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Hi!
Planning a vacation in the US (FL) in a couple of weeks and have some questions about car rental. First off, can anyone give me some information on how to get the best price?
a) book online (and pre-pay) before travel?
b) rent at the airport (MCO)?
Any chance of an interline/airline employee discount?
Do I need to be 25+ years to rent? (I am 24)
Do I need "international drivers liscence"?
Thanks & regards
Provided you are non-US resident:
Always book ahead to get the best interline rates.
Use Alamo .. they have far better deals than anyone else ... up to 40% off retail.
go to www.alamo.com and for travel industry rates specify Rate Code W9 for fully inclusive product and RP for Alamo Gold in the appropriate boxes( Corp ID and rate code ).
For travel industry rates you pay in the US ( at the end of the rental .. credit card imprint taken at start of rental ).
Age 24 is fine for Alamo and you don't normally need an International Licence provided your licence is readable in English ( you don't say where you are based however most EU are OK ).
I must also agree with the the response above from BRITSKI99, that ALAMO usually offers the best deals. I travel to MCO quite frequently and I use ALAMO 90% of the time. I also use Alamo in most other places I visit when available. Alamo also offers 10-15% discount if you pre-pay your reservation. I also have good luck with Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar Car Rental from time to time.
Thank you very much for your responses. I'm gonna go with Alamo, seems like a good deal!
Now the only worry is non-reving to MCO http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
Really great bargain for Alamo using W9 code. I am heading to MCO and LAS in March http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gif awesome. Excellent.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (meshpo @ Jan 22 2008, 01:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>Great tip! Thanks for taking the time to share. http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gifQuote:
Really great bargain for Alamo using W9 code. I am heading to MCO and LAS in March http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gif awesome. Excellent.[/b]
I prefer Thifty for two reasons. First the destinations that I travel to they are priced the best or atleast competitive. The second is I love there cars. We prefer the Chrysler 300C but also the Dodge Magnum and Charger. I have three tips for renting cars.
1. Choose a primary company and and join their rewards program. This will allow you to accumulate rewards faster.
2. Most companies have an expedited service to pick up and drop off your car. This service can save you hours. Thrifty's is called Blue Chips. When you sign up for their program they take all of your credit card and drivers license information and keep it on file. When you arrive to pick up your car all you do is show your card and then sign the receipt and they will give you your keys. On a recent trip to Hawaii the line at the counter wound through the waiting area out the door and down the stairs. They told us to be prepared for over an hour wait. We went to the Blue Chip line and were on the road in 10 minutes. Another perk is we have received numerous upgrades as well.
3. For a dollar or two more per day you can usually upgrade from an entry level car. Most companies will not guarantee a specific car if you make a reservation. That midsize car you requested could turn out to be a station wagon when you get there. I have always found this to work in my favor. If I don't like my car I negotiate for a nicer one without paying for the upgrade.
Limited cities but e-z car rental has some great deals and you get interline discounts, too
I love alamo for global/us usage--as well as thrifty and dollar. hertz, avis....way overpriced in most citites
I was also going to recommend Alamo for you.
Sorry to bring up an old topic, but i have a quick query for those of you who has used the W9 Alamo code. What ID is required? with the code being W9, is the rate limited to a specific airline? By far this is the best deal I have found, however I am unsure if I am safe booking it.
Thanks in advance http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...IR#>/smile.gif
No worries,
W9,W1 and RP(Gold) are the generic codes for the Travel Industry Rates so they are not limited to a specific airline .. as long as you have an airline ID you'll be OK with these rates. If there will be more than one of you driving then the RP rate will be the best value .. even with only 1 driver its a close call between the RP rate ( which gives you a free tank of fuel and 3 extra drivers ) and the W9 rate plus the cost of a full tank of fuel ( with Alamo you have to take a full tank of fuel and return empty ... the only negative if you are doing low mileage ).
Check out the rates for both codes online at www.alamo.com and see which gives you the best value.
Also if you are renting for more than a week, are using the RP option on the larger vehicles and can fit the change-over into your schedule you might consider making 2 bookings ... renting for one week and the remaining time ... and changing the vehicle after the first week ... in this case you get another free tank of fuel for the second rental ..worth USD 60-80.
Thanks for the reply, I will book using the W9 code, as it seems to be the best value around.
http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...IR#>/smile.gif
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BRITSKI99 @ May 12 2008, 02:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>Definately something to consider. The attractions in LA are really spread out. You are going to be doing a lot of driving. http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...DIR#>/wink.gifQuote:
.. even with only 1 driver its a close call between the RP rate ( which gives you a free tank of fuel and 3 extra drivers ) and the W9 rate plus the cost of a full tank of fuel ( with Alamo you have to take a full tank of fuel and return empty ... the only negative if you are doing low mileage ).
