Recent Thrifty/Dollar MCO pickup experiences

[kittylady1972]

bump

I'm pretty sure several people have already confirmed that Dollar and Thrifty require a visit to the terminal at MCO (Orlando) currently.

 

[Pinnochio]

o

 

[Pinnochio]

Checked in last night.... Dollar Express is unquestioningly 100% dead.... there will be no more heading straight to your car with this brand.... that said, i went to the counter at 8:30 pm and there were two agents working .... fortunately no one else was there and i was on my way in 10 mins...

Sadly, after 30 years with Dollar, it's time to move on.....

 

[SkyGuy]

Checked in last night.... Dollar Express is unquestioningly 100% dead.... there will be no more heading straight to your car with this brand.... that said, i went to the counter at 8:30 pm and there were two agents working .... fortunately no one else was there and i was on my way in 10 mins...

Sadly, after 30 years with Dollar, it's time to move on.....

Thanks for the update. DH is traveling to MCO again soon, and I’ll let him know Dollar is still a no-go as it was his go-to rental car. He always arrives on the first flight of the day, and I’d bet the line would be a bit longer then.

 

[staceyj2]

Checked in last night.... Dollar Express is unquestioningly 100% dead.... there will be no more heading straight to your car with this brand.... that said, i went to the counter at 8:30 pm and there were two agents working .... fortunately no one else was there and i was on my way in 10 mins...

Sadly, after 30 years with Dollar, it's time to move on.....

I hate that this is their new policy. Even if you don’t have a wait inside, it is possible you will have one in the garage since you also have to check in there.

Does anyone know if you can still go straight to the garage with Hertz?

 

[otterlychaotic]

I hate that this is their new policy. Even if you don’t have a wait inside, it is possible you will have one in the garage since you also have to check in there.

Does anyone know if you can still go straight to the garage with Hertz?

If you have Hertz Gold Plus and have rented before with Hertz so that they have verified your CC and DL, yes unless sometimes if your info has changed and they need to re-verify something but even that most often can be done at the booth leaving the garage.

If you have Hertz Gold Plus but it's your first time, possibly to probably but results vary as a lot of reservations state "standard counter" the first time but a good chunk of people have reported that either their names were on the Gold Board anyways & could go choose a car from their respective lane or they were able to quickly verify their info at the Gold kiosk in the garage and pick their car. I think having to go to the main counter is pretty rare for Hertz loyalty members.

 

[leebee]

If you have Hertz Gold Plus and have rented before with Hertz so that they have verified your CC and DL, yes unless sometimes if your info has changed and they need to re-verify something but even that most often can be done at the booth leaving the garage.

If you have Hertz Gold Plus but it's your first time, possibly to probably but results vary as a lot of reservations state "standard counter" the first time but a good chunk of people have reported that either their names were on the Gold Board anyways & could go choose a car from their respective lane or they were able to quickly verify their info at the Gold kiosk in the garage and pick their car. I think having to go to the main counter is pretty rare for Hertz loyalty members.

I rented from Hertz first time on 11/4/23. My gold member number was on the reservation but it also said "terminal counter" or something like that. As I was a 1st time renter, I went to the counter in the terminal. The guy took one look at my reservation and sent me to the garage. I pointed out it was my first time renting as a gold member and he said nope, everyone who is gold goes directly to the garage, no need to stop at the terminal. They checked my license and credit card at the exit.

 

[staceyj2]

FYI-I had a Thrifty "managers special" reserved for 6 days picking up on 11/17. When I got to the counter, the agent said that managers special now means electric vehicle. She would give me an economy size for $30 more per day adding another $180 to the total. Thankfully, I had forgotten to cancel a budget reservation that I made when I initially scheduled a later flight, so I picked up that vehicle instead. It was $75 cheaper than what I would have paid for the economy at Thrifty but still higher than my original Thrifty reservation.

 

[ClapYourHands]

FYI-I had a Thrifty "managers special" reserved for 6 days picking up on 11/17. When I got to the counter, the agent said that managers special now means electric vehicle. She would give me an economy size for $30 more per day adding another $180 to the total. Thankfully, I had forgotten to cancel a budget reservation that I made when I initially scheduled a later flight, so I picked up that vehicle instead. It was $75 cheaper than what I would have paid for the economy at Thrifty but still higher than my original Thrifty reservation.

