# Just got pretty good weekly car rental rates for this fall ...



## 1st Class (Aug 8, 2011)

$128 with Alamo for Oahu

$157 with Thrifty for Maui 

Is it true that Alamo includes spouse as 2nd driver at no extra charge?  I dislike Thrifty, but this is really the best rate I've found.

Anyone have experience with either?  Please share both the good and the bad.  Thanks.


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## BevL (Aug 8, 2011)

If I'm not mistaken, if you're a member of the Alamo Insiders, which is free to join, your spouse can drive for free.


And what size of car is that for, please?


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## HatTrick (Aug 8, 2011)

*Alamo Honolulu Airport*

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=855785&highlight=alamo#post855785


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 8, 2011)

Two full weeks for late Aug-early Sept, Maui, mid-size, $251 total with Alamo through Costco.  

I am very happy with that rate and cannot beat it.  I tried to beat it with Hotwire but the prices are now increasing.  I need to stop wasting my time trying to beat the rate.  

Now it's hotels in Seattle, near the airport, two nites, one each for both coming and going that are concerning for me.  Not a thing for under $120 that we would like.  

I cannot use Hotwire because I don't want just a queen bed at the Days Inn.  That's what I will get, after reading other forums about Hotwire.  And the savings aren't enough to risk it.  Rick will be happy with the Doubletree.  We just want a comfortable king bed and a shuttle to/from the airport.  A queen bed is not big enough for two people who have slept in a king for 35 years.


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## BevL (Aug 8, 2011)

THe Doubletree on International is where we stayed last year.  Very pleasant, nothing lavish but clean and fine.

They were very good with us re special shuttle to drop us off right at departures instead of the hotel island across the street.   We plan to stay again, but are waiting for their 14 night parking packages to be posted.


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## luv_maui (Aug 8, 2011)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Two full weeks for late Aug-early Sept, Maui, mid-size, $251 total with Alamo through Costco.
> 
> I am very happy with that rate and cannot beat it.  I tried to beat it with Hotwire but the prices are now increasing.  I need to stop wasting my time trying to beat the rate.
> 
> .



I'm assuming that's two full weeks excluding the tax?  Our reservation  through Costco was about $17/day excluding the tax.  However, just got a car through priceline for $11/day - excluding tax.  If your rate includes tax then I made a mistake going through priceline because taxes were about as much as the car rental.


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 8, 2011)

luv_maui said:


> I'm assuming that's two full weeks excluding the tax?  Our reservation  through Costco was about $17/day excluding the tax.  However, just got a car through priceline for $11/day - excluding tax.  If your rate includes tax then I made a mistake going through priceline because taxes were about as much as the car rental.



That's two weeks including the tax.

Base Rate - Midsize (USD)
(2) Week Rate ($84.62/week) $169.24

Contract I.D. 7015309
Guaranteed Base Rate Included
(1) Additional Driver Included
Unlimited Miles Included

Subtotal.............................................$169.24

Discounts
Discount ($16.92)
Costco May 2010 Campaign ($30.00)

Subtotal............................................($46.92)

Taxes, Surcharges and Fees
Concession Recovery Fee 11.11 % $13.59
Rent Tax Surcharge 7.50/day $105.00
Veh.registration Fee / Weight Tax $4.90
Sales Tax (4.1660%) $5.87

Subtotal.............................................$129.36

Estimated Total......................................$251.68


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## BevL (Aug 8, 2011)

That's an amazing price.  I'm so hoping prices go down for Kauai in January - we have a premium car for $658 for two weeks all in - an SUV, which is our vehicle of choice - is over a thousand dollars!!

BUt there's some time to go yet.

Encouraging at least.


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## Cathyb (Aug 8, 2011)

*Just miss you in Kauai?*



BevL said:


> That's an amazing price.  I'm so hoping prices go down for Kauai in January - we have a premium car for $658 for two weeks all in - an SUV, which is our vehicle of choice - is over a thousand dollars!!
> 
> BUt there's some time to go yet.
> 
> ...


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## 1st Class (Aug 8, 2011)

BevL said:


> If I'm not mistaken, if you're a member of the Alamo Insiders, which is free to join, your spouse can drive for free.
> 
> 
> And what size of car is that for, please?



Thanks for the "Insiders" tip.  We'll join for sure.

They're both compacts, but interestingly the mid-size and larger were less expensive.  The best price I found previously for Maui was around $200, so even though I prefer not to prepay with Hotwire, I didn't want to risk a price increase.  The Alamo rental is through their own website.

The prices I quoted include all taxes and fees.


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## 1st Class (Aug 8, 2011)

rickandcindy23 said:


> That's two weeks including the tax.
> 
> Base Rate - Midsize (USD)
> (2) Week Rate ($84.62/week) $169.24
> ...



