Are Costco car rental discounts reallly that good

mjkkb2 · Apr 7, 2014

I have been booking and canceling a 2 wk rental for Orlando mid April. I have made about 10+ reservations starting about 6 to 7 weeks in advance. The price started at about $500 for a full size and have been dropping every few days. At about 10-9 days before the trip I have made my 10th+/- reservation for $269 for same car. After that the prices skyrocketed back and beyond where it started, now the same car is $800+(3 days before trip starts).
I have been a firm believer of Priceline bidding, but was not able to come close to prices that Costco offered.

uop1497 · Apr 7, 2014

I just wonder between Avis and Alamo, which company is better to choose .

Luanne · Apr 7, 2014

uop1497 said:
I just wonder between Avis and Alamo, which company is better to choose .

Of the two I generally prefer Avis. However, if there is a big difference in price and Alamo is better, I'll book with them.

Sandy VDH · Apr 7, 2014

My choice would be Avis. As a preferred customer I get better service. Free upgrades regularly. No pressure to purchase extra insurance. No hyper pickiness about state of car when I return it.

Alamo has a history with me of trying to always pressure the insurance, and trying to charge me with scratches and dents that were already there when I got the car. When I do you them, I walk the car and have them mark everything. Don't rent at night when I can't see things. I have been charged by them for damage that was not my doing. The first time I couldn't prove it, I have gotten smarter since then and now take a photo of major damage and have it noted on the rental form.

Don't know why but Avis never has as hassle about this. Alamo and thrifty to.

NWTRVLRS · Apr 7, 2014

Yep, Costco has the best prices... but keep checking back up until the last minute

We go to New Mexico each year, and I book the car as soon as I book the air, usually 6-7 months in advance... checking last minute and rebooking the car saved over $200!

dioxide45 · Apr 7, 2014

Sandy VDH said:
My choice would be Avis. As a preferred customer I get better service. Free upgrades regularly. No pressure to purchase extra insurance. No hyper pickiness about state of car when I return it.

Alamo has a history with me of trying to always pressure the insurance, and trying to charge me with scratches and dents that were already there when I got the car. When I do you them, I walk the car and have them mark everything. Don't rent at night when I can't see things. I have been charged by them for damage that was not my doing. The first time I couldn't prove it, I have gotten smarter since then and now take a photo of major damage and have it noted on the rental form.

Don't know why but Avis never has as hassle about this. Alamo and thrifty to.

Oddly, out experience has been the opposite with Alamo. No pressure when picking up the car (though we use the kiosk if we can) and no scrutiny when returning it. We used Alamo a lot, but not in the last couple years.

T_R_Oglodyte · Apr 7, 2014

dioxide45 said:
Oddly, out experience has been the opposite with Alamo. No pressure when picking up the car (though we use the kiosk if we can) and no scrutiny when returning it. We used Alamo a lot, but not in the last couple years.

In my recent experience, no agency hawks the insurance more aggressively than Budget/Avis. My business-owners liability insurance includes coverage for hired vehicles that blasts the insurance coverage out of the water; I have that coverage because my Fortune 500 clients demand it since they wind up being deep pockets for under-insured contractors. But even after asking them why I should pay money for their inferior coverage when my coverage is already primary, many of the agents continue to tout their insurance.

I often walk away with a distinct impression that when the people at the counter are able to upsell a renter (car class, insurance coverage, GPS, car seat, etc.), they get a cut of the revenue in their paycheck.

Ken555 · Apr 7, 2014

T_R_Oglodyte said:
In my recent experience, no agency hawks the insurance more aggressively than Budget/Avis.

Same experience here. I prefer the Alamo computer checkin so I don't have to even tempt the agent to talk with me about insurance. Budget doesn't seem to offer this type of convenience, though with an appropriate savings vs Alamo, I would consider it.