Really good information - thank you! I did a Thrifty managers special in September, and had a regular car. Then when booking for December, I noticed the car rental saver description now reads the managers special may include electric vehicles. I was going back and forth about risking it again, but ultimately played it safe with a standard rental for a bit more money.

I wonder if the EVs are from Hertz, since it’s the same parent company, and Hertz was pushing EVs for the managers special back in September.

 

[kittylady1972]

Quick update on a recent Thrifty experience. I was able to book a rental at Thrifty (mid size I think) for my most recent trip (Wed 1/24 - Sat 1/27) for $115...which was half as much as my Alamo rental. Decided to chance it but kept Alamo as my backup plan.

Arrived around 9:30am Wed, went to Thrifty counter in terminal, NO wait there, counter agent asked if I was Blue Chip, I said yes, she said to proceed to booth in garage. Ok then.

At garage booth, two Thrifty/Dollar personnel there, didn't see my name on the blue board there but all the names had "See Agent" next to them anyway. Told her my name wasn't up there, she asked if I rented 3rd party and I confirmed. She gave me a speech about how, even with 3rd party when they request Blue Chip number, it won't show up on the board for them and I won't get my rewards so I should always use Thrifty site...and I can still select free cancellation option. They found my reservation and noted I was also on some kind of paper list they had there. She asked if I needed toll pass...nope I had one. Asked what kind of insurance I was using in the even of a claim...I told her my insurance company. She then confirmed she had upgraded me (we ended up with a BRAND new Ford Escape with 500 miles on it) and she handed me a bag with water and some snacks and took me to the car and handed me the key. Overall it was a very pleasant experience.

So for those hesitant you may want to give them another try. I suspect they are hurting for business now as the rate I got (pretty last minute) was well below any other rate I could find on other rental companies and it was free cancellation. I booked through BJs Wholesale Club travel but probably could have booked the same rate through Southwest or even direct. Didn't try.

See this post for photos of free goodies and car.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Quick update on a recent Thrifty experience. I was able to book a rental at Thrifty (mid size I think) for my most recent trip (Wed 1/24 - Sat 1/27) for $115...which was half as much as my Alamo rental. Decided to chance it but kept Alamo as my backup plan.

Arrived around 9:30am Wed, went to Thrifty counter in terminal, NO wait there, counter agent asked if I was Blue Chip, I said yes, she said to proceed to booth in garage. Ok then.

At garage booth, two Thrifty/Dollar personnel there, didn't see my name on the blue board there but all the names had "See Agent" next to them anyway. Told her my name wasn't up there, she asked if I rented 3rd party and I confirmed. She gave me a speech about how, even with 3rd party when they request Blue Chip number, it won't show up on the board for them and I won't get my rewards so I should always use Thrifty site...and I can still select free cancellation option. They found my reservation and noted I was also on some kind of paper list they had there. She asked if I needed toll pass...nope I had one. Asked what kind of insurance I was using in the even of a claim...I told her my insurance company. She then confirmed she had upgraded me (we ended up with a BRAND new Ford Escape with 500 miles on it) and she handed me a bag with water and some snacks and took me to the car and handed me the key. Overall it was a very pleasant experience.

So for those hesitant you may want to give them another try. I suspect they are hurting for business now as the rate I got (pretty last minute) was well below any other rate I could find on other rental companies and it was free cancellation. I booked through BJs Wholesale Club travel but probably could have booked the same rate through Southwest or even direct. Didn't try.

See this post for photos of free goodies and car.

Question for you: is your insurance a FL insurance? I went to the counter in December, and the agent would NOT let me decline basic insurance. She said there was a change to make it mandatory for all renters to use their insurance unless I had a FL policy. I told her I’d rented there in September, and my USAA was sufficient, and she said their policy had changed. It was like 2am, and I was too tired to scrap it and go to another rental agency, but the surprise additional fee was annoying.

 

[kittylady1972]

Nearly all your seat drama is actually on planes with assigned seats the primary reason upsells and selected seats.

From people who specifically selected a seat being asked by another passenger to move especially when it comes to parents but also happens with spouses. And people are fed up with being asked to be moved when they've selected that particular seat.

On our BA flight back last year from Heathrow to Chicago there was a huge uproar over a family who mistakenly sat in another family's seat. It was far more chaotic than it needed to be and it was on an honest mistake.

Arguably there will always be an opportunity for situations to occur on SWA but they represent such a rare experience overall, you will however stand a very high chance of issues arising on airlines with assigned seating. Overhead bin space is also a stressor compounded by the fact that you often have paid for your seat selection on other airlines.

