# Car Rental Prices Doubling (March 2021 thread)



## VictorB (Mar 25, 2021)

We casually checked prices a month ago for MKO ad MOC and prices were around $437 for the week in Honolulu and $365 in Maui for a Ford Fusion or Impala. Today they are $300++ - some over $800 for the week. Crazy things going on. I checked with Autoslasher and nothing better


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## dlpearson (Mar 25, 2021)

Hawaii car rental prices have been much higher-than-usual for many months......


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## MULTIZ321 (Mar 25, 2021)

$300 a day for a Kia Rio. Why rental cars prices have gone insane.










						$300 a day for a Kia Rio. Why rental cars prices have gone insane
					

Here's what you need to know if you're planning on a spring break trip to Orlando next week: Renting a car — if you can find one — could cost you at least $300 a day. That's possibly more than you'll spend for air fare, hotel rooms or tickets to theme parks.




					www.cnn.com
				





Richard


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## VictorB (Mar 25, 2021)

MULTIZ321 said:


> $300 a day for a Kia Rio. Why rental cars prices have gone insane.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I saw that and that is why I  rechecked my quotes and the autosalsher quote went from $444 to $890


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 25, 2021)

I made my reservations around New Years day for our August trip to Kauai.  Looking good.  

Not only that I made two reservations, figuring that I could decide which one I wanted to keep. Now, I'm pretty sure I'll keep both of them if family members join us.


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## VictorB (Mar 25, 2021)

I did not make reservations back then because someone on this Forum said he would never make reservations so far out. Guess you get what you pay for (advice wise)


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## PigsDad (Mar 25, 2021)

VictorB said:


> I did not make reservations back then because someone on this Forum said he would never make reservations so far out. Guess you get what you pay for (advice wise)


I don't understand that advice.  Since there are no fees to cancel a car rental reservation, what possible downside is there to making one even if it is many months out?  For my vacation planning, after the dates are set I make my car reservations, and then check back occasionally and re-book if a lower price comes along.

Kurt


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## VictorB (Mar 25, 2021)

I did get one in Honolulu for $385 all in for mid-size... yeah. Now on to Maui


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## dgalati (Mar 25, 2021)

I was in Scottsdale last weekend and booked a car 2 months in adavance with Costco for $186. The car would have been $340 if I picked up at PHX airport. Lyft ride from and to airport was $20 each way. The guy at rental counter in Scottsdale said Budget was sold out with no cars available and the week before he was renting cars at the last minute for $150-180 a day. Another couple at the Wyndham Scottsdale was renting a Uhaul pickup for transportation.


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## Firepath (Mar 25, 2021)

I've noticed that everywhere, not just Hawaii. Demand will be high once we get vaccinated.


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## dougp26364 (Mar 25, 2021)

Rental agencies dump/sold a lot of their inventory when demand plummeted and they needed cash to stay afloat. Now the demand is higher than the supply everywhere. We had reserved a car long ago in Fort Meyers. I kept searching but prices kept climbing higher. A week before our arrival they were sold out and stayed that way.

 I’m reserving early and continuing to search, just like I’ve always done. Maybe in the future things will return to normal as demand return and stabilizes at their previous levels.


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## mdurette (Mar 26, 2021)

I found the same thing for a recent trip to Orlando.     I typically pay around $200-$250 for a full size and I never saw it budge less than $525.    We were staying on-site at WDW so I ended up letting them be our transportation and just used Lyft the couple times I needed.


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## beejaybeeohio (Mar 27, 2021)

We are lucky with a good rental car rate out of Santa Fe for 2 weeks mid-April. Booked Enterprise thru Costco in January and the last time I checked their website the price had risen over $200. Our daughter & husband are meeting us in Ruidoso flying into El Paso and their rental car, booked within the last couple of weeks, is running $137 for 4 days.

Initially I'd looked into flying into Albuquerque since we head to Taos after Ruidoso, but that city has high taxes on rental cars- not just at the airport but at all off-site agencies- unless you are a New Mexico resident!


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## Synergy (Mar 27, 2021)

We're looking at $1000+ for nine days from either SLC or BZN for our grand Yellowstone/Glacier adventure this summer.  I'm watching frequently but it's just staying high =/. Two different timeshares booked that week, and we'll pay just as much for the rental car, yuck.