My business-owners liability insurance includes coverage for hired vehicles that blasts the insurance coverage out of the water

I've been paying the extra $17.95 per rental to AMEX for their coverage. However, I never thought of checking my business liability coverage for rental cars. Are you referring to non-owned auto coverage? If not, any suggestions on where I should look to find this info? My policy is quite good, or so I've been told...haven't had to put it to the test, tho.

Sent from my iPad

T_R_Oglodyte · Apr 7, 2014

Ken555 said:
I've been paying the extra $17.95 per rental to AMEX for their coverage. However, I never thought of checking my business liability coverage for rental cars. Are you referring to non-owned auto coverage? If not, any suggestions on where I should look to find this info? My policy is quite good, or so I've been told...haven't had to put it to the test, tho.

Yes - it's for hired vehicles only. The issue came up when some of my clients started requiring me to include auto insurance in my certificates of coverage, and the limits they were requesting were substantial

When I contacted my carrier, I was told that as long as I wasn't requesting coverage for owned vehicles (i.e., hired vehicles only) they could include coverage under my general business owners policy with no change in premium. So that was a pretty easy decision to make. I was already using rented vehicles for my travel that didn't involve air or train travel, so I now use rental car exclusively.

On the whole, it's also cheaper for most my clients for me to rent a vehicle than to use a personal vehicle and charge IRS allowances. Also, when I rent a vehicle I can tailor the vehicle to the requirements of the job. If I'm going to be doing field work I rent a 4x4, but if I'm just going somewhere for a meeting a compact is all that I need.

easyrider · Apr 7, 2014

I just recheck our reservation for Kona and discount hawaii car rental has costco beat by $180 +.

I use the Amex protection in Mexico and Canada but because my business vehicles include "hired auto liability" and my credit card has the collision, I don't use the Amex protection in the states.

Last year the RCI Avis code was the one that worked for us in Mexico.

Bill

T_R_Oglodyte · Apr 7, 2014

easyrider said:
I just recheck our reservation for Kona and discount hawaii car rental has costco beat by $180 +.

I use the Amex protection in Mexico and Canada but because my business vehicles include "hired auto liability" and my credit card has the collision, I don't use the Amex protection in the states.

Last year the RCI Avis code was the one that worked for us in Mexico.

Bill

good info. One of my takeaways from this thread is to cease using Priceline and Hotwire for rental months in advance, and to instead stay with cancellable reservations until a couple of weeks before departure.

dioxide45 · Apr 8, 2014

T_R_Oglodyte said:
good info. One of my takeaways from this thread is to cease using Priceline and Hotwire for rental months in advance, and to instead stay with cancellable reservations until a couple of weeks before departure.

I would agree. There is no way that I would ever use Priceline or Hotwire months in advance. We have tried bidding about a week out to try to beat Costco and DHCR. So far neither has gotten us better prices than Costco.

uop1497 · Apr 9, 2014

To upgrade my car rental.

I received the car 2hrs early and pay no extra charge . I was told if pick up the car early and still within 24 hrs of return window. No extra charge .

FYI, Avis will keep car for customer 24 hrs counting from the pick up time in reservation.

Travel from MIA to FLL using tri- rail very easy and cheap . Get on bus #133 (at MIA airport) to train. Buy train ticket to FLL airport station at the window.

Board the train (north bound) and get off when train arrive at FLL airport station. walk across the street and get on small bus park next to the train station (south bound). Small bus will go inside FLL airport . Get off at small bus station inside airport.

Walk across street and get on the larger bus to go to rental car center.

Total cost is $7.50 (for 2 one way tickets) and 1hr take of our time :banana:

Ken555 · Apr 19, 2014

Costco kept lowering Alamo prices for my upcoming trip but in the end a coupon (found in <1 minute online) for Advantage was the best rate. It pays to keep checking...

TungDart · Apr 20, 2014

Costco has better price than others

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Sugarcubesea · Apr 20, 2014

NWTRVLRS said:
Yep, Costco has the best prices... but keep checking back up until the last minute

We go to New Mexico each year, and I book the car as soon as I book the air, usually 6-7 months in advance... checking last minute and rebooking the car saved over $200!