As an aside what good is having a seat assigned if somehow the system can assign two different people the same seat? And hopefully the person who had to find another seat wasn't one that paid for that seat (I know seat selection is add-on for Spirit).

SWA's main issue is really it's pre-boarding procedure. That's the angst the airline deals with far more.

Question for you: is your insurance a FL insurance? I went to the counter in December, and the agent would NOT let me decline basic insurance. She said there was a change to make it mandatory for all renters to use their insurance unless I had a FL policy. I told her I’d rented there in September, and my USAA was sufficient, and she said their policy had changed. It was like 2am, and I was too tired to scrap it and go to another rental agency, but the surprise additional fee was annoying.

Nope...my license is Maryland and my insurance is Maryland.

 

[EpcotNerd]

Quick update on a recent Thrifty experience. I was able to book a rental at Thrifty (mid size I think) for my most recent trip (Wed 1/24 - Sat 1/27) for $115...which was half as much as my Alamo rental. Decided to chance it but kept Alamo as my backup plan.

Arrived around 9:30am Wed, went to Thrifty counter in terminal, NO wait there, counter agent asked if I was Blue Chip, I said yes, she said to proceed to booth in garage. Ok then.

At garage booth, two Thrifty/Dollar personnel there, didn't see my name on the blue board there but all the names had "See Agent" next to them anyway. Told her my name wasn't up there, she asked if I rented 3rd party and I confirmed. She gave me a speech about how, even with 3rd party when they request Blue Chip number, it won't show up on the board for them and I won't get my rewards so I should always use Thrifty site...and I can still select free cancellation option. They found my reservation and noted I was also on some kind of paper list they had there. She asked if I needed toll pass...nope I had one. Asked what kind of insurance I was using in the even of a claim...I told her my insurance company. She then confirmed she had upgraded me (we ended up with a BRAND new Ford Escape with 500 miles on it) and she handed me a bag with water and some snacks and took me to the car and handed me the key. Overall it was a very pleasant experience.

So for those hesitant you may want to give them another try. I suspect they are hurting for business now as the rate I got (pretty last minute) was well below any other rate I could find on other rental companies and it was free cancellation. I booked through BJs Wholesale Club travel but probably could have booked the same rate through Southwest or even direct. Didn't try.

See this post for photos of free goodies and car.

This is really really helpful, thank you.

 

[EACarlson]

Question for you: is your insurance a FL insurance? I went to the counter in December, and the agent would NOT let me decline basic insurance. She said there was a change to make it mandatory for all renters to use their insurance unless I had a FL policy. I told her I’d rented there in September, and my USAA was sufficient, and she said their policy had changed. It was like 2am, and I was too tired to scrap it and go to another rental agency, but the surprise additional fee was annoying.

That's not legal in the state of FL. Rental companies are required to have insurance on the vehicle up to the minimum required by law, which in FL is not enough. By declining their insurance you are taking the liability yourself for anything over and above that. In practice, just about every credit card in use has at least a secondary benefit of rental car insurance and almost all private insurance policies cover rental cars. There have been multiple reports that I've seen that at least one person at the Thrifty/Dollar desk is using this tactic to make their bonus for insurance upsells.

 

[ClapYourHands]

That's not legal in the state of FL. Rental companies are required to have insurance on the vehicle up to the minimum required by law, which in FL is not enough. By declining their insurance you are taking the liability yourself for anything over and above that. In practice, just about every credit card in use has at least a secondary benefit of rental car insurance and almost all private insurance policies cover rental cars. There have been multiple reports that I've seen that at least one person at the Thrifty/Dollar desk is using this tactic to make their bonus for insurance upsells.

Thank you. This seemed off to me. I also booked with a travel credit card because of the rental car benefits. We got a flat tire on a rental car when we were in the UK, and everything involved in that incident was covered by the credit card, so I never buy the agency's insurance. So basically, the agent straight up lied to my face because she told me I could not rent the car without accepting their insurance. What does one do in a situation like this?

 

[EACarlson]

What does one do in a situation like this?

Ask to see the policy in writing and that you want a copy of it. If you really need the car immediately, I would write something like "under duress" where you have to initial the acceptance. Then call Hertz corporate, elliot.org and the FL Attorney General. I've seen reports that people have gotten this charge refunded.

 

[wdw&sonny]

For Dollar, how/when do you learn if you can go directly to the garage kiosk or if you have to get in the line inside the terminal?