rkmemkc
05-20-2011, 01:03 PM
The original post was about a blog that I have started with information I wanted to share and I cannot list the blog itself, so I am going to put it here as just information. Thanks and I hope you can use it!
Rental Cars
The rental car industry is a very helpful tool when traveling. There are things to consider before booking your reservation. Do your research! There are many websites that provide you with comparison shopping by listing the companies in a chart form so you can easily look across the grid to find what you are looking for. There are companies that ‘go out’ into the internet to find the deals at the moment for you. I prefer to do the research myself and here are the tips I have learned.
When we first started traveling we used our Debit Card / Bank Check Card for all of our purchases. Rental car companies only deal with Credit Cards. This made it difficult for us so I did some research. I found that Alamo let us use our Debit Card and my journey with them began. I have used a few others in the past but I still go back to Alamo. Their customer service is great, their cars are great and even though they were our only pick in the beginning – through research of price and availability – they have become our only pick. Now, here is what a typical trip planning session is for me when I begin the process. I have my dates written down right by the computer. I start with Alamo. I find my dates, airport codes and pick my car. I place a reservation on the spot to hold what I have found. There is no charge for this and you can cancel anytime, but if I utilize the next information I am going to give you and cannot find a better deal, I am locked into the price I found first. Your credit card/debit card/check cards are not charged until you actually rent your car. I search the internet for coupon codes and corporate codes and add them all to find my best deal. What are coupon codes/corporate codes? They are a series of letters and numbers that offer discounts on the internet. You can find them all over the internet at coupon sites but my favorite place to find rental car codes is [reference to site deleted]. This is a website dedicated to all things Disney and the owner, Mary, is phenomenal in researching all of this. If you subscribe to her newsletter, she will send you one email a month with updated codes and specials and one email with any ‘hot deals’ that she finds. No spam, no email everyday….just good information that is helpful and current. So I have my codes and my dates and my backup reservation is set. I start plugging away numbers and once I am confident I have my best deal, I open up a new window and do a search on the travel sites to see who can beat what I have found….usually no one! So I book the new rate and when it is confirmed (an email is sent with your reservation number and code) I cancel that first reservation and I am ready to go. Now, as the time gets closer to my trip I check back every few days to see if there are any specials or new codes on Mary’s site. Usually about a month or so before each trip Alamo offers ‘Last Minute Deals’ which are major discounts to fill up those cars. I have on many occasions rebooked a car at the last minute and saved money. When I get to the airport, I prefer to use a Kiosk to follow through with my reservation. I scan my printed out confirmation (the is a bar code in the email) and follow the prompts on the screen. I finish the transaction (this is when my card is charged) and So I know that all of this seems very time consuming and redundant but for me it is fun. I try to get the most out of our vacation for the least amount of money…we spend the money that I saved on activities, meals or that ‘welcome to vacation’ margarita! By taking a few steps in the planning of your vacation to save money, you will appreciate the savings on the bottom line and enjoy your trip that much more. Have a Great and Safe trip!!
:mickey:
Rental Cars
The rental car industry is a very helpful tool when traveling. There are things to consider before booking your reservation. Do your research! There are many websites that provide you with comparison shopping by listing the companies in a chart form so you can easily look across the grid to find what you are looking for. There are companies that ‘go out’ into the internet to find the deals at the moment for you. I prefer to do the research myself and here are the tips I have learned.
When we first started traveling we used our Debit Card / Bank Check Card for all of our purchases. Rental car companies only deal with Credit Cards. This made it difficult for us so I did some research. I found that Alamo let us use our Debit Card and my journey with them began. I have used a few others in the past but I still go back to Alamo. Their customer service is great, their cars are great and even though they were our only pick in the beginning – through research of price and availability – they have become our only pick. Now, here is what a typical trip planning session is for me when I begin the process. I have my dates written down right by the computer. I start with Alamo. I find my dates, airport codes and pick my car. I place a reservation on the spot to hold what I have found. There is no charge for this and you can cancel anytime, but if I utilize the next information I am going to give you and cannot find a better deal, I am locked into the price I found first. Your credit card/debit card/check cards are not charged until you actually rent your car. I search the internet for coupon codes and corporate codes and add them all to find my best deal. What are coupon codes/corporate codes? They are a series of letters and numbers that offer discounts on the internet. You can find them all over the internet at coupon sites but my favorite place to find rental car codes is [reference to site deleted]. This is a website dedicated to all things Disney and the owner, Mary, is phenomenal in researching all of this. If you subscribe to her newsletter, she will send you one email a month with updated codes and specials and one email with any ‘hot deals’ that she finds. No spam, no email everyday….just good information that is helpful and current. So I have my codes and my dates and my backup reservation is set. I start plugging away numbers and once I am confident I have my best deal, I open up a new window and do a search on the travel sites to see who can beat what I have found….usually no one! So I book the new rate and when it is confirmed (an email is sent with your reservation number and code) I cancel that first reservation and I am ready to go. Now, as the time gets closer to my trip I check back every few days to see if there are any specials or new codes on Mary’s site. Usually about a month or so before each trip Alamo offers ‘Last Minute Deals’ which are major discounts to fill up those cars. I have on many occasions rebooked a car at the last minute and saved money. When I get to the airport, I prefer to use a Kiosk to follow through with my reservation. I scan my printed out confirmation (the is a bar code in the email) and follow the prompts on the screen. I finish the transaction (this is when my card is charged) and So I know that all of this seems very time consuming and redundant but for me it is fun. I try to get the most out of our vacation for the least amount of money…we spend the money that I saved on activities, meals or that ‘welcome to vacation’ margarita! By taking a few steps in the planning of your vacation to save money, you will appreciate the savings on the bottom line and enjoy your trip that much more. Have a Great and Safe trip!!
:mickey: