Thrifty - Is MCO still bad?

We're going to MCO for NYE this year (yes, I know we're crazy) and I'm trying to get a car for a semi-reasonable rate.

The majors are all running in the $400 for 4 days :eek: :eek: and thrifty has "normal" rates in the $150 range.

We usually rent from Avis and don't have a single complaint.

Our concern is using the shuttle to get to the car & the wait for the car.

After reading the threads here, I'm thinking that it's actually cheaper to use taxis to get around rather than pay over $400 (with taxes) or deal with Thrify.

Thoughts?

Im not sure where abouts your staying in Orlando, but taxi service would run you quite a lot of money, as the airport itself is around 20 miles or so from any type of tourist attraction. For $150, it seems like a no brainer to me, I would go for it....How bad could it possibly be? Also another idea could be to try one of the local editions, Hertz and Avis both usually have different rates for their small francishe locations.

I searched all the car rental locations, including the franchises, and all of them are charging ridiculous prices for that weekend.

I then remembered my company has an account with National which employees can also use for personal travel. It includes emerald aisle for free. The upside is that the car are right in the airport.

I did a check and got a car for $180 all in, which I consider a bargain for that weekend.

I was not looking forward to taking a shuttle to the cars and then waiting in a long line to actually get the car.

While $180 for a car for 4 days is more than I would normally want to spend, I'm considering myself lucky. Normally I can get a car for a week for about that same rate from Avis.

I recently rented from Thrifty at MCO. It was a zoo, as they were out of cars. Having BlueChip really sped things up for us. We were out of there a LOT faster than folks in the regular lines. I believe that the MCO location is owned by Thrifty itself and is not a franchise location. I'd rent from them again at MCO. They were pretty good.

I signed up for blue chip and the first time I used it (which was at MCO a few years ago), it worked well. There were at least 50-75 people in line and blue chip was empty. I reserved a convertible for 1 day as the trip was sort of a quick "semi mileage run" at the time. Rate was $20 all in. :)

I've never had an easy rental out of MCO, but I still keep going back. Why? Simply as Mary2e posted they usually have the cheapest rates by far.

Im Blue Chip and I dont hesitate to call up CS and complain if the whole thing is a hassle, usually get either a $25 Off next rental coupon or a free day.

Id prefer to get neither and simply have a flawless in & out experience.