That's a great price!  I agree I think it will be hard to beat.

It's very helpful to know that your price includes all fees/taxes.  A lot of people post rates (myself included), and its difficult to determine if it's pretax or not.

The larger car classes seem to be much less expensive than the compacts now.  Do you think it's because of the gas prices?


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## BevL (Aug 8, 2011)

Cathyb said:


> BevL said:
> 
> 
> > That's an amazing price.  I'm so hoping prices go down for Kauai in January - we have a premium car for $658 for two weeks all in - an SUV, which is our vehicle of choice - is over a thousand dollars!!
> ...


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 8, 2011)

> > The larger car classes seem to be much less expensive than the compacts now. Do you think it's because of the gas prices?


When I booked our rental, I could have gotten a compact for $7 less, total.  I would rather not be stuck with a car too small to hold our luggage, and I felt there was still a chance my MIL would go with us.  

Just found out for certain yesterday, she isn't going.  I am actually disappointed she is not feeling well enough.  The trip will be entirely different without her.


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## sandra kraft (Aug 8, 2011)

*Full size car - Maui*

I just got a full size car Sept 4-Sept 18 for $357, all charges included.  That beat my original reservation by $100.  All Alamo.  Happy am I!!!!!

Thanks for the tip! 

Sandy


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## MuranoJo (Aug 9, 2011)

Cindy,
Yep, definitely a great rate for two weeks.  Maybe it makes a difference because it's for 2 weeks on the same island?

DH got our first week (Sept.) in Kauai via Budget for ~$255.  I got the 2nd week on BI/Avis for ~$233. using Costco.

I'm definitely going back to Costco to re-price these as we get closer, and I may even play around with Priceline, but I don't want a 2nd driver charge.


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 9, 2011)

I got this rate on 7/25, and it was dropping about $10 per week the last four or five weeks before this.  Checking often is key.  But I check Kayak, then Hotwire, and when I see a price drop in one of those, I know to check the Costco codes.  

I could have gotten Enterprise just as cheaply, but I had a bad experience with them last time.


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## MommaBear (Aug 9, 2011)

I just got an okay rate in Maui, but am being quoted $458 all included for 8 days in San Francisco. Will keep looking for better rates for sure!


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## chriskre (Aug 9, 2011)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Now it's hotels in Seattle, near the airport, two nites, one each for both coming and going that are concerning for me.  Not a thing for under $120 that we would like.
> 
> I cannot use Hotwire because I don't want just a queen bed at the Days Inn.  That's what I will get, after reading other forums about Hotwire.  And the savings aren't enough to risk it.  Rick will be happy with the Doubletree.  We just want a comfortable king bed and a shuttle to/from the airport.  A queen bed is not big enough for two people who have slept in a king for 35 years.



Have you tried Priceline?  They've got a forum (surprise, surprise)   that gives pretty good advice for bidding on priceline in the city you are interested in.  They'll let you know which hotels you'll probably get for the number of stars you are bidding in each area.  
http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/

As for the queen vs. king bed thing,  a little spooning never hurt anyone


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 9, 2011)

Chris, I booked the Larkspur Hotel in Renton, a queen suite, for $79 per night by calling and asking for their best price.  They asked if we are AARP members, and we are, so she gave us $10 additional off on the Manager's Special price of $89.  So I got the lower price, and the gal said she is going to enter our request to get the upgrade to the king.  I hope we get the king, but the queen is fine.  

I beat the prices on Hotwire and the other travel sites, and the hotel has great reviews.  I am very pleased.  We won't be able to get their breakfast before going to the airport, because they don't serve until 7:00 on weekends.  I don't know if I care, but Rick's going to be starving by the time we get on the plane.  He is always hungry, and he is skinny!  He is six feet and only 176 pounds.  I am overweight and rarely hungry.  Go figure.


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## Cathyb (Aug 10, 2011)

*Enterprise*



rickandcindy23 said:


> I got this rate on 7/25, and it was dropping about $10 per week the last four or five weeks before this.  Checking often is key.  But I check Kayak, then Hotwire, and when I see a price drop in one of those, I know to check the Costco codes.
> 
> I could have gotten Enterprise just as cheaply, but I had a bad experience with them last time.



We also had a bad experience with Enterprise in Maui last year.  They had an added charge of around $85 on our final bill that my DH didn't notice (they only allow one person into their offices at a time so I wasn't eagle eye). Also they are located away from the other companies; hard to find at night.