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## TUGBrian (Mar 27, 2021)

hope some folks still check priceline via the TUG affiliate link!









						Priceline.com - The Best Deals on Hotels, Flights and Rental Cars.
					

Deep Discounts on Hotels, Flights and Rental Cars.  Get Exclusive Savings with Priceline.com.




					www.dpbolvw.net


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## bogey21 (Mar 27, 2021)

mdurette said:


> I found the same thing for a recent trip to Orlando.     I typically pay around $200-$250 for a full size and I never saw it budge less than $525.



My Son just got back from Orlando.  He rented from Budget for 3 days at $14 per day for a small SUV.  I notice he got charged $5.75 after turning in his car.  I suspect it was for tolls...

George


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## VictorB (Mar 27, 2021)

Decided to go with Priceline offer of $644 for Rav 4 in Maui - better than the $890 I had seen but not the $340 I saw back in January. Figured I better lock it in - the only way to get it was to pay in full. Thought the would only be going higher - it is over labor day weekend


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## iowateach (Mar 27, 2021)

I typically pay about $280 with Hertz for a car in Palm Springs no matter what time of year I travel. I’ve been watching car prices for the last month for an April trip. They have been going up daily. Right now all companies are over $400 for a week and many cars are sold out.


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## AndySamuels (Mar 27, 2021)

Paid $240 for a Nissan Altima for a Sunday to Friday Vegas trip this past week. With AVIS corporate discount. That is not bad.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 27, 2021)

This should boost Uber and Lyft use.


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## tahoe (Mar 27, 2021)

If you work for a large company, check if you can use their corporate rate for leisure use.


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## boraxo (Mar 27, 2021)

tahoe said:


> If you work for a large company, check if you can use their corporate rate for leisure use.


This is good advice - Avis allows us to use the company AWD code and it usually brings up the lowest rates. Costco is also a good option.  And then kayak.
Good reminder to book for summer travel now if you ha e figured out your plans.


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## PDX Matthew (Mar 27, 2021)

We are going to Maui in June - I always book plane tickets and car as soon as accommodation is confirmed, which was last week. I often book a car via the airline but this time that option was over $1,000, I ended up getting a RAV4 sized car for $450 with cheap-o-air.

I had to use a rental car this week when my car was in the shop. The agent at Enterprise was telling me there is a shortage of new cars because there is a shortage of a specific microprocessor that all cars need. She was even having to pay a much higher price for a car on an upcoming trip because of the shortage - her employee discount wasn’t helping much.


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## AndySamuels (Mar 27, 2021)

I use Uber (cheap but X is annoying with the wait) or cabs (expensive) when I drink (a lot).


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## littlestar (Mar 27, 2021)

My niece’s reservation was cancelled two days before her vacation started.  She received a call from Dollar that they were over sold. Luckily her son lives in Orlando and they were able to borrow his fiance’s car


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## VictorB (Mar 27, 2021)

Sorry to hear that. Probably another reason to pay in full (reason #1 was a 25% additional discount). Priceline guarantees lowest price so we'll see what the next few months brings regarding pricing.


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## bugzapper (Mar 28, 2021)

littlestar said:


> My niece’s reservation was cancelled two days before her vacation started.  She received a call from Dollar that they were over sold. Luckily her son lives in Orlando and they were able to borrow his fiance’s car


I heard they're doing that here on Maui. We rented from Kihei car rental and they've kept the same prices even with the spring break shortage. They said they don't believe in jacking up prices just because they can. Their cars are a little older (ours is a 2016) but it's doing the job.


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## dioxide45 (Mar 28, 2021)

VictorB said:


> Sorry to hear that. Probably another reason to pay in full (reason #1 was a 25% additional discount). Priceline guarantees lowest price so we'll see what the next few months brings regarding pricing.


Not sure paying in full would prevent your reservation from being cancelled. All they would have to do is provide a full refund.


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## "Roger" (Mar 28, 2021)

I take it that these car rental companies must have cut their inventories to near zero during the pandemic. I just got back from a trip where I first went to Fort Myers and then Columbus, OH. About a week before the trip I tried to rent a car through Avis in Fort Myers. (I waited to make sure that I was actually going to go on the trip.) No cars available. Okay, try Costco. No cars available. Fortunately, Hertz had cars although at what I thought was a very high price.

