go?

 

[SinCityMMAFan]

Check those rates, fellow May travelers. Prices for my dates have been nudging down bit by bit over the past few days, and we're now under $300 for our trip (Standard SUV, May 4th to 11th inclusive). Current price is $287.94. Under $300 was the goal, and we've met it. Now.....how low will it go?

I've heard from numerous people that 5 days out is a great time to check. I'm happy with my May 9th - May 18th mid size rental I got from Alamo for $273. But I would be happier if I was able to snatch it for even lower lol

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I've heard from numerous people that 5 days out is a great time to check. I'm happy with my May 9th - May 18th mid size rental I got from Alamo for $273. But I would be happier if I was able to snatch it for even lower lol

We have been renting vehicles for our Orlando vacations for the last 17 (?) trips, and we haven't found last-minute price drops in years. Now, that said, we dont rent with any offsite or lesser known agencies, either......we stick generally to Alamo and, on a rare occasions (with less than stellar results), Budget or Dollar. While we will continue to check rates right up to our departure day, I wont be surprised if this current rate ends up being "the one".

 

[Day-Day]

We have been renting vehicles for our Orlando vacations for the last 17 (?) trips, and we haven't found last-minute price drops in years. Now, that said, we dont rent with any offsite or lesser known agencies, either......we stick generally to Alamo and, on a rare occasions (with less than stellar results), Budget or Dollar. While we will continue to check rates right up to our departure day, I wont be surprised if this current rate ends up being "the one".

My experience has been similar. It seems that almost every trip is different for best rates; different discounts, best deal found different time periods with relation to rental date, different companies, etc. Alamo has been the most consistent but there are some variants that always have high prices but maybe one time, they end up having the best rate.

I think the closest I found my best deal for a specific trip was about 2.5 to 3 weeks prior to the rental date. In most cases, my best deals have ended up being two to four months out from the rental date. I try to check all the way up to arrival day but have never had luck 5 days out or closer.

 

[Keacc]

Check those rates, fellow May travelers. Prices for my dates have been nudging down bit by bit over the past few days, and we're now under $300 for our trip (Standard SUV, May 4th to 11th inclusive). Current price is $287.94. Under $300 was the goal, and we've met it. Now.....how low will it go?

Hi Gina. Do you normally get a Std SUV from Alamo? If so, what do you see in their Std SUV aisle?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi Gina. Do you normally get a Std SUV from Alamo? If so, what do you see in their Std SUV aisle?

We actually always reserve an intermediate SUV.....its only the two of us, so we really dont "need" anything bigger, and it keeps.the cost more manageable. But, for whatever reason, this time prices for a standard SUV have been even lower than the intermediate so we are more than happy to have a larger vehicle.

I'll be very interested to see what our choices are!

The Costco site says it's will be a Nissan Pathfinder or similar. The intermediate lists a Toyota Rav 4 or similar.