Hidden Savings: Costco Car Rental - check your pickup time

[DaveNV]

Like any good Tugger, I'm always trying to get a better deal on my rental car rates. I discovered that Costco's car rental page often has different rates for different pickup times. I don't know how critical the pickup time is on a reservation - somebody told me any time during that calendar day is good enough, but I don't know if that's entirely true. But when rates can fluctuate even within a 30-minute pickup window, it's worth mentioning.

I'm posting this so you can check your own reservations. I found by changing the pickup time by as little as a half hour can reduce the rate by several dollars. Enough to buy a modest lunch, so it's not insignificant. Just now, the rate for a Noon pickup was more than $40 higher than the weekly rate for a 1:30PM pickup for the same car. That's pretty substantial in my book. So the time you set for picking up your car can make a big difference. Also, the rates for picking up on the half-hour were most often lower than picking up on the hour.

Did anybody else know about this? Did you find a hidden savings?

Dave

 

[Luanne]

Dave, I've had this happen on a couple of rentals. By changing the pick up time by 30 minutes to an hour I saved a lot.

 

[PigsDad]

The only issue that you may run into is if you arrive before your pickup time. I use Costco for most of our rentals, and one time a few years ago, I arrived about 30 min before my pickup time and they made me wait until the official pickup time on my reservation before processing my rental. They claimed it was their SOP for Costco rentals, and rentals directly with them did not have that restriction. But that was only one time, and it could have been an agent on a power trip, who knows?

Kurt

 

[Free2Roam]

Yes, a hidden secret I learned awhile back. I always play around with pickup times to get the lowest rate.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I have not rented via Costco, but know the pickup and drop-off times can affect the price. However i know from personally experience that if you arrive significantly later than you specified they can and do give your car away to someone else. Likewise i have been charged extra for dropping the car off late... Basically they can't rent it to someone else if i still have it.

 

[happymum]

I didn't know rates were that time-sensitive. Thanks for the heads - up!

 

[LisaH]

Pigsdad, that happened to me once as well when I arrived ~30 min earlier. I just made a new reservation right there with the new time and canceled the existing reservation. All went well.

 

[easyrider]

Nice tip Dave !!!

Bill

 

[Patri]

I had no idea! Will play around with this next time. Thank you.

 

[DaveNV]

I have not rented via Costco, but know the pickup and drop-off times can affect the price. However i know from personally experience that if you arrive significantly later than you specified they can and do give your car away to someone else. Likewise i have been charged extra for dropping the car off late... Basically they can't rent it to someone else if i still have it.

I'm not suggesting it be made so it's off by hours. But a half hour isn't much, when you calculate the time you spend in the airport trying to get out to the rental car lot. I discovered accidentally that if reserved to pick up a half hour earlier than I felt I would be there, I saved enough to make it worthwhile. And note that this was for a Hawaii reservation - I don't know if it's the same thing in other cities or with other companies. But by tinkering around with two reservations for next Spring in Hawaii, I've saved about $50. That's worth it to me.

Dave

 

[klpca]

The only issue that you may run into is if you arrive before your pickup time. I use Costco for most of our rentals, and one time a few years ago, I arrived about 30 min before my pickup time and they made me wait until the official pickup time on my reservation before processing my rental. They claimed it was their SOP for Costco rentals, and rentals directly with them did not have that restriction. But that was only one time, and it could have been an agent on a power trip, who knows?

Kurt

Same happened to me in Phoenix. They made me wait the full half hour. It was Dollar. Never again. (They also added insurance even though I declined it and we had to drive back to the airport to resolve it - it was a battle of wills which I won, but the Dollar rep was almost as stubborn as me!).

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Do you know if this only applies to Costco? We use AutoSlash/Priceline but have not tried this.

 

[Luanne]

I'm not suggesting it be made so it's off by hours. But a half hour isn't much, when you calculate the time you spend in the airport trying to get out to the rental car lot. I discovered accidentally that if reserved to pick up a half hour earlier than I felt I would be there, I saved enough to make it worthwhile. And note that this was for a Hawaii reservation - I don't know if it's the same thing in other cities or with other companies. But by tinkering around with two reservations for next Spring in Hawaii, I've saved about $50. That's worth it to me.

Dave

My experience was also in Hawaii, Maui to be specific.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I'm not suggesting it be made so it's off by hours. But a half hour isn't much, when you calculate the time you spend in the airport trying to get out to the rental car lot. I discovered accidentally that if reserved to pick up a half hour earlier than I felt I would be there, I saved enough to make it worthwhile. And note that this was for a Hawaii reservation - I don't know if it's the same thing in other cities or with other companies. But by tinkering around with two reservations for next Spring in Hawaii, I've saved about $50. That's worth it to me.

Dave

That makes sense and seem reasonable.

 

[DaveNV]

Do you know if this only applies to Costco? We use AutoSlash/Priceline but have not tried this.

Honestly, I haven't checked any company other than Costco. And I don't know if it's the same for every city. This is for reservations next Spring on Maui and another, on the Big Island. That was why I wanted to mention it here, so everyone gets a chance to check it out. I hope it's widespread, and with every company. After all, any money saved is more for vacation spending, right? LOL!

The other tricks still apply - checking rates regularly, since they could drop. But now, when I check daily rates, I also check time rates, and I pick the best one. I've booked new and cancelled the older reservation multiple times over the last few weeks, each time going for the lower rate.

Dave

 

[Born2Travel]

The only issue that you may run into is if you arrive before your pickup time. I use Costco for most of our rentals, and one time a few years ago, I arrived about 30 min before my pickup time and they made me wait until the official pickup time on my reservation before processing my rental. They claimed it was their SOP for Costco rentals, and rentals directly with them did not have that restriction. But that was only one time, and it could have been an agent on a power trip, who knows?

Kurt

This also happened to us in Newport Beach, CA a couple of years ago. It has only happened once but it was pretty annoying.