On to Columbus where I did have a prepaid car through Avis. When I got there, there must have been about two cars in their lot. The person at the counter calls and asks if there were any small SUV's (what I had signed up for) recently returned that I could use. There was one although I had to wait about a half an hour for them to clean it. (Wonder what they would have done if there were no car of the type that I had prepaid for. Make me wait a couple of hours or tear up the contract and make me take whatever they had.)

This reminds me a little of the power shortages in Texas. The companies misguessed on inventory. So, the response is for them to profiteer with extraordinary high charges.


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## folgema (Mar 28, 2021)

We went to Fort Myers Beach last week.  We had decided we didn't need a car and would Uber.  About a week in advance I had second thoughts, checked priceline, and it was over $400/day.  We also found out the hard way that Uber/Lyft have also been affected, when we pulled up the Uber app at the airport, there were no drivers available, and the line for taxi's was over an hour long.  I won't bore you with details, but we ended up hiring a service to take us to airport at end of trip, for less money than the Uber (I eventually got one) cost on the first trip.  We heard lots of horror stories while we were there of people who booked Uber/Lyft in advance to take them to airport, and no one showed up.  So, lesson learned... for a while book the rental car early or call resort and get a good "limo" service lined up.


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## Synergy (Mar 28, 2021)

Was just able to find a Compact SUV for the price we'd booked a compact car for.  Still about double what I'd had in mind, but at least we'll be a bit more comfortable.  I'll keep checking, of course - $1000 just seems crazy to me.


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## Ken555 (Mar 28, 2021)

"Roger" said:


> (Wonder what they would have done if there were no car of the type that I had prepaid for. Make me wait a couple of hours or tear up the contract and make me take whatever they had.)



I've had this happen several times in the past. In those instances, I was offered the car they have available regardless of type - I've always just said yes, thank you.


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## AZSadOwner (Mar 28, 2021)

Heard on the news that you better make 2 or more reservations as reservations are being cancelled at the last minute for lack of cars.  Inventories were reduced during the pandemic and it seems there is a shortage of new cars available from manufacturers because of the shortage of those microprocessors coming from China I believe.


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## dioxide45 (Mar 28, 2021)

Also realize Hertz filed for bankruptcy and had to sell off a lot of cars. They own multiple brands. There was also the loss of 4,000 rental cars in the fire at the airport in Ft Myers. Good thing for us, we moved to Florida in 2019 and have been able to get around without the need for a rental cary anymore. Though we did end up buying a Dodge Caravan, so I am sure it cost us more than had we just rented instead. That van was a car rental company sell off.


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## Talent312 (Mar 28, 2021)

I'm thinking that I may use transport for SLC to Park City, instead of a rental.
But that would seriously limit what we do there.
.


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## bogey21 (Mar 28, 2021)

"Roger" said:


> The companies misguessed on inventory. So, the response is for them to profiteer with extraordinary high charges.



I don't think they misguessed.  I suspect they sold a bunch of their cars to raise cash in order to stay in business when few were traveling when there was no demand for rental cars...

George


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## littlestar (Mar 28, 2021)

Just had friends land today in Orlando to a sold out situation on their car reservation. Their flight was significantly delayed so that didn’t help.  They were supposed to drive to Clearwater to stay at the ocean but were able to switch their hotel points reservation to an Orlando resort.  They are relying on taxi’s and Uber. Their little girl is happy - she is in the Magic Kingdom having fun.  They rolled with the punches. LOL


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## Synergy (Mar 28, 2021)

littlestar said:


> Just had friends land today in Orlando to a sold out situation on their car reservation. Their flight was significantly delayed so that didn’t help.  They were supposed to drive to Clearwater to stay at the ocean but were able to switch their hotel points reservation to an Orlando resort.  They are relying on taxi’s and Uber. Their little girl is happy - she is in the Magic Kingdom having fun.  They rolled with the punches. LOL



We would be 100% up the creek without a paddle if we land in bozeman and there's no car to take us through Yellowstone and then Glacier.  Suppose I should figure out which brands are separate there and book a cancellable backup.


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## rickk (Mar 29, 2021)

VictorB said:


> I saw that and that is why I  rechecked my quotes and the autosalsher quote went from $444 to $890


These kind of prices would cause me to cancel my vacation or not go anywhere.


