# Will Alamo hold our car rental for a couple of hours?



## donnaval (Apr 3, 2016)

I booked our two-week late April Kauai rental through Costco back in November and got a great price with Alamo.  Subsequently, American changed our flight schedule (actually eliminated one flight we were on) and we had to  rebook onto different flights.  Our dates are the same, but we will now be arriving in Kauai two hours later than our original flight.  Will Alamo keep our car for us even though we'll be arriving late?  I did not put the flight # on our reservation.  With a Costco reservation, you don't make changes - you cancel and rebook.  Our reservation was for $297 all-in, and now the best price for our dates is about $500


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## Luanne (Apr 3, 2016)

You could call Alamo and ask.

We had the same thing with upcoming flights to and from Kona.  Our flight is getting in about an hour later and I think we've leaving later on the return as well.   But I did put the flight number so I'm thinking we'll be okay.  I may have more problems on the return end since we'll probably be keeping the car a bit longer.  I plan on checking with Alamo when we arrive.


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## sjsharkie (Apr 3, 2016)

2 hours?  Yes, they will.  I wouldn't sweat it.  Usually same day you are fine without changing the booking - I have never had an issue doing this at airport locations. 

You might have issues at neighborhood or tiny airport locations, but this is not the case here. 

Ryan

Ryan

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## MULTIZ321 (Apr 3, 2016)

To be safe, I'd call the local Alamo office and speak to a manager and inform them of your Flight Change info.


Richard


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## Icc5 (Apr 4, 2016)

*Agreee*



MULTIZ321 said:


> To be safe, I'd call the local Alamo office and speak to a manager and inform them of your Flight Change info.
> 
> 
> Richard



I agree with Richard.  Shouldn't be a problem but why take a chance.  Whenever we are in doubt about anything to do with travel we have found much relief by going to the source and asking.
Bart


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## tfalk (Apr 4, 2016)

Highly recommend if you don't have one already, get one of the alamo memberships (free) and have them add it to the reservation.  The off-airport rental locations at Lihue can be a nightmare at times, anything you can do to avoid the cattle-car lines will be an improvement.... Heck, I'd even pay for a membership if it meant I didn't have to wait in line for an hour on my vacation... then again, don't let them hear that LOL


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## Luanne (Apr 4, 2016)

tfalk said:


> Highly recommend if you don't have one already, get one of the alamo memberships (free) and have them add it to the reservation.  The off-airport rental locations at Lihue can be a nightmare at times, anything you can do to avoid the cattle-car lines will be an improvement.... Heck, I'd even pay for a membership if it meant I didn't have to wait in line for an hour on my vacation... then again, don't let them hear that LOL



Alamo will not add their membership number to an existing Costco reservation.  I've already tried that.  And since there is no way to add your membership number when making the Costco reservation, you're kind of scr**ed.  I found this out when trying to add my membership to an existing reservation in Kansas City.  What I was told, by Alamo, was in order to add the membership number I would have to cancel the reservation and re-book through them.  They told me I could keep the price I had with the Costco reservation.  So, all is good, right?  No, not at all.  I could cancel, but if I rebooked the rate would be significantly higher.  But, I was told I could still use the online check in and bypass the lines.  Great.  Again, not so great.  When I went to check in online I got the message that the discount code wasn't valid.  Back on the phone with Alamo.  It seems they don't recognize the discount code used by Costco, so no online check in.  Luckily in Kansas City there was no line to check in (there were also no cars in our class category available....another story).  Based on this experience I haven't even approached Alamo about the reservation for the Big Island.


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## tfalk (Apr 4, 2016)

Well crap... so much for that idea...  Tough call, stand in line for an hour or pay the higher rate...

And I only say that because we had a 2+ hour wait in the line at one of the rental locations at Lihue, I just can't remember which one it was...


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## gmarine (Apr 4, 2016)

You can add your Alamo membership to the reservation by calling Alamo and providing them the Alamo reservation number on your confirmation from Costco. You can also use that reservation # to access your reservation at Alamo.com and check in online to avoid the lines.


