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Another question re: priceline

kjsgrammy

kjsgrammy

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Location
Michigan & Florida
Currently have mid-size car booked with Alamo for 15 days (Oct. 31 - Nov. 15) for $260.46. (Orlando airport)

Should I wait 'till just before our trip and try for a better deal thru priceline, or do it now? Would I get a better deal this far ahead, or by waiting until last minute?

Most of the rental deals (using codes found on mousesavers.com, etc.) are thru end of September, so know that the rental agencies will be coming up with further deals involving the timeframe we need. We are not members of AAA, or Cosco (?), and we do not have an American Express card to be able to use any of those three discounts.

I am on Alamo's, Enterprise's, Thrifty's, and Budget's emailings, so do receive their current offers.

Thanks for any and all suggestions!:hi:
 
One free way you can try and get discounts would be to join an airline's frequent flyer program (doesn't have to be the one you're flying to Orlando on). Often they have similar coupons to Costco, AAA etc. A few years back I joined Air Canada's program to take advantage of a free day on a rental of 2 or more days (I had rented a full size SUV and the coupon wound up saving me about $75). This was for a rental in Chicago.

Also, do you belong to II or RCI? They each have their own discount codes you can utilize.
 
Since you have AmEx, sign up for their Pimary insurance Coverage, it's a flat $20-$25 per rental (depending on which AmEx card you hold) and then decline all the high priced Alamo insurance which can really jack up the price of a 15 day rental.
 
kjsgrammy said:
Should I wait 'till just before our trip and try for a better deal thru priceline, or do it now?
Click to expand...

I always wait until about 24 hours before the trip and take my shot on Priceline. Inevitably I end up with a Priceline deal.

GEORGE
 
John, I think she is saying she doesn't have the AmExp card.

Does anyone really take the option insurances on car rentals? (Read the other thread on the Consumers Report article by the former Enterprise Car Rental management trainee. Insurances are the biggest gimmick and rip off, right up there with extended warrenties on appliances and the like at Best Buy.)
 
Timeshare Von said:
John, I think she is saying she doesn't have the AmExp card.

Does anyone really take the option insurances on car rentals? (Read the other thread on the Consumers Report article by the former Enterprise Car Rental management trainee. Insurances are the biggest gimmick and rip off, right up there with extended warrenties on appliances and the like at Best Buy.)
Click to expand...

Correct, no AmExp card. Also, we never sign up for the optional insurances car rental companies try to shove on you.
 
djs said:
One free way you can try and get discounts would be to join an airline's frequent flyer program (doesn't have to be the one you're flying to Orlando on). Often they have similar coupons to Costco, AAA etc. A few years back I joined Air Canada's program to take advantage of a free day on a rental of 2 or more days (I had rented a full size SUV and the coupon wound up saving me about $75). This was for a rental in Chicago.

Also, do you belong to II or RCI? They each have their own discount codes you can utilize.
Click to expand...

DJS: We do belong to AirTran and Southwest's frequent flyer programs, but have never found any great car rental discount by using their codes. Also, have never racked up enough flying points to ever get free airfare, as we don't fly more than a couple of times of year (usually only once a year) to our destinations.

I'm a fanatic computer searcher for deals - spend a few hours each day searching ebay (always looking for that "great ts resale":rofl: ), airline sites, car rental sites, condo/house rental sites, etc.

Didn't think of checking RCI for a discount code. Will do that right now. Thanks for suggestion!
 
I don't understand why more people don't use Costco. I just plugged your dates into the Alamo site with Costco codes and came up with $235.15 for a mid-size, with taxes and fees. That is sure the best value for a rental than I can see.

We are going to fly into Tampa next week, the 15th and are staying through the 29th. Our mid-sized car rental is only going to be $160. 25 for two weeks! We also reserved a mid-sized SUV for $178.25 total. We do have the AmEx card through Costco and will use it for our rental. I love Costco. We save the cost of our membership, easily, with our rental cars alone. We travel about 9 weeks a year. :) I try different codes and never get anything better. We also really like Alamo, though their service on Oahu is horrible, the cars are always nice, and we get a choice. :)
 
I looked at the Costco site, and it says to be prepared to show your membership card at the car rental counter. We don't have a Costco club here, so we don't belong.
 
rickandcindy23 said:
I don't understand why more people don't use Costco. I just plugged your dates into the Alamo site with Costco codes and came up with $235.15 for a mid-size, with taxes and fees. That is sure the best value for a rental than I can see.

We are going to fly into Tampa next week, the 15th and are staying through the 29th. Our mid-sized car rental is only going to be $160. 25 for two weeks! We also reserved a mid-sized SUV for $178.25 total. We do have the AmEx card through Costco and will use it for our rental. I love Costco. We save the cost of our membership, easily, with our rental cars alone. We travel about 9 weeks a year. :) I try different codes and never get anything better. We also really like Alamo, though their service on Oahu is horrible, the cars are always nice, and we get a choice. :)
Click to expand...

We don't have a Costco near us, that is why I'm not a member. Until belonging to TUG, I had not even heard of Costco! Sam's and Super Walmart yes, Costco, no. I still believe I'll get a lower price than what I already have with Alamo, whether thru Alamo, another rental agency, or priceline. The web is a wonderful thing - so many choices!!
 
Cindy

We belong to Costco, but I never thought of using them for a car rental. Where do you find the Costco code to enter into the car rental website form?
Thanks
 
scitchr said:
We belong to Costco, but I never thought of using them for a car rental. Where do you find the Costco code to enter into the car rental website form?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Try here once there you can choose the discount that suits you best.
 
Don't need to be a member

kjsgrammy said:
We don't have a Costco near us, that is why I'm not a member. Until belonging to TUG, I had not even heard of Costco! Sam's and Super Walmart yes, Costco, no. I still believe I'll get a lower price than what I already have with Alamo, whether thru Alamo, another rental agency, or priceline. The web is a wonderful thing - so many choices!!
Click to expand...


We, while Costco members, have never been asked to supply customer numbers to access the car rental areas. They just forward you to the respective rental company with their code already filled out on the request.
 
Bruce W said:
We, while Costco members, have never been asked to supply customer numbers to access the car rental areas. They just forward you to the respective rental company with their code already filled out on the request.
Click to expand...

But don't you have to prove you're a Costco member when showing up at the car rental counter - showing a member's card or something?
 
We joined Costco for one year to use them in Hawaii. We found they were similar to Sams, maybe a bit nicer, and also in a lot of Florida locations we were near during the year.

I was able to beat their car rental rates, however, with an Emerald Club National fare and a code or two. I've never found any other company that beat National by more than a few dollars and in the US my spouse can drive for no extra charge.

Sheila
 
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