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## bogey21 (Mar 29, 2021)

rickk said:


> These kind of prices would cause me to cancel my vacation or not go anywhere.


Back in the days when I had 6 weeks at 6 resorts (all HOA Independents with relatively low MFs) there were times I would not go if airfare and/o car rentals were outrageous.  I would pretty much decide forfeiting my $500-$600 MF was better than paying outrageous amounts for airfares and/or car rentals...

George


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## dougp26364 (Mar 29, 2021)

It seems as if my practice of reserving early and continuing to check prices is paying off..... sort of. 

Our last car rental was a standard SUV that we returned yesterday. The weekly rate was $250. We reserved that vehicle nearly a year in advance. I thought prices would go down. They didn’t. As I posted earlier they kept going up until there was no availability. For a rare moment I was worried I’d have trouble getting my car, but that was unfounded as there wasn’t any issues.

Currently I have 4 rental reservations. Typically between $250 and $350. Until this thread I was thinking this was incredibly expensive. Prior to CoVid I was paying between $100 and $225.

I hope this is an anomaly rather than the new normal. If prices remain this high, it will eventually have an affect on where we travel with destinations that require renting a car a convenience instead of a necessity. Only time will tell and my bet is it takes a couple of years before we see much of a change.


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## VictorB (Mar 29, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> It seems as if my practice of reserving early and continuing to check prices is paying off..... sort of.
> 
> Our last car rental was a standard SUV that we returned yesterday. The weekly rate was $250. We reserved that vehicle nearly a year in advance. I thought prices would go down. They didn’t. As I posted earlier they kept going up until there was no availability. For a rare moment I was worried I’d have trouble getting my car, but that was unfounded as there wasn’t any issues.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately they do not have to honor your reservation. I have gone back into my reservation from January 28th for August and they said that car and rate is no longer available.


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## dougp26364 (Mar 29, 2021)

VictorB said:


> Unfortunately they do not have to honor your reservation. I have gone back into my reservation from January 28th for August and they said that car and rate is no longer available.



Perfect.

I see another class action lawsuit against car rental companies which does nothing except change a few minor rules, extends a few worthless coupons to plaintiffs and makes a law firm or two even wealthier. 

Maybe when they contract through Costco they have an obligation to honor the agreement. All of my current reservations are through Costco.


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## bigeyes1 (Mar 30, 2021)

We had this same experience when trying to find a car rental for our upcoming South Dakota trip in July.  I refuse to pay $800-$1000 for 6 days.  Luckily, I did a search on Kayak and they found a week at Car Rental 8 with Budget for a little over $300.  Booked that reservation.. pronto.


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## Clifbell (Mar 30, 2021)

I ended up getting a compact car for $600.  Never thought the most expensive part of a vacation would be the car rental.  Silver lining is I will spend a good portion of my time without a car just sitting on the beach.


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## sfwilshire (Mar 31, 2021)

Costco Travel has a disclaimer on their rental car page mentioning the shortage of cars due to the chip issue. I booked early for $600 for an October week in Albuquerque. Usually by now there would be a few decreases until availability hits a certain point and then the rates start going up. I usually pay around $400 or change to an SUV for around $500. Looking now, the rates are over $800 for a car. Tried my Hertz Gold account and they were over $1000. Any hope the rates will start coming down by the fall?

Sheila


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## bogey21 (Apr 1, 2021)

I haven't rented a car in years so my question results from total lack of knowledge how rental cars work today.  My question is can you pay one of the majors (Hertz, Avis, National, Budget, etc) in advance for your rental.  I'm not talking about renting from the likes of Priceline, etc but directly from the Rental Company.   If you can, wouldn't they have to have a car for you and stiff those who merely hav a Reservation...

George


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## jtp1947 (Apr 1, 2021)

In a word, no.  Remember the Seinfeld episode re: rental car reservations?  They'll just refund your payment if no car available.


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## tahoe (Apr 2, 2021)

I have not personally used this site, but there are reasonable prices here:





						Turo | The world's largest car sharing marketplace
					

Skip the rental car counter and book the perfect car on Turo, the world's largest car sharing marketplace. Got a car? Earn extra cash by sharing it on Turo.




					turo.com


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## Sicnarf (Apr 3, 2021)

I've used Turo a few times and they are not always as competitive when delivery and other fees are taken into consideration.


