August 2015 Car Rental Rate Watch

[DisneyPeachNJ]

We've been debating a Costco membership.
How much could we save using their car rental service?

If it makes up for the registration fee, I can finally have an excuse to become a member.

 

[migel]

Have tentatively booked through Costco, Aug 3-15, mid sized SUV for $389. We could get away with a compact, but the prices were ridiculous in comparison. Still searching...

 

[hardis5]

Broke my cardinal rule in prepaying (and hopefully can cancel need be like they say you can given rates drop big time) but did a 3 day minivan rental (need with 6 of us) one-way dropping off at Port Canaveral while picking up at the Car Care Center on-site (they will pick you up from your resort) through Alamo and Undercover Tourist for $202 all-in August 26-29 (was actually $192 for the rental alone).

MCO and CCC to Port Canaveral one-way rental $ are crazy right now ($399 from MCO and $380 from CCC both through Costco) for the same period.

Figure a few meals off-site will more than pay for the rental and allows us to get around on-site that much quicker, to port earlier than the ME plus allow us to do some requisite pre-cruise beverage shopping.

 

[migel]

We've been debating a Costco membership.
How much could we save using their car rental service?

If it makes up for the registration fee, I can finally have an excuse to become a member.

I can say that last year I had a car reserved for 6 days at MCO for $160 USD which I was fine with. Someone mentioned the Costco option, I've been a member for some time, so I tried them. Same vehicle was $105 USD, so I went with Costco. That almost paid for my annual dues right there. Costco also allows a second driver for free, so if you need this option, it will save you lots.

During peak times when prices are crazy, Costco generally has a cheaper option, but not always substantial, and you can find better deals trying various coupons. So far for this coming August, Costco is my best bet, but I'm hoping to snag a better deal closer to the date. With Costco you reserve with no prepayment, so cancelling is no problem.

 

[canadiankim]

I just booked an intermediate SUV from Aug 5 -16 with Costco for $355 which includes an additional driver. I think this is the 4th car that I have booked and other than the fact that the cars are getting a bit bigger, they are all around the same price. I will keep looking as we get a bit closer but I am happy with this deal! Hard to believe that the SUV was cheaper than the intermediate car!

 

[5 Disney Fans]

WOW, that code # VO5013 just saved me close to $290 on a minivan for a 9 day Cali trip. My prices have been close to $2K for the trip and was happt to find something for $1,181, but now I'm down to $890 using the code. Still very high, but we are getting charged big time for not dropping off at the same location as pick up.

Anyway, I've seen it asked but not answered. is this code okay to use?

 

[5 Disney Fans]

also, one more question... The Costco prices everyone is so jazzed about. I am a Costco member and when I go to the Costco website and look up rental cars through their travel site the prices are all much higher than I'm seeing directly through the rental car agencies. Am I missing something? Maybe just unique to my travel situation... but costs are so high. Are there Costco codes to put in on the rental car websites? If so, where can I find them?

Thanks!

 

[Syndrome]

So I tried the Dollar #VO5013 code, what the heck is Vacation Outlet ? Also would like to know if this is valid for everyone to use ?

We need to rent from on property WDW due to some logistic challenges , and of course we would use Alamo at the Car Care Center in WDW , but the week price for a minivan is almost $550. !!! . Thats with our AP corporate discount and a coupon !
I tried the above code at the Downtown Disney Wyndham, Dollar location , and the price is only about $350 for the same time frame . Just not sure about the code, or that particular Dollar location. Looks like a close walk from DTD . Have read some not-so-good reviews on this particular Dollar location .......anybody know about them ?
Would rather go with Alamo, but savings of $200. would be a tough call !

 

[migel]

also, one more question... The Costco prices everyone is so jazzed about. I am a Costco member and when I go to the Costco website and look up rental cars through their travel site the prices are all much higher than I'm seeing directly through the rental car agencies. Am I missing something? Maybe just unique to my travel situation... but costs are so high. Are there Costco codes to put in on the rental car websites? If so, where can I find them?

Thanks!

I have never seen Costco prices higher than standard rental rates. I recommend you plug your dates into at least two competitors (try expedia.com and hotwire.com), then compare.

Costco offers can be fantastic at times, dependent on location and dates, and other times, just a tad less than going rates.

 

[Rosebud123]

Vacation Outlet is a travel agency in Boston (or at least they have a branch in Boston.) I got a lower price from Dollar without that code just clicking on city specials.

 

[Flossbolna]

Looks like a close walk from DTD . Have read some not-so-good reviews on this particular Dollar location .......anybody know about them ?

We rented from there on our last trip. It is really close to DTD, easy to walk from the Marketplace bus stop. There was a lovely lady working there, but the cars they tried to give us were horrible! The first one was four years old, beat up and had close to 100.000 miles. The second one had a huge dent in the side and not a full tank. We finally got one that was fairly new, clean and had a full tank. But it cost us nearly an hour of our time. It was ridiculous! The lady at the counter said that ever since they became part of Hertz, there inventory is managed by Hertz at the airport and they get the lousiest cars.

