Car Rental Deals

[MILWDIANA]

Thinking about renting a larger car/SUV for our trip this July. Will be driving from Wisconsin. Any suggestions on which company may offer the best deals???

[faline]

This is one of those areas that you need to do your homework. Typically, I book at the best price I can find and then continue to check prices. If a better deal comes along, I rebook and cancel the first one - Be sure that whatever you're signing up for allows you to do this!

[Missy_Mouses_Dad]

If you have access to an Entertainment book check for coupons. DW always finds good deals. I believe the lowest she has found for this year is Alamo. typically we use a one or two car upgrade coupon.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I just sent you a PM that may help.

[Dopey's Girl]

I just signed up to be an Alamo insider. It's their frequent renter program. They give you a 10% discount all of the time, and have sent me numerous discount options. It saved me about $35 on my next WDW rental, when I had already found a pretty good deal!

[epceddie]

I'm a member of Dollar's Express program and I got a great deal last week. We had booked a compact (a Ford Focus) for six days ($86, $136 after taxes and fees) and we got an upgrade to a Ford Fusion.
Plus, we were able to bypass the counter line and go across the street to a counter in the terminal. We walked right up, they took care of the paperwork in about five minutes and we were on our way.
I also belong to the Emerald Club with National and have gotten some great deals with them. They're fantastic. You walk to the National section in the terminal, find the Emerald Aisle and pick any car you want in the row. Then, you drive to the exit and they check you out. It's about as convenient as you could ever hope for.

[jcvalenti]

I travel a lot and belong to all the insider programs. I usually end up finding my best deals renting through Costco.com (if you're a member). Not only do they usually have the best prices, they have a few other great perks (such as great extra insurance if you rent with their credit card, and a free extra driver).

That being said, there's never going to be one company that always has the best deal. You really have to do your homework, as just about every company sets rates based on how much inventory they have, which really fluctuates.

Since there's no down payment required, and no penalty for just never picking up a reserved auto, I tend to just reserve whatever's cheapest when I start looking, and then check back a few times before a trip and see if anyone beats them (in which case I'll cancel the more expensive rezzie).

[EvilQueen2006]

Name your own price on Priceline has always worked to get me amazing deals. I once got a compact car for $15/day

[brivers222]

Costco travel is awesome in finding best prices... you just put your dates in and they search the top name places for prices.

Alamo has actually dropped $60 since i originally booked with them. I check every day for better deals and like clockwork they lower prices almost daily lol

[mydisneygirls]

I used Alamo in Sept. I rented a mid-size car for a total of $111 for 8 days. When I got there, we were upgraded to a full size! Brivers222, you did the exact same thing I did...check every day.

[goofyfan4466]

great question thanks for all the great info. this is good to know.

[Kairi_7378]

We used Alamo on our last trip and we signed up for the insider program. We got a two-level upgrade and a discount besides.

[ddcrna]

This is one of those areas that you need to do your homework. Typically, I book at the best price I can find and then continue to check prices. If a better deal comes along, I rebook and cancel the first one - Be sure that whatever you're signing up for allows you to do this!

What she said!

It's also worth checking hotwire, but you have to pay in advance with no option to cancel. We got a two week rental in Orlando this year for just over $200