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Rental Car on Maui

Luanne

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Budget also provides the free second driver to a spouse for bookings on their web site
I'm sure many companies do this. However, as yet, I've found better prices by NOT booking directly on the car rental site but on the secondary sites.
 

JIMinNC

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I'm sure many companies do this. However, as yet, I've found better prices by NOT booking directly on the car rental site but on the secondary sites.

For whatever reason, the only way I've reliably found to get meaningfully cheaper prices on the secondary sites is through pre-payment or the "name your price" bidding on Priceline. I won't prepay or go the Priceline route, except for sometimes when I'm fairly close to the rental date. As I noted above, when I shopped my March 2019 rentals for Hawaii, Costco was only about $10-$15 cheaper than direct, so for only that small difference, I prefer dealing direct with the rental car company.
 

Luanne

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For whatever reason, the only way I've reliably found to get meaningfully cheaper prices on the secondary sites is through pre-payment or the "name your price" bidding on Priceline. I won't prepay or go the Priceline route, except for sometimes when I'm fairly close to the rental date. As I noted above, when I shopped my March 2019 rentals for Hawaii, Costco was only about $10-$15 cheaper than direct, so for only that small difference, I prefer dealing direct with the rental car company.
I've found lately that when I've made the reservation through Costco, or AutoSlash (and lately those have been with Priceline), once the reservation is made it's like I made it through the company. The rental shows up on the rental car website, if I'm a member. And then, if I check the prices directly on the website, the one I've gotten through Costco or AutoSlash is still better. But, everyone's experience is different.
 

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FWIW, if you pre-pay with Budget, you can always check the pricing later and change your reservation. They'll refund the difference after the rental has completed.
 

JIMinNC

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FWIW, if you pre-pay with Budget, you can always check the pricing later and change your reservation. They'll refund the difference after the rental has completed.

I didn't realize that. If the difference between their pre-pay and flexible rates was more, that would be reasonably attractive. On the weekly Hawaii rentals, though, the pre-pay discount is only $39 on a $519 rental. For that small change, I'd rather keep my money for the next 12 months.
 

DavidnRobin

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I just looked at AutoSlash (14 days OGG in Sept, and 17 days LIH in June) - prices from the major rental agencies are more than current Costco prices - and both are significantly! more than my current Costco reservations made a couple of months ago.

Overall my current reservations (2018) are still much higher (per day) than my previous reservations (2017 and prior years). This is an issue - with increasing MFs, taxes/fees, and car rental prices - I can imagine that HI vacation costs are getting to be prohibitively high for many.


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Luanne

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FWIW, if you pre-pay with Budget, you can always check the pricing later and change your reservation. They'll refund the difference after the rental has completed.
I still don't like the idea of prepay.
 

Luanne

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I just looked at AutoSlash (14 days OGG in Sept, and 17 days LIH in June) - prices from the major rental agencies are more than current Costco prices - and both are significantly! more than my current Costco reservations made a couple of months ago.

Overall my current reservations (2018) are still much higher (per day) than my previous reservations (2017 and prior years). This is an issue - with increasing MFs, taxes/fees, and car rental prices - I can imagine that HI vacation costs are getting to be prohibitively high for many.


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Did you register your current rental with AutoSlash?

The price we got for our rental in March I got about 10 months prior to our trip. It never did go down from then.
 

JIMinNC

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I've found lately that when I've made the reservation through Costco, or AutoSlash (and lately those have been with Priceline), once the reservation is made it's like I made it through the company. The rental shows up on the rental car website, if I'm a member. And then, if I check the prices directly on the website, the one I've gotten through Costco or AutoSlash is still better. But, everyone's experience is different.

One time I was able to find a considerably cheaper price for a Hertz car on Expedia compared to any other brand on other sites (like 40% to 50% cheaper as I recall), so I grabbed that one and experienced exactly what you state, that my reservation showed up under the Hertz confirmation # just fine. So I will absolutely book on the secondary sites when there is a meaningful benefit, but if the savings are small, I prefer to eliminate the middleman and book direct. The way I look at it, if I book direct and there is an issue, the car rental company/airline/whatever, can't point fingers at the middleman. They own the reservation from start to finish.

