I am planning on renting a car from Alamo for a week in December and made a reservation on their website before noticing the following announcement:

SENIORS Alamo offers great rates for those 50 years of age and older. To receive the Senior Discount, please call Reservations at 1-800-GO ALAMO (1-800-462-5266) or E-mail reservations@goalamo.com (mailto:reservations@goalamo.com) with any questions that you may have.

Sounded good to me, so I sent them an e-mail. I gave them my reservation number and asked how much the Senior Discount could save me on the same package (it included all insurance).

Here is the reply:

I reviewed the current rate with using the senior discount and the coupon and the rate was $ 411.30 which is currently $ 200.00 more than your current estimated total.

Yup, I will stay with the original price. I may have my Senior moments, but they don't last long enough to fork out an extra $200 for a rental. :)

A lot of discounts are calculated off the nominal "full" rate, so rates that are discounted from the get-go can work out cheaper.

Regarding car rentals, last year I walked up to the SEA Hertz counter late one evening and asked for their best rate on any car. They offered me a Kia something for $32 a day. Then they asked if I had a corporate discount code. I gave it to them and the rate went to $75. Once it was in, they couldn't take it out. My solution was to walk 20 feet left to the Avis counter, where they gave me a Toyota Camry for $31. Solved my problem, but perhaps not the outcome Hertz management would have preferred.

Hopefully the Alamo person who responded to your e-mail didn't move you to the higher rate!

Hopefully the Alamo person who responded to your e-mail didn't move you to the higher rate!

She didn't -- I am still at the non-Senior rate. I can't figure out, however, what benefits I received as I did not put in any coupons or codes.