... and changing the vehicle after the first week ... in this case you get another free tank of fuel for the second rental ..worth USD 60-80.[/b]
Word to the wise--Think twice before taking the "free large-car upgrade". Today gas is running $380 a gallon.
MSN local gas prices This link is a great site for gas prices and it has a map to the stations. (something you might need http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gif )
The zip code for LAX is 90045.
BTW, you might also want to read my Los Angeles article lots of tips. http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...DIR#>/cool.gif http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gif
Mig,
I thought petrol here in the UK was expensive at $2 a litre ... but $380 a gallon over there http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...DIR#>/ohmy.gif ... I'm going by bike next time I'm in LA http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gif
I used W9 code on alamo in April08 and have the following experience. Firstly, I was used in LAX, lots of staff are waiting for customers, no need to queue. Staff was helpful, unless I didn't requested GPS and he suggested me to have one, fine, (and it did saved my life) and no Travel Industry ID required.
Second time in MIA, staff was like pissed off. In the outlet, long queue (like 10+ customers), only 2-3 staff, lots of customers waiting to be served. A staff called to ask customer to use automated machine, seems no one knows how to use, and I am not elgibile to use, so wait....
When my turn came, she asked me where do I get the code from. This code should be used by system to system booking, not booking through web. This code is for Lufthansa UK employees to travel in US, and you're not working in UK, you're not LH staff, you shouldn't do it through web, should do it from staff travel system blah blah.... I showed her my business card, staff card, with the 1W logo. Finally, she needed her supervisor to approve the code... And her supervisor just waved her hand, said OK.
As I was used for commuting in MIA, I booked a compact car without fuel option. She said you must get that as company policy requires customer to book on certain class must purchase fuel option... glosh....
After a long discussion I got my rental agreement and look out for car.... come on, there was no car in the compact parking lot! Ask a staff, he drove me a dodge avenger from the garage.
This code is really deep discounted, where all inclusive, but staff's attitute do make myself book somewhere else.
Hi Folks - just wondering how to reconcile prebooking car rental, possibly using this famous W9 code, with the chancy business of travelling standby when there is no guarantee one is going to arrive at the destination within any given time frame.
Presumably prebooked rentals are subject to cancellation charges if you don't make it - or are they ?
Thats not a problem ... these are pre-booked rentals but not pre-paid rentals.
You do not need to supply credit card details prior to arrival.
If you book online and don't get on the flight you can always go online and modify the booking to your new plans or cancel the booking if you don't need it ( you don't have to cancel but I always try to cancel the booking if I can't use it simply as a courtesy to Alamo since they do offer us such great rates http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...DIR#>/wink.gif you can also phone Alamo direct to cancel/modify ).
Even if you arrive several hours late there is normally no problem in using a booking for an earlier time ... its the fact of having that booking that gives you the great rates as compared to the 'walk-in prices'.
Thanks Paul, hadn't realised that it wasn't prepaid.
Normally I use Hertz with a CDP number, but for the best rates you have to bite the bullet and pay in advance.
I'm actually now retired, but my ID card doesn't make that clear (and I've still got stacks of my old business cards...), so possibly this discount doesn't really apply to me, so I'll have to search my conscience before using it. Probably.
Just wanted to add some info about the W9 code.
Was trying on the Alamo site to price a rental with a dropoff in Victoria BC, but there weren't any Alamo locations listed, despite the Alamo Canada website showing five locations in Victoria.
Alamo replied swiftly to my querying e-mail to say that Alamo and National had recently merged and the Victoria locations were originally National offices and' hadn't been incorporated into the Alamo site yet. They suggested using www.nationalcar.com instead. I checked it out, and hey, the W9 code works there as well - you need to enter it in the Rate/Product Code box, and it then autocompletes the contract code with 5005946.
So if you need a rental location that's not on the Alamo site, try the National site instead.
Thanks for the info. BTW Geriatrix, nice avatar. http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...#>/biggrin.gif
Just a note of caution if you do use www.nationalcar.com as above.
Entering the W9 code does give the 5005946 rate however this is the default rate that you get if you enter no rate code.
You are not getting any discount by entering the W9 rate code.
For some strange reason although they are now part of the same company National do not give any discounts to the Travel Industry http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e..._DIR#>/sad.gif in the same way that Alamo do http://www.nonrev.net/forums/style_e...IR#>/smile.gif
Go figure !!
Oh. Shame! Might have to use Alamo and drop it in YVR instead of Victoria. Will do the sums nearer the time! Sorry for the unintentionally misleading post.