From what I've seen recently, when you book very far out (like 12 months) the differences between the company sites and the secondary sites are generally fairly small. The differences seem to widen as you move closer to the rental date, but that divergence can be in any direction.
 

Luanne

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The way I look at it, if I book direct and there is an issue, the car rental company/airline/whatever, can't point fingers at the middleman. They own the reservation from start to finish.
I figure if the reservation is showing on the rental company's website, they own it.
 

taterhed

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The Autoslash quotes (initial quotes when you log-in your current rental contract and start 'tracking') are rarely better than the initial Costco/USAA/other quote IME.
The Autoslash quotes on tracking....anywhere from 7 days to 6 months later....are typically unbeatable.

So, yes, if you quote Costco and then check with Autoslash.....Costco will likely be cheaper. But, in the long run, Autoslash usually wins.
 

JIMinNC

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The Autoslash quotes (initial quotes when you log-in your current rental contract and start 'tracking') are rarely better than the initial Costco/USAA/other quote IME.
The Autoslash quotes on tracking....anywhere from 7 days to 6 months later....are typically unbeatable.

So, yes, if you quote Costco and then check with Autoslash.....Costco will likely be cheaper. But, in the long run, Autoslash usually wins.

How does Autoslash work? Do you see who the rental is from, or is it like Priceline where you basically take pot luck and don't know who the car company is until after you pay?
 

Luanne

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How does Autoslash work? Do you see who the rental is from, or is it like Priceline where you basically take pot luck and don't know who the car company is until after you pay?
Yes, you can see who the rental is through.

You can either have AutoSlash do the initial search, like Costco, or you can have them track an existing reservation.
 

taterhed

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And then AS will send you a link that says "we've found a lower price...." and you go check it out.
IF you want the reservation, just click and it's booked. You can see the whole process. It's very transparent.
You ALWAYS need to remember to cancel the initial reservation if you choose to book and select the new reservation.

It's straight forward.
If you put your points/affiliation information in with the tracking request, you usually are already reserved as a member and can check your reservation at the website for the rental car company as well......
 

Luanne

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And then AS will send you a link that says "we've found a lower price...." and you go check it out.
IF you want the reservation, just click and it's booked. You can see the whole process. It's very transparent.
You ALWAYS need to remember to cancel the initial reservation if you choose to book and select the new reservation.

It's straight forward.
If you put your points/affiliation information in with the tracking request, you usually are already reserved as a member and can check your reservation at the website for the rental car company as well......
You also need to remember to set up a new tracking with AutoSlash for the new reservation.
 

slip

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I've found lately that when I've made the reservation through Costco, or AutoSlash (and lately those have been with Priceline), once the reservation is made it's like I made it through the company. The rental shows up on the rental car website, if I'm a member. And then, if I check the prices directly on the website, the one I've gotten through Costco or AutoSlash is still better. But, everyone's experience is different.

Do you notice if you get points in your account if you are a member of their club. That would make a difference for me.
 

Luanne

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Do you notice if you get points in your account if you are a member of their club. That would make a difference for me.
I think so. Let me check my Hertz account and get back to you. But I'm pretty sure I have in the past.

I'm back. Yes, we got the points for the most recent Hertz rental.
 

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Did you register your current rental with AutoSlash?

The price we got for our rental in March I got about 10 months prior to our trip. It never did go down from then.

I can register my current reservations?
I didn’t see that option.
Is this like for like - I saw agencies on AS that I would not normally rent from. Also, some were listed as Priceline - what does that mean. It goes thru Priceline?
They would have to dramatically decrease - the LIH convertible would have to drop ~$1800 !


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taterhed

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I can register my current reservations?
I didn’t see that option.
Is this like for like - I saw agencies on AS that I would not normally rent from. Also, some were listed as Priceline - what does that mean. It goes thru Priceline?
They would have to dramatically decrease - the LIH convertible would have to drop ~$1800 !