I know this must sound like a stupid question but how do you book the Costco Rentals?

dioxide45 · Apr 20, 2014

Sugarcubesea said:
I know this must sound like a stupid question but how do you book the Costco Rentals?

Go to the Costco website and look for the link to "Travel". You will have to register if you haven't already. The registration is separate from Costco.com. You can search without registering and/or being a Costco member, but you can't book unless you register which requires you to be a member.

Ken555 · Apr 20, 2014

TungDart said:
Costco has better price than others

As I've posted, I'm a big fan of Costco. But as my latest post mentions, Costco was not the lowest for my upcoming reservation. It happens. And it's sometimes worth the extra few minutes to check elsewhere now and then, though not always.

Sent from my iPad

csalter2 · Apr 20, 2014

Costco prices started to be competitive

I am not convinced on Costco yet. Discount Hawaii is very competitive. What I am finding is the on the same day Costco can have a low rate and a few hours later the prices are jacked up high again.

Ken555 · Apr 20, 2014

csalter2 said:
I am not convinced on Costco yet. Discount Hawaii is very competitive. What I am finding is the on the same day Costco can have a low rate and a few hours later the prices are jacked up high again.

I haven't checked multiple times per day but I have checked multiple times per week. I've found very stable prices at Costco, though over time they do fluctuate. Discount Hawaii wasn't even close for me. Obviously, your experience has been different.

Sent from my iPad

Sugarcubesea · Apr 20, 2014

dioxide45 said:
Go to the Costco website and look for the link to "Travel". You will have to register if you haven't already. The registration is separate from Costco.com. You can search without registering and/or being a Costco member, but you can't book unless you register which requires you to be a member.

Thanks. I am a costco member and I'm off to do that now

csalter2 · Apr 20, 2014

Ken555 said:
I haven't checked multiple times per day but I have checked multiple times per week. I've found very stable prices at Costco, though over time they do fluctuate. Discount Hawaii wasn't even close for me. Obviously, your experience has been different.

Sent from my iPad

Well, they have to change at some point. Maybe I just caught it at the right time. I am sure they will change again.

somewhereoutthere · May 19, 2014

Thanks, TUG, for the tips on re-checking car rentals on Costco.

I had a 2 night reservation on Costco for $83, which I thought was good considering shuttles to and from the airport would be double that for 4 people. Today I remembered to check back on Costco and got the same class of car (Intermediate) for $28. Yay!

jeepie · May 20, 2014

Booking now for a Hawaii visit, and find Discount Hawaii maybe 15% less than Costco...today! I will check as it gets closer. Btw, last trip to Hawaii I ended up using Costco, excellent experience, but I didn't realize they don't give the 2% credit for using the Costco AmEx card. Does that sound right TUGgers? Will Costco Travel accept another card, for example Marriott Visa, which I think give 2x points/$?

Luanne · May 20, 2014

jeepie said:
Booking now for a Hawaii visit, and find Discount Hawaii maybe 15% less than Costco...today! I will check as it gets closer. Btw, last trip to Hawaii I ended up using Costco, excellent experience, but I didn't realize they don't give the 2% credit for using the Costco AmEx card. Does that sound right TUGgers? Will Costco Travel accept another card, for example Marriott Visa, which I think give 2x points/$?

Costco travel will accept any credit card. You only give them the card when you pick up the car, not when you make the reservation. Or, put it this way, you may need to provide a car number when making the reservation, but your card isn't charged and you can use a different one when you pick up the car.

Are Costco car rental discounts reallly that good

mjkkb2

uop1497

Luanne

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Sandy VDH

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NWTRVLRS

dioxide45

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T_R_Oglodyte

Ken555

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T_R_Oglodyte

easyrider

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T_R_Oglodyte

dioxide45

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uop1497

Ken555

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TungDart

Sugarcubesea

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dioxide45

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Ken555

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csalter2

Ken555

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