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Car Rental in FL --- WOW they are very High

dougp26364

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My family really wants to use our VBHC in Naples over December and I tried to book a rental car and its $480. I hope the prices come down between now and December...ugh

I suspect this is CoVid related in that no one wants to take public transportation or shuttles, so the demand for rental cars may be higher.

We haven’t traveled by plane since the pandemic began. I have three trips on the books that will require flights. Car rental rates for all three trips are considerably higher than normal.
 

Sugarcubesea

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I suspect this is CoVid related in that no one wants to take public transportation or shuttles, so the demand for rental cars may be higher.

We haven’t traveled by plane since the pandemic began. I have three trips on the books that will require flights. Car rental rates for all three trips are considerably higher than normal.

I think your right just hope the costs come down a bit between now and then....
 

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Just rented last week in FLL for 8 days -Avis full size vehicle for $234.17 through Costco.. They always have the cheapest rates. Also, we learned a few months ago, that Costco rentals do not charge for an additional driver.. We rented at Alamo in New Orleans a few months ago that we booked through Southwest Airlines that even though I was the spouse of the driver, there would still be an additional driver charge. The rep informed us that the only way to avoid the charge is to book through Costco (at Alamo in N.O.) So, she offered to cancel our reservation and re-booked it under our Costco account. Not only did we avoid the Add. Driver charge, the whole rental was $20 cheaper!
 

NOLA47

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I have found some very reasonable car rental rates using my COSTCO membership. Not every time but many times.

edit note: I didn’t see Costco mentioned in the previous note until I posted my message.
 

Sugarcubesea

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Just rented last week in FLL for 8 days -Avis full size vehicle for $234.17 through Costco.. They always have the cheapest rates. Also, we learned a few months ago, that Costco rentals do not charge for an additional driver.. We rented at Alamo in New Orleans a few months ago that we booked through Southwest Airlines that even though I was the spouse of the driver, there would still be an additional driver charge. The rep informed us that the only way to avoid the charge is to book through Costco (at Alamo in N.O.) So, she offered to cancel our reservation and re-booked it under our Costco account. Not only did we avoid the Add. Driver charge, the whole rental was $20 cheaper!


I use Costco as well and for Dec 12 to the 19th all I'm finding is $400 car rentals... I have 4 adults (2 of our adult kids coming with us)
 

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I use Costco as well and for Dec 12 to the 19th all I'm finding is $400 car rentals... I have 4 adults (2 of our adult kids coming with us)
keep checking... as you probably know, rates chance all the time. My DH and I constantly check and usually find a cheaper rate as we get closer to our travel date.
 

Sugarcubesea

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keep checking... as you probably know, rates chance all the time. My DH and I constantly check and usually find a cheaper rate as we get closer to our travel date.
I will for sure and I always do this, I’m just worried with it being this expensive this far out
 

hajjah

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The car rentals everywhere are sky high! When we rented back in July at Orlando, the entire B side for rentals is closed. We had to go to the A side for Alamo. And, there was very limited availability. We were able to select a car, but nothing like in the past. There were only about 5 cars in our category available. We were told that Alamo had sold off most of their inventory. Well, when we rented in August at Las Vegas, we had to wait for a car! There was a line of customers waiting for cars to be returned. There was no choice of vehicles. We waited a while for a car. Their inventory has been sold off as well. The car rental garage was empty. As for the prices, they are higher now than ever. I have 4 upcoming rentals for next week in Orlando, November in Vegas, December back to Orlando and January in SNA. I cannot believe the prices. Keep checking daily for lower prices.
 

Luanne

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Keep checking daily for lower prices.
If you register your rental with AutoSlash you don't need to check daily. They will check for you and notify you when they find a cheaper rental.
 

Talent312

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To avoid a high rental rate, we booked a downtown hotel with a city lot nearby.
To avoid a hotel parking fee + day's rental, we waited until check-out to pick-up.
.
 

hajjah

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Question:
Can you still get airline travel miles if you book a rental via Auto Slash? I use Alamo and get Delta SkyMiles.
 