 

[Syndrome]

We rented from there on our last trip. It is really close to DTD, easy to walk from the Marketplace bus stop. There was a lovely lady working there, but the cars they tried to give us were horrible! The first one was four years old, beat up and had close to 100.000 miles. The second one had a huge dent in the side and not a full tank. We finally got one that was fairly new, clean and had a full tank. But it cost us nearly an hour of our time. It was ridiculous! The lady at the counter said that ever since they became part of Hertz, there inventory is managed by Hertz at the airport and they get the lousiest cars.

Thanks for the info ...............thats what I was afraid of ! From all the reviews I have read , they are pretty bad to deal with .
We dont really have the time to deal with an unprofessional car rental agency location, (since we will be driving 5+ hours up to Disneys HHI , right after we pick-up the car) so we may just stick with Alamo at the WDW Car care center.
Thanks !

 

[Flossbolna]

Thanks for the info ...............thats what I was afraid of ! From all the reviews I have read , they are pretty bad to deal with .
We dont really have the time to deal with an unprofessional car rental agency location, (since we will be driving 5+ hours up to Disneys HHI , right after we pick-up the car) so we may just stick with Alamo at the WDW Car care center.
Thanks !

In that case I would avoid that location as well. Hopefully the Alamo price will come down between now am August for you!

 

[UncleScrooge]

Alamo at MCO through Costco here as well. $305 for August 13 - 22 for an intermediate SUV, I think it is the cheapest vehicle they have right now. More than double that ($700) to upgrade to a standard SUV. I started at $370, check about once a day and about once a week I find it cheaper. Hopefully that continues.

Enterprise is $292 for the same time period. Any thoughts on Alamo vs. Enterprise at MCO?

 

[Syndrome]

Just found a special price at Alamo located at WDW Care car center. Beginning of August for a week.
Using a $30. coupon AD2338FDF and the Disney AP 860292 discount we reserved a full size Premium SUV for the same price as a minivan.
We were at just about $550. for a week in a standard minivan , now we are moving up to a full size premium SUV (Suburban) , for the same price. That will defiantly make the traveling with 7 and all the luggage , so much easier.
Still hoping the prices come down some though ! But will take a Suburban over a minivan anyday !!!

We are making a road trip up to Disney HHI for a few days in between our WDW stays (5+hours of travel time each way) , so will need a comfortable traveling car for 7 . A Suburban will fit the bill perfectly ............and since we already own one, it will feel very "homey" to us , lol !

 

[nacho113]

also, one more question... The Costco prices everyone is so jazzed about. I am a Costco member and when I go to the Costco website and look up rental cars through their travel site the prices are all much higher than I'm seeing directly through the rental car agencies. Am I missing something? Maybe just unique to my travel situation... but costs are so high. Are there Costco codes to put in on the rental car websites? If so, where can I find them?

Thanks!

Try going to the rental car sites directly (ie: alamo.com budget.com etc) and use the Costco codes that are listed on Costco's travel site (instead of booking on the Costco site)
http://www.costcotravel.com/
Alamo http://www.costcotravel.com/Rental-Cars/Alamo
Budget http://www.costcotravel.com/Rental-Cars/Budget
Avis http://www.costcotravel.com/Rental-Cars/Avis
Enterprise http://www.costcotravel.com/Rental-Cars/Enterprise
You will see several offers under each company and any restrictions etc.
Each offer will list the code and/or coupon needed to get the offer. Enter these on the Rental car company's website to get the best pricing.
FYI: some travel booking sites (Expedia, Hotwire etc) also allow you to enter these codes when using their booking engine.

 

[anorman]

Try going to the rental car sites directly (ie: alamo.com budget.com etc) and use the Costco codes that are listed on Costco's travel site (instead of booking on the Costco site)
http://www.costcotravel.com/
Alamo http://www.costcotravel.com/Rental-Cars/Alamo
Budget http://www.costcotravel.com/Rental-Cars/Budget
Avis http://www.costcotravel.com/Rental-Cars/Avis
Enterprise http://www.costcotravel.com/Rental-Cars/Enterprise
You will see several offers under each company and any restrictions etc.
Each offer will list the code and/or coupon needed to get the offer. Enter these on the Rental car company's website to get the best pricing.
FYI: some travel booking sites (Expedia, Hotwire etc) also allow you to enter these codes when using their booking engine.

That worked. I've got a midsize SUV with Alamo now for $441 for a 14 day rental using the costco code and Insiders....down from $500 with just the Insiders rate. I still expect that to get lower as my dates get closer.

 

[nacho113]

That worked. I've got a midsize SUV with Alamo now for $441 for a 14 day rental using the costco code and Insiders....down from $500 with just the Insiders rate. I still expect that to get lower as my dates get closer.

If you will be paying with Visa, there is a $30 off coupon that you could add. Coupon Code AD2338FDF

 

[anorman]

If you will be paying with Visa, there is a $30 off coupon that you could add. Coupon Code AD2338FDF

Excellent! I am down to $406 now with a midsize SUV for 14 days using the Alamo Insiders rate, Costco members contract ID 7014627, and the Visa coupon code AD2338FDF. Thanks!

 

[artesian]

So i was just able to get a Mid Size SUV via dollar on their city special for $238 all in Aug 13-21. Not a bad rate for 8 days. Using this as my new starting point to hoepfully get something much lower. Been averaging $160 ish for an 8 day in the past.