Changing car rental dates on reservation?

[GoBlue96]

I have a car booked with Alamo for $290 12/29-1/6. Plans changed and now we are leaving MCO on 1/5. I looked for new reservations and the prices are through the roof ($400+ for 12/29-1/5). Do you think I can keep my original reservation for $290 and return the car a day early? Has anyone done this with Alamo?
Thanks!
Stacey

 

[nacho113]

I have a car booked with Alamo for $290 12/29-1/6. Plans changed and now we are leaving MCO on 1/5. I looked for new reservations and the prices are through the roof ($400+ for 12/29-1/5). Do you think I can keep my original reservation for $290 and return the car a day early? Has anyone done this with Alamo?
Thanks!
Stacey

I would call Alamo's 1-800 phone number and see if they can reschedule your reservation (keeping the same price)

Sadly, if you just return it early, you will likely be charged the walk up rate for the rental which could be much more than any advanced rate you could have booked.

 

[writerguyfl]

If I'm counting correctly, your original reservation was for 8 days and you'd like to switch to 7 days. Most rental companies would provide a weekly rate plus an additional day. If that's how your reservation is formatted, you may just be able to drop that additional day.

But without question, you want to finalize this before your trip. If you don't, you may get lucky and have no problems. Or, you may run into the scenario nacho113 describes. You don't want your trip soured by an unexpected charge. I concur that you should give Alamo a call and see if they can alter your original reservation.

 

[Woodview]

I have a car booked with Alamo for $290 12/29-1/6. Plans changed and now we are leaving MCO on 1/5. I looked for new reservations and the prices are through the roof ($400+ for 12/29-1/5). Do you think I can keep my original reservation for $290 and return the car a day early? Has anyone done this with Alamo?
Thanks!
Stacey

You agreed a price of $ 290 .. You will have that car for the rental time.

Are you returning the car exactly 24 hours early or 1/2 a day ? It Does Not Matter = A Loss of Rental car to YOU

You should Pay NO MORE than your agreed price of $ 290

You MIGHT get a Reduction .

THEY gain a car returned early WHICH can be Rented out = A GAIN for them.

 

[FCDub]

You agreed a price of $ 290 .. You will have that car for the rental time.

Are you returning the car exactly 24 hours early or 1/2 a day ? It Does Not Matter = A Loss of Rental car to YOU

You should Pay NO MORE than your agreed price of $ 290

You MIGHT get a Reduction .

THEY gain a car returned early WHICH can be Rented out = A GAIN for them.

I would highly recommend NOT listening to this advice, OP. Often it's cheaper to keep cars for LONGER than it would be to keep them for a shorter time, as counterintuitive as it sounds. You would think a 7-day rental will always be more expensive than a 5-day rental, but that's often not the case. You cannot count on returning it early and not being charged extra or getting any money back.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Have you tried to modify your return time as opposed to rebooking? I've had pretty good luck with this.

 

[nacho113]

You agreed a price of $ 290 .. You will have that car for the rental time.

Are you returning the car exactly 24 hours early or 1/2 a day ? It Does Not Matter = A Loss of Rental car to YOU

You should Pay NO MORE than your agreed price of $ 290

You MIGHT get a Reduction .

THEY gain a car returned early WHICH can be Rented out = A GAIN for them.

This is NOT the way the rental company's look at it.
They will see that you are changing the terms of the contract that you agreed to by returning the vehicle early.
They can/will charge you the current walk up rate which will probably be much higher then the $290 you originally had booked.

Call the 800 number and see if a rep can adjust your rental and still keep your original price.

It is still several months until your rental, prices can and will drop before your arrival date. Check frequently and cancel/re-book when prices drop.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

You can see you've gotten many different answers- from you will pay walk up rate if returned early, rate will remain the same and my favorite the price might go down!

OP only way to find out is call company and ask. Only you know exact terms and conditions you agreed to. If you make changes they can adjust price. Don't rely on a person on disboards to know the correct answer. Are you going to risk returning early and if they say price is more that person on disboards said price should be less !?

 

[goofy4tink]

I tend to rent with Alamo. My trip in early January, I was supposed to return the car on Sun, but dh wanted to leave early. We went to the Car Care Center, added him for a day, as an addtl driver (I'm always the listed driver), and asked if he could return the car on Friday vs Sun. I told the lady that I wasn't looking for any refunds, just wanted dh to be able to drop the car off at MCO early. No problem at all she said. It was no different when he returned it at the airport, and our final bill reflected a one day credit.
Now, that may not always happen, but it did happen for us that one time.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

You agreed a price of $ 290 .. You will have that car for the rental time.

Are you returning the car exactly 24 hours early or 1/2 a day ? It Does Not Matter = A Loss of Rental car to YOU

You should Pay NO MORE than your agreed price of $ 290

You MIGHT get a Reduction .

THEY gain a car returned early WHICH can be Rented out = A GAIN for them.

Wrong.


please disregard this rant. You need to talk to the rental car company and not just assume that you can return it early and not be penalized. That's not the way it works anymore than you can show up at the airport and they are like him fly home giving them a free seat the next day

 

[GoBlue96]

Thank you all for your input. I called Alamo and they modified my reservation for me AND lowered the price to $259! Considering I'm seeing prices $400+ for the week, I'm very happy with that.
Have a great day!
Stacey

 

[FCDub]

Thank you all for your input. I called Alamo and they modified my reservation for me AND lowered the price to $259! Considering I'm seeing prices $400+ for the week, I'm very happy with that.
Have a great day!
Stacey

Great news! Have a great trip!