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Car Rental Lines - Maui

StevenTing

StevenTing

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Anyone have any current info with regard to car rental lines in Maui? I currently have a reservation with Alamo. Thinking of switching to Budget.

In the past I've heard that the lines/wait are longer with Avis/Budget but not so much with Alamo. I just signed up for Budget Fastbreak.
 
Haven't been to Maui in awhile but last time we went I was worried about lines based upon someone's TripAdvisor post. We had no issues outside of the ordinary. I can't remember if it was Budget or Alamo. I think it's luck of the draw and is a problem if three big planes land at the same time, vs an inter island coming in a quiet time.

Btw, looked it up. Last trip to Maui was Nov 2017 and we used Budget/fast break. I can't believe that it's been that long since our last visit. Glad to be fixing that oversight in a couple of weeks!
 
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Cannot speak as to Maui, but on Kauai/Oahu Alamo/Budget/Avis are relatively short waits. Even with Fastbreak, you are going to wait in line. Alamo has kiosks which can make life much easier, but if you are booking indirectly (say, through Costco) you cannot use the kiosks.

We had a nightmare experience at Advantage in Kauai - FIVE HOUR wait for our reserved car. When we booked the rental months earlier it was a steal. Advantage was hundreds less than anyone else. After one hour I walked to adjacent renal agencies, and they had cars - at close to a thousand dollars difference for the two week period. We simply couldn't afford that. Turns out Advantage overbooked; they had more promised contracts than cars - just people in line, with a busload arriving every 15 minutes. It was total chaos, and they were willing to do nothing to compensate people. They claimed it was all due to people not returning cars on time, as if there were a hundred late cars that day. In fact, the manager hid in her office, behind low wage workers at the counter serving as defense. So many workers said they would be quitting at the end of the day. I hired a cab to take my wife and kids to the hotel while I steamed in line. Every time a return car rolled in, the hundreds of people in line applauded. Advantage then refused to speed the process by skipping the car wash. Worst rental experience of my life. Finally got a car with no compensation for the wait.

Alamo/Budget/Avis have been anywhere from 30 min to 90 min waits. I will never understand why it takes thousands of keystrokes to complete a single rental even though all of the customer information was already entered online. It is pure inefficiency on display.
 
Steven, I read of some glitches with the new Tram causing delays, but various feedback on the different vendors in the new building. I usually book Costco to lock something in, but have usually gotten Hertz close to my travel date and pickup has always been painless for Gold Club. The one time I booked Hertz through Costco I couldn’t use the Gold Desk, so always try and find an alternative to Costco.

Intermediate SUVs for two weeks next winter are $700 now, but I’ve got an Alamo through Costco at $500, so I may see how that goes.
 
StevenTing said:
Anyone have any current info with regard to car rental lines in Maui? I currently have a reservation with Alamo. Thinking of switching to Budget.

In the past I've heard that the lines/wait are longer with Avis/Budget but not so much with Alamo. I just signed up for Budget Fastbreak.
Click to expand...

We used Budget on our last visit in October and the Fastbreak line at Budget was only two people. That was my experience the visit in 2017 as well. Signing up for Fastbreak was a good move on your part.

Have a great trip.

Best regards.

Mike
 
TXTortoise said:
Steven, I read of some glitches with the new Tram causing delays, but various feedback on the different vendors in the new building. I usually book Costco to lock something in, but have usually gotten Hertz close to my travel date and pickup has always been painless for Gold Club. The one time I booked Hertz through Costco I couldn’t use the Gold Desk, so always try and find an alternative to Costco.

Intermediate SUVs for two weeks next winter are $700 now, but I’ve got an Alamo through Costco at $500, so I may see how that goes.
Click to expand...

My Alamo reservation is for $720 for 13 days. Budget is now $745 for 14 days, and would save me the hassle of having to go back to the airport for the car. If I do the same reservation as Alamo, the Budget drops to $688. So I'm looking at a possible difference of up to $57 depending on the hassle.

The way I have it scheduled, I fly in to Maui on Friday and pick up rental car on Saturday. We're staying at the Courtyard for the night to adjust and then our vacay begins on Saturday with a shopping spree at Costco.
 
We were on Maui in March and rented with Alamo. I am an Alamo preferred (or whatever their club is called) so there was NO wait once we got to the car rental site, we went directly outside to get our car. Our longest wait was for the shuttle bus.
 
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brianfox said:
We had a nightmare experience at Advantage in Kauai - FIVE HOUR wait for our reserved car.
Click to expand...

And when a car got returned I’m sure the wait was made longer by the employees trying to talk folks into taking their insurance. Cliff said NO twice, then made the mistake of not looking at what they had him sign where of course they’d added insurance. I will tell people for the next 20 years that Advantage Kauai cheated us.
 
Good info, as we have an Avis reserved at Maui through Costco in a scant few weeks! Me, anxious? Nooooo.
 
I used Alamo in OGG for our January trip. It was over New Years so very busy. Alamo has the self-service kiosks so if you’re good with those you’ll get through fast. Unfortunately the kiosk had trouble reading my license so I had to wait in the 45 minute line.
 