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## Cathyb (Aug 10, 2011)

*Larkspur question*



rickandcindy23 said:


> Chris, I booked the Larkspur Hotel in Renton, a queen suite, for $79 per night by calling and asking for their best price.  They asked if we are AARP members, and we are, so she gave us $10 additional off on the Manager's Special price of $89.  So I got the lower price, and the gal said she is going to enter our request to get the upgrade to the king.  I hope we get the king, but the queen is fine.
> 
> I beat the prices on Hotwire and the other travel sites, and the hotel has great reviews.  I am very pleased.  We won't be able to get their breakfast before going to the airport, because they don't serve until 7:00 on weekends.  I don't know if I care, but Rick's going to be starving by the time we get on the plane.  He is always hungry, and he is skinny!  He is six feet and only 176 pounds.  I am overweight and rarely hungry.  Go figure.



Do you happen to know how far the Larkspur/Renton, WA is from where the Victoria Clipper ship docks are? We want a sleepover from California to SEA to Victoria.


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## kenie (Aug 10, 2011)

Any suggestions on when to start looking for February rentals??

1 week on Mauii and the 2nd on the big Island.

thanks.


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## ThreeLittleBirds (Aug 10, 2011)

Kenie, Costco has not released their 2012 rates yet. I'm not sure when they do, but I do know that last year I booked in December for a 10 day trip in January, and the rate was in the mid-high $200's, including tax.

It's much more than that right now. I have been checking, and will definitely post when Costco releases their rates.


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## BevL (Aug 10, 2011)

ThreeLittleBirds said:


> Kenie, Costco has not released their 2012 rates yet. I'm not sure when they do, but I do know that last year I booked in December for a 10 day trip in January, and the rate was in the mid-high $200's, including tax.
> 
> It's much more than that right now. I have been checking, and will definitely post when Costco releases their rates.



I have a car rented through the Costco site for January 2012.  Their coupons don't work but their corporate ID does.

For the sake of a $25 coupon, it's worth it to book something now and then if the price comes down, you can always take advantage of the coupon later.  If it goes up by $100, you'll be glad you have something in hand.  JMHO.


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## kenie (Aug 10, 2011)

We haven't rented a car in the US before.

If we make reservations now, we can cancel and rebook if the price drops?
I looked at Alamo on Costco it it was 450 for the Mauii week but I could get $250 on Expedia.

What is the most "painless" way/site to book through?

Is a convertible in February a good idea?? Thinking 1 of the weeks might be a nice treat.

Thanks.


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## BevL (Aug 10, 2011)

I've never booked a car through Expedia before but just check the terms and conditions carefully.  It will say if there's any penalty for cancelling or not.

With the Costco site, you don't even give them a credit card number.

I expect with Expedia you might have to prepay, then cancel so really do make sure you can cancel it.

A convertible anytime in Hawaii is nice.  A pain for luggage, not much room and there have been reports in the past, not sure if it's still an issue of vandalism on the tops.

Bev


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## philemer (Aug 11, 2011)

luv_maui said:


> I'm assuming that's two full weeks excluding the tax?  Our reservation  through Costco was about $17/day excluding the tax.  However, just got a car through priceline for $11/day - excluding tax.  If your rate includes tax then I made a mistake going through priceline because taxes were about as much as the car rental.



The trouble with PL and Hotwire rentals is the 2nd driver is rarely free. We found that out on a rental last Jan. Alamo wanted $10/day even thought  we were Insider members. Grrrrr.

Costco rentals always give you 2nd driver free, IME.

Anyone looked at Jan/Feb rates yet? They are HIGH!


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## BevL (Aug 11, 2011)

philemer said:


> The trouble with PL and Hotwire rentals is the 2nd driver is rarely free. We found that out on a rental last Jan. Alamo wanted $10/day even thought  we were Insider members. Grrrrr.
> 
> Costco rentals always give you 2nd driver free, IME.
> 
> Anyone looked at Jan/Feb rates yet? They are HIGH!



I have been whining about car prices for our January trip for a few months now.  Hopefully they come down as they seem to be for summer/fall.


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## ronandjoan (Aug 22, 2011)

Cathyb said:


> Do you happen to know how far the Larkspur/Renton, WA is from where the Victoria Clipper ship docks are? We want a sleepover from California to SEA to Victoria.



Cathy
Renton is in the south side of Seattle, a long ways from the docks.


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## luvmytimeshare (Aug 22, 2011)

To get the best pricing on our Sept/Oct trip, I had to break the rental up into two installments.  Had to book Sept 17-Sept 30 and then book Sept 30-Oct 16.  By doing this we paid about $776 for the combined time for a full size auto through AAA with a coupon but hotwire also has a good rate if you only go to Sept 30 and then book separately in Oct.


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## mkahanek (Aug 22, 2011)

9 day minivan rental via priceling  $464.66 all in.  Thought thought that was a pretty good deal.


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