Car rental discounts...any advice?????

[tink rules]

I'm just trying to find a decent rate for a car rental out of MCO. It seems that since I was there last the rates have soared!!!

Any advice?

I need a car so busses etc. is out for us.

 

[mkt]

Some people like doing things on their own, rather than rely on someone else for a ride. Personally, I get nervous when I'm the passenger (call me a hypocrite, I know)

 

[tink rules]

Thanks much for all the advice....

My mom needs a car to make it easier

At least now I have homework to do!!!

Thanks!

 

[kcouture]

Costo car rental

I just checked the costco.com site. Search "rental cars" and several agencies come up. There are two coupons listed 20 and 25 off. For my purposes I am renting from the WDW car care center, June 3 to June 9, mid-size suv, total cost including additional driver, unlimited miles and fees is $211.84. I did not have to leave a deposit (but if you prepay at Alamo you get 15% off but cant cancel w/o penalty) and they did not ask for a Costco membership #. Good luck:wave:

 

[noname70]

Head my warning and stay away from National. I had two bad experiences w/them at MCO and the second I would call nothing less than larceny. I also tried writing to their HQ (usually works) and got the big brush off. NEVER again.

 

[mkt]

avoid Alamo at MCO like the plague. It is always insane. I know people who have backup reservations at Avis in case Alamo is too busy or inattentive.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Beware - it could happen anywhere

 

[stuallan]

i found http://www.e-zrentacar.com/ great on 2 occasions over the summer and would definatly recomend them. We even got free additional driver on the car for a week the first time and both times they were very generious with the fuel that had to be in the car before handing it back

stu

 

[Dubman]

I just rented a mid-size SUV through Alamo using the prepay option for Feb 19-26, and got it for $167.00. Best deal I could find.. I've used this option twice now and have gotten much better rates than I expected.. They only charge you 5.00 if you cancel the ressie.. Check it out!!

Alamo Prepay Link

As MKT said above, their rental counter can be crazy, but I have lucked out in the past.. When you leave the counter, you do not have keys.. They give you a envelope with your selected class on it.. When you get to the parking garage, you have your choice of cars in your class. If they didn't have the car I rented available they upgraded me.. Rented a Cavalier, and left with a Grand Prix. Luck of the draw, but they never left me stranded like Budget did twice..

 

[Erika]

This might sound dumb, but I didn't know this (I don't ever rent cars) so I'll mention is just in case. You can NOT use your debit/check card even if it carries a Visa or Mastercard logo for your car rental. Make sure you have a full on credit Visa or MC to rent your car. They'll take your debit card number over the phone but when you try to pick up the car, they won't let you.

Like I said, might be obvious, but I didn't discover that until I went to rent a car one time.
-m

(PS: Hertz used to do it but stopped as of May 05. Enterprise local will sometimes but not airport locations. Budget/Dollar will but only with a credit check. (!!) So it's pretty much a no-go.)

Interesting! I thought I used my debit to rent from the airport 6 months ago. Is that a local thing? My brother is in the business so I'll have to ask him what gives.

 

[notnothin]

Interesting! I thought I used my debit to rent from the airport 6 months ago. Is that a local thing? My brother is in the business so I'll have to ask him what gives.

Yes, I've absolutely used my debit card to rent a car from Budget many, many times. It is allowed by certain companies. L&M also allowed it in May.

 

[Scott M]

I know that a couple of others have already posted this idea, but I just wanted to add a few points:

If you're staying on Disney property and you plan on spending the majority of the time in WDW, why not grab a bus or cab from the airport to your resort? I know that Mears used to run buses to WDW, but now I hear that WDW has their own. It will certainly be less expensive that renting a car for the duration.

Once at your resort, WDW transportation is fairly convenient and reliable. Aside from the buses, the different modes of transportation could be very interesting as well, especially if you've got children with you. The monorails and boats add to the whole WDW experience.

I can not speak of off-site hotels, as I've never stayed at one, but I believe that many have shuttles that take you to the park gates. Again, I've not experienced any first hand, so I can not vouch for their reliability.

Any time that I've ever gone to WDW, I've only stayed on Disney property. Having never rented a car during any of these trips has always worked out very well, and has saved some much needed cash to spend on the rest of the vacation.

Scott

 

[imamouse]

Well I'd like to thank Pam at Kingdom Konsultant for reminding me that my AP includes a 20% discount with Alamo car rentals. I rarely rent cars so when Pam was booking my upcoming Disneyland trip, I asked her if she knew of any good deals on rental cars, and as always she had the scoop on the discount. I saved 20% with the AP and an additional 10% because Pam booked online.

That's a mid-size car for almost a week for a total of $136.22 (including taxes & fees)- AMAZING!!!!