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## Luanne (Apr 4, 2016)

gmarine said:


> You can add your Alamo membership to the reservation by calling Alamo and providing them the Alamo reservation number on your confirmation from Costco. You can also use that reservation # to access your reservation at Alamo.com and check in online to avoid the lines.



I did this.  It didn't work.  As I already posted I was told that in order to add the Alamo number I would have to cancel the Costco reservation and rebook with Alamo.  Doing that would have caused the price of my rental to increase significantly.

I was also not able to check in online as Alamo online couldn't recognize the Costco coupon used for the discount.

If your experience was different, great.  But I just tried this about a month ago.

Edited to update.  Just for fun I called Alamo to see if I could add my member number on the existing Kona rental.  Sure, they can do it.  BUT, I will only get a 5% discount, and NO additional driver.  With my existing Costco rental I have a 10% discount and a free additional driver.

I also found out they will hold a reservation for up to 12 hours. So that answers the OP original question.


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## Luanne (Apr 4, 2016)

donnaval said:


> I booked our two-week late April Kauai rental through Costco back in November and got a great price with Alamo.  Subsequently, American changed our flight schedule (actually eliminated one flight we were on) and we had to  rebook onto different flights.  Our dates are the same, but we will now be arriving in Kauai two hours later than our original flight.  Will Alamo keep our car for us even though we'll be arriving late?  I did not put the flight # on our reservation.  With a Costco reservation, you don't make changes - you cancel and rebook.  Our reservation was for $297 all-in, and now the best price for our dates is about $500



Per a phone call I just had with Alamo, they will hold a reservation for 12 hours.


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## gmarine (Apr 4, 2016)

Luanne said:


> I did this.  It didn't work.  As I already posted I was told that in order to add the Alamo number I would have to cancel the Costco reservation and rebook with Alamo.  Doing that would have caused the price of my rental to increase significantly.
> 
> I was also not able to check in online as Alamo online couldn't recognize the Costco coupon used for the discount.
> 
> ...



I'd call and escalate to a supervisor or call Costco travel and try it that way. I've added member numbers several times to Alamo reservations, including this summer in Maui, Oahu and Kona. 

When previously checking in online I entered the Alamo reservation # and proceeded through the online check in procedure without any problems.


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## Luanne (Apr 4, 2016)

gmarine said:


> I'd call and escalate to a supervisor or call Costco travel and try it that way. I've added member numbers several times to Alamo reservations, including this summer in Maui, Oahu and Kona.
> 
> When previously checking in online I entered the Alamo reservation # and proceeded through the online check in procedure without any problems.



I wasn't told I couldn't do it.  What I have been told, twice now, is that in order to do it I'd have to cancel my existing reservation and make a new one.  It's not worth losing the great pricing we currently have.

And I don't know what Costco travel could do.  As I said, they don't have a place when you make a reservation with Alamo to add a member number.  The only rental companies that have that are Budget, and maybe Avis.

Again, to make any changes with Costco require a cancellation and rebooking.

And when I tried to check in online for our last Alamo rental (make through Costco), Alamo online couldn't recognize the discount coupon from Costco and couldn't do the online check in.

I'm glad your experiences have been better.


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## Chrispee (Apr 4, 2016)

I rented through Alamo at LIH last month for a 9:30pm pickup and there was absolutely no lineup FYI.  They had a bunch of brand new Mustang convertibles on the lot if you're looking to get suckered into an upgrade (like I was).


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## sjsharkie (Apr 4, 2016)

I have never had an issue checking in through the on site kiosk with my Costco reservation. Sometimes I do need my reservation number when the kiosk can't find it based on my drivers license, but no issues once I type in the number.

As I said earlier, the OP is renting from LIH airport and a 2 hour delay is not going to affect their reservation. 

Ryan



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## gmarine (Apr 4, 2016)

Luanne said:


> I wasn't told I couldn't do it.  What I have been told, twice now, is that in order to do it I'd have to cancel my existing reservation and make a new one.  It's not worth losing the great pricing we currently have.
> 
> And I don't know what Costco travel could do.  As I said, they don't have a place when you make a reservation with Alamo to add a member number.  The only rental companies that have that are Budget, and maybe Avis.
> 
> ...