Luanne

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Question:
Can you still get airline travel miles if you book a rental via Auto Slash? I use Alamo and get Delta SkyMiles.
Yes, I'm pretty sure you do. I think there is a place to indicate which loyalty programs you belong to.
 

hajjah

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Yes, I'm pretty sure you do. I think there is a place to indicate which loyalty programs you belong to.
I signed up with Auto Slash, but I notice that many of the rentals with the delayed payment are via Priceline. I don't get Skymiles with Priceline. So far, the rates I have with Alamo booked directly are lower than Auto Slash. I'll keep checking.
 

Luanne

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I signed up with Auto Slash, but I notice that many of the rentals with the delayed payment are via Priceline. I don't get Skymiles with Priceline. So far, the rates I have with Alamo booked directly are lower than Auto Slash. I'll keep checking.
The recent rentals we've gotten through AutoSlash have been through Priceline. Since you put in your loyalty programs up front, I do think you still get the miles. But if your rates booking with Alamo are lower, then go with those. But keep checking as well. If you have any questions for AutoSlash (like will you get your Delta Skymiles) you can ask them directly. They are very responsive.

I just checked back through our trips and found I got Southwest points through Alamo for a rental made through AutoSlash/Priceline.
 
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hajjah

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If anyone is planning to book a rental in Orlando, you might want to book ASAP. I just looked on Alamo's website to see if the rates had gone down. Well, they said there are no vehicles available for October 8-15.
 

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Remember the fire at the Ft Myers airport, where thousands of rental cars got torched? Yes, they have their ways of turning idle inventory into cash!
 

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Yikes, I had no knowledge of the fire. But, we've rented cars twice so far since this pandemic and there were very few cars available. This we witnessed at MCO and LAS. My advice to everyone is to book your cars now if you are traveling by 12/31. Some people prefer to rent after they land, but that's not happening without a reservation.
 

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With Hertz going bankrupt and other companies paring back their fleets (it’s been a good time to sell used vehicles) the supply is becoming more limited and the agencies need to cover their costs over fewer rentals

Makes sense that is what is happening....

George
 

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Papa2015

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Yikes, I had no knowledge of the fire. But, we've rented cars twice so far since this pandemic and there were very few cars available. This we witnessed at MCO and LAS. My advice to everyone is to book your cars now if you are traveling by 12/31. Some people prefer to rent after they land, but that's not happening without a reservation.
Agree.. the line at FLL car rental counter was out the door a few weeks ago. We rented through Budget, but were redirected to the AVIS counter, as they have merged. It was a Friday night, and someone yelled out "all we have left is minivan's (didn't know they still made them, LOL ) and pick up trucks". Luckily we were able to go to a special FAST TRACK agent with no wait (it's a good idea to join, we never wait and we always get what we want) . We had a reservation for 8 days at $237.00 that we made a few weeks earlier through Costco. So glad we reserved.
 

Luanne

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Agree.. the line at FLL car rental counter was out the door a few weeks ago. We rented through Budget, but were redirected to the AVIS counter, as they have merged. It was a Friday night, and someone yelled out "all we have left is minivan's (didn't know they still made them, LOL ) and pick up trucks". Luckily we were able to go to a special FAST TRACK agent with no wait (it's a good idea to join, we never wait and we always get what we want) . We had a reservation for 8 days at $237.00 that we made a few weeks earlier through Costco. So glad we reserved.
Avis and Budget have been the same company for years, it's not recent.
 

hajjah

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Thanks for including the article regarding the fire at Ft. Myers. So, that happened at the beginning of this pandemic. I'm glad my rentals are booked for our upcoming 4 trips.
 

rapmarks

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I use Costco as well and for Dec 12 to the 19th all I'm finding is $400 car rentals... I have 4 adults (2 of our adult kids coming with us)
I hope that mean daughter in law isn't one of them
 

Sugarcubesea

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I hope that mean daughter in law isn't one of them

I just love you so much, I needed this laugh today. Nope she is not coming... My two kids that are coming are my middle son and my 3rd kid, my daughter...They love love and appreciate being in FL in December....
 
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