We landed in Maui in late February of this year, and it was at least a two-hour wait at Budget. We made the reservation through Costco. The only other time we went to Maui was in March of 2013, when we had an amazing deal through an AAA/Advantage partnership. That time the line was about 90 minutes. In each case, when you got to be first in line, you got whatever car came in since they had run out of cars.
 
Chrispee said:
I used Alamo in OGG for our January trip. It was over New Years so very busy. Alamo has the self-service kiosks so if you’re good with those you’ll get through fast. Unfortunately the kiosk had trouble reading my license so I had to wait in the 45 minute line.
Click to expand...
Are you an Alamo "member"? No need for the kiosk, no lines. Actually I think what made it so much faster was that I was able to check in for the car online ahead of time.
 
RE: Costco and Budget
We rented through Costco/ Budget about a week ago in Sacramento. I was able to add my res# to my Budget account and use Fastbreak to walk outside and get the keys. (line inside looked to be at least 30 min.) Not sure if this works with other agencies, but you should give it a shot.
 
StevenTing said:
Anyone have any current info with regard to car rental lines in Maui? I currently have a reservation with Alamo. Thinking of switching to Budget.

In the past I've heard that the lines/wait are longer with Avis/Budget but not so much with Alamo. I just signed up for Budget Fastbreak.
Click to expand...

We rented from Budget on Maui in early March. The non-Fastbreak line was long - I think they were saying 45 minutes to an hour to get the car. But as a Fastbreak member, all I had to do was tell the employee at the door I was Fastbreak and I was directed directly to the Fastbreak line. There was one person in front of me and I was in and out in 5 minutes or so.
 
davidvel said:
RE: Costco and Budget
We rented through Costco/ Budget about a week ago in Sacramento. I was able to add my res# to my Budget account and use Fastbreak to walk outside and get the keys. (line inside looked to be at least 30 min.) Not sure if this works with other agencies, but you should give it a shot.
Click to expand...
When you rent through Costco they will ask for your member number (for certain) rental companies. I've found AutoSlash does this as well. And when I've entered that I can go to the rental car site and find my car reservation.
 
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I have Budget Fastbreak, and I am also an Alamo Insider. These programs will save you a ton of time, whichever way you go.

I disagree about not being able to use the kiosks with a Costco reservation. I've done it lots of times. The trick is to log into your Alamo Insider account before you arrive, and try to prepay things. Print your confirmation code and documents, and when you get to the kiosk, scan that code, and you're off and running in a minute or two. It's not difficult.

With Budget Fastbreak, as long as your Fastbreak number is included on your reservation, they'll have your paperwork waiting for you. They have a separate line for Budget Fastbreak customers, so the most you'll wait is behind any other Fastbreak customers who happen to be in front of you. Since the credit card and such is already registered, you'll have your paperwork in seconds. I once passed by 34 people (I counted) waiting in the regular line for their car, as I went to the counter with no Fastbreak line at all. As we drove off the lot, I glanced over, and the same person was still waiting at the front of the line that had been there when we walked up. It is a HUGE timesaver.

Dave
 
I have been able to use the kiosk at Alamo with a Costco reservation last time in Maui but that was 2 years ago. I have a Hertz reservation arriving this Sunday, May 12 for a week at Maui Ocean Club and the AAA rate was cheaper than the Costco rate. You can sign up for Gold Service and can go directly to the car. I am paying around $220 for a premium car. There is also a special rate if you have the Platinum American Express Card.
 
Luanne said:
Are you an Alamo "member"? No need for the kiosk, no lines. Actually I think what made it so much faster was that I was able to check in for the car online ahead of time.
Click to expand...

I’m not an Alamo member because all of their Hawaii locations have the self-serve kiosks. I’ve never experienced a lineup for the kiosks and I get tired of the agents trying to upset me insurance, gps, prepaid gas etc.
 
Chrispee said:
I’m not an Alamo member because all of their Hawaii locations have the self-serve kiosks. I’ve never experienced a lineup for the kiosks and I get tired of the agents trying to upset me insurance, gps, prepaid gas etc.
Click to expand...
Okay. It cost nothing to become a member of any of the car rental companies. I've joined pretty much all of them now as it just makes it easier when I rent and have to pick up a car.

As I said, with Alamo on this last trip I was able to check in online ahead of time and got to bypass ALL lines and kiosks.

P.S. I've never had anyone lately try to sell me gas or insurance. They may ask, and I just say no. No pushing.
 
Carlsbadguy said:
I have been able to use the kiosk at Alamo with a Costco reservation last time in Maui but that was 2 years ago. I have a Hertz reservation arriving this Sunday, May 12 for a week at Maui Ocean Club and the AAA rate was cheaper than the Costco rate. You can sign up for Gold Service and can go directly to the car. I am paying around $220 for a premium car. There is also a special rate if you have the Platinum American Express Card.
Click to expand...

Please let us know your experience next week.
 
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