I didnt have to cancel my reservations and rebook. I called Alamo and added my membership # to the existing reservations and the rate stayed the same. One Alamo rep did think I was trying to get an additional discount but when I explained I just wanted to add my membership number I was able to do that without any changes.


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## Luanne (Apr 4, 2016)

gmarine said:


> I didnt have to cancel my reservations and rebook. I called Alamo and added my membership # to the existing reservations and the rate stayed the same. One Alamo rep did think I was trying to get an additional discount but when I explained I just wanted to add my membership number I was able to do that without any changes.



As I said, I'm glad your experiences have been better than mine.  I was told TWICE, the last time less than an hour ago, that I'd have to rebook, and that they couldn't give me the same great rate I currently had.  So, they must just like you better.


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## Luanne (Apr 4, 2016)

sjsharkie said:


> I have never had an issue checking in through the on site kiosk with my Costco reservation. Sometimes I do need my reservation number when the kiosk can't find it based on my drivers license, but no issues once I type in the number.
> 
> As I said earlier, the OP is renting from LIH airport and a 2 hour delay is not going to affect their reservation.
> 
> ...



My problem wasn't with an on site kiosk, it was with the online check in.  There was no on site kiosk at Kansas City.  I think there is one in Kona so if I can't check in online this time around we should be able to use the kiosk.  One way or another, we will get a rental car............at a great price.


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## sjsharkie (Apr 4, 2016)

There are Alamo kiosks at all the major Hawaii airport locations - HNL, LIH, KOA, OGG.

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## Luanne (Apr 4, 2016)

sjsharkie said:


> There are Alamo kiosks at all the major Hawaii airport locations - HNL, LIH, KOA, OGG.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk



And, if you're not sure if there is a kiosk you can go to the site for that rental location and find out.....as I did.  Yes, there is definitely one in Kona.


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## donnaval (Apr 4, 2016)

Well I have to say my phone experience is more like Luanne's.  I have a Quicksilver account with Alamo but can't access the Costco reservation through it.  I called and spoke to a person who told me they have no way to see my Costco reservation through their system.  She also said there was no way to link a Costco reservation to my Quicksilver account.  She did assure me though that the reservation would be held "all day" because there are so many flight issues with Hawaii.  I guess I feel reassured.  Thanks everyone for your input.


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## Luanne (Apr 4, 2016)

Alamo could see my Costco reservation, they just couldn't make any changes without cancelling it and rebooking.


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## donnaval (Apr 4, 2016)

:hysterical:


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## barefootnAR (Apr 6, 2016)

If you call the reservation # for Alamo they will tell you that your car and rate will be held for 12 hours. However,we needed a 24 hour hold (due to mechanical problems our first leg was canceled and we were rebooked on the next day.)
The national Alamo gal told me to call the Maui office direct, ask for the manager and he can authorize a 24 hour hold. He told me to come inside even though I had checked in and paid 3 hours before our flight was canceled.
We arrive 25 1/2 hours late due to more mechanical problems and head winds.
The gal at the desk just smiled and sad, "we got you covered", rate is the same.

Luanne, I had the same experience that you did. :annoyed:
But on the next trip, Feb 2016, as soon as I got a low costco /Alamo rate, I made the reservation. called Alamo immediately, they set up a new reservation with the Costco code, which allowed the 2nd driver and the rate was only $1.75 more than the Costco rate. But at least I could check in and pay the day before and by pass. I don't even know if that will still work. The rate never got any lower so I didn't have to rebook.


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## Luanne (Apr 6, 2016)

barefootnAR said:


> Luanne, I had the same experience that you did. :annoyed:
> But on the next trip, Feb 2016, as soon as I got a low costco /Alamo rate, I made the reservation. called Alamo immediately, they set up a new reservation with the Costco code, which allowed the 2nd driver and the rate was only $1.75 more than the Costco rate. But at least I could check in and pay the day before and by pass. I don't even know if that will still work. The rate never got any lower so I didn't have to rebook.



I kept being told that it was the coupon that Costco used that was causing the problem, both for rebooking and for online check in.


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