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Yes, you can 'track' any current reservation you have.
Make sure you put all the discounts you qualify for --not just the ones you used for that particular reservation--so they can search with everything you qualify for...
e.g. USAA, Costco, AAA, Hertz Gold etc ...

Yes, once you get the reservation, go to the vendor site (Hertz for instance) and put your FF# in the reservation. You will get credit.

Regarding the 'Priceline' reservations....
I had a Hertz res in Hawaii and. I only wanted to re-book with Hertz (put that note in tracking request). I was offered a 'Priceline' reservation. So, I emailed AS.
They replied that yes, that reservation was with Hertz and met all my requirements. I had trepidations, but booked it. I called Hertz...it was the correct reservation. The fact that it was Priceline was completely invisible. I did have to call and request the actual rental car reservation number for Hertz in order to insure the reservation was correct and add my FF#, but once I did...it was perfect.
I saved $200+ on 1 week and $230+ on the second week.
I'm a believer.
Their customer service is very active and responsive...If you have questions, just email.

I have no affiliation or connection with Auto Slash, but I have now saved over $1000 in car rental fees....(or more).


BTW: Once you accept a new 'lower offer' reservation with AS, I believe they continue to track the new accepted reservation (not the original) for better prices. I know I have seen this behavior myself. If you do not accept a suggested 'lower offer' reservation, then they will continue to monitor the original reservation and suggest new, lower offers. You can cancel the tracking at any time.
 

slip

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I’ve been using AutOSlash for two years now and they haven’t beat a price I have gotten yet. Maybe just the times i’ve Gone but i’m about ready to quit trying.
 

NTP66

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I’ve been using AutOSlash for two years now and they haven’t beat a price I have gotten yet. Maybe just the times i’ve Gone but i’m about ready to quit trying.
Same here. I'm using them to track my current Budget reservation, which I also check myself every week, but that hasn't resulted in anything. I did check Costco, even though I'm not a member, and even they can't touch the rate I got.
 

slip

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Same here. Costco is more than double what I booked at and I have gotten the best price from them probably the last four Hawaii rentals.
 

Luanne

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I’ve been using AutOSlash for two years now and they haven’t beat a price I have gotten yet. Maybe just the times i’ve Gone but i’m about ready to quit trying.
It just shows that everyone has different experiences. For the rentals we've had the last couple of years AutoSlash has come through with the best pricing. I currently have one reservation for May in Vancouver (my every disappearing one with Budget) made through Costco. I have registered it with AutoSlash. They have come up with a cheaper price, but it was with a company I'm not familiar with and didn't want to chance.
 

Luanne

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I can register my current reservations?
I didn’t see that option.
Is this like for like - I saw agencies on AS that I would not normally rent from. Also, some were listed as Priceline - what does that mean. It goes thru Priceline?
They would have to dramatically decrease - the LIH convertible would have to drop ~$1800 !


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When you go into the AutoSlash site there are two "tabs". One is to do the search through them, the other is the register a current reservation.

When you get the reservation through Priceline, that's exactly what it means. It's not the pay ahead option, it's a pay when you return the car.
 

Luanne

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Regarding the 'Priceline' reservations....
I had a Hertz res in Hawaii and. I only wanted to re-book with Hertz (put that note in tracking request). I was offered a 'Priceline' reservation. So, I emailed AS.
They replied that yes, that reservation was with Hertz and met all my requirements. I had trepidations, but booked it. I called Hertz...it was the correct reservation. The fact that it was Priceline was completely invisible. I did have to call and request the actual rental car reservation number for Hertz in order to insure the reservation was correct and add my FF#, but once I did...it was perfect.
I saved $200+ on 1 week and $230+ on the second week.
I'm a believer.
Their customer service is very active and responsive...If you have questions, just email.
As I've mentioned our last reservation on Maui was through AutoSlash/Priceline with Hertz. It came back with both the Priceline number and the Hertz reservation number, I didn't need to call.
 
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