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## jmhpsu93 (Apr 3, 2021)

tahoe said:


> If you work for a large company, check if you can use their corporate rate for leisure use.


^^^This.  I still use my corporate code from a job I haven't had in seven years.  it's even better than my current company's.

Random data point...I'm going to San Diego the last week in September (Four Seasons Avaria).  Searching with no code is about $70/day, with my corporate rate it's $27/day.


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## MULTIZ321 (Apr 10, 2021)

Planning a post-vaccine vacation? Don't wait to book a rental car and be prepared for sticker shock.










						A $750 car rental for three days? Don't wait to book a rental car and other tips to avoid sticker shock
					

Rental car prices are higher than usual due to surging travel demand and a shrunken fleet of cars due to the COVID pandemic.



					www.usatoday.com
				





Richard


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## artringwald (Nov 17, 2021)

tahoe said:


> If you work for a large company, check if you can use their corporate rate for leisure use.


Corporate rates for employees may also be available for retirees. I got 8 days in Maui last August for about 1/3 of the current rates.


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## Talent312 (Nov 17, 2021)

Thanks to Weila's first post ever, this dormant thread's been revived.
Since it has...

I'm holding a reservation I made last Spring for SLC for December.
I get 30%-Off offers from Avis... Even so, it's higher than my booking.
Their discounted rate is seems ~30% higher than the rate I booked.
I just hope to God they don't find a way not to honor it.
.


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## Luanne (Nov 17, 2021)

Talent312 said:


> Thanks to Weila's first post ever, this dormant thread's been revived.
> Since it has...
> 
> I'm holding a reservation I made last Spring for SLC for December.
> ...


I keep getting those offers from Avis.  I try to use them and I keep getting the message that the discount can't be used with my reservation.  I'm guessing it's because I'm already getting a pretty good rate with the discount I already have.


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## MrockStar (Nov 17, 2021)

Bummer.


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## moonstone (Nov 17, 2021)

We were very happy with our car rental prices out of MCO.  When I first started looking a few months ago, when it was apparent that we would not be allowed to drive to Florida and needed to fly, the cost for 3 weeks in a compact car was anywhere from $1800. to $2100.Cndn.    We decided that we could use the Orlando public transit bus to get from MCO to VV@Pkwy and walk or bus where we wanted to go for the week. Then we could take the Greyhound from Kissimmee to St. Augustine where we could also walk where we needed to go for the week. We were going to split the cost of a car with our DD who was going to fly down to MCO and join us for our last week at Palm Coast then we were going to fly home together. 

I kept checking discount car rental sites and found a 3 week compact car rental on Economy Bookings with Dollar for $738.Cndn. just 10 days before we were leaving.  We were thrilled and booked it since it was less than $100. more than what our DD was going to pay for 8 days.  A few days before we flew down we got an email from Economy Bookings that the price had dropped a further $70. and they were putting the refund on our credit card.

When we got to the Dollar location at MCO they guy told us he had upgraded us at no charge.  We ended up with a nice KIA Forte that DH liked so much he is considering buying one!
I will be checking Economy Bookings first the next time we need a rental car. 


~Diane


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Nov 18, 2021)

BTW - if you're looking for car rentals in Hawaii, be sure to check pricing and availability at DiscountHawaiiCarRentals.com.


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## Luanne (Nov 18, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> BTW - if you're looking for car rentals in Hawaii, be sure to check pricing and availability at DiscountHawaiiCarRentals.com.


I keep trying them each time we go to Hawaii and so far they have never had the lowest price.  But, I'll keep checking.

I just checked for our rental March 2022.  The lowest for the vehicle we want through Discount Hawaii is $1715 for 2 weeks.  Our current reservation with Avis is $677.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Nov 18, 2021)

Luanne said:


> I keep trying them each time we go to Hawaii and so far they have never had the lowest price.  But, I'll keep checking.
> 
> I just checked for our rental March 2022.  The lowest for the vehicle we want through Discount Hawaii is $1715 for 2 weeks.  Our current reservation with Avis is $677.


I wind up using them about half the time.  About the same frequency as CostcoTravel.


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## Luanne (Nov 18, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I wind up using them about half the time.  About the same frequency as CostcoTravel.


Back when we were traveling, BC (Before Covid) I was getting the best prices through AutoSlash.  The price we have for Maui with Avis was made using a corporate discount.


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