Other Car Rental Programs/Partners (ie. Alamo, Enterprise, Sixt) - Early return with Alamo

I've just rented a car from Alamo for 16 days, but ought to a health problem I'm going to have to leave the country in a few days.

Any chance I can get those early return fees waived?

I've just rented a car from Alamo for 16 days, but ought to a health problem I'm going to have to leave the country in a few days.

Any chance I can get those early return fees waived?

Call the office BEFORE you show up and return it. Also keep in mind the rate for your entire rental may chanhe in addition to the understay fees. Alamo rate products are structured based on the dates/times you say you are going to keep the car. ANY changes to that can (and in most cases) will result in different rates for the entire rental period.

Call the office and explain your situation and they can tell you if the rates will change.

Call the office BEFORE you show up and return it. Also keep in mind the rate for your entire rental may chanhe in addition to the understay fees. Alamo rate products are structured based on the dates/times you say you are going to keep the car. ANY changes to that can (and in most cases) will result in different rates for the entire rental period.

Call the office and explain your situation and they can tell you if the rates will change.

Is National's system any different in that regard? I ask because he's my story.

I had a rental out of YYZ a couple of Decembers ago. I was booked on a rate for 4 weekend days, and 2 extra days, using a $30 off coupon. I got bumped from my flight and ended up flying in the next morning instead (Friday morning). My res was held as I'm an Executive, but the rate had changed to only 3 wknd days, and 3 extra, bumping the rate up by about $65. Because of this, and the fact that they gave me a stripped Sentra with no ABS before a major snowstorm, I decided to take it back the Saturday evening and pick something different from the aisle. I took it back and was charged just the 2 weekend days, but my $30 coupon stuck. So I paid $20 ai for 2 days and they never caught it.

So is Alamo's system a little more "sophisticated" to catch things like this? I was under the impression they used the same software...

Is National's system any different in that regard? I ask because he's my story.

I had a rental out of YYZ a couple of Decembers ago. I was booked on a rate for 4 weekend days, and 2 extra days, using a $30 off coupon. I got bumped from my flight and ended up flying in the next morning instead (Friday morning). My res was held as I'm an Executive, but the rate had changed to only 3 wknd days, and 3 extra, bumping the rate up by about $65. Because of this, and the fact that they gave me a stripped Sentra with no ABS before a major snowstorm, I decided to take it back the Saturday evening and pick something different from the aisle. I took it back and was charged just the 2 weekend days, but my $30 coupon stuck. So I paid $20 ai for 2 days and they never caught it.

So is Alamo's system a little more "sophisticated" to catch things like this? I was under the impression they used the same software...

Same system, different rate qualifiers. The best analagy (albeit not exactly the same) I can use is this. Think of National as your "full fare economy airline ticket". MAke any changes you want, get your airline credits and/or rental credits. Return early, keep it longer (no understay or overstay fees). Rates wont change (much) other than daily to weekly or weekend depending on the timelines. For Alalmo,on the otherhand think of it as a reduced fare, restricted Airline ticket. It is used to fill in the gaps of slower times, lower rates in specific spots needed to fill in some rental day gaps, but with it, specific paramters and rate changes along with understay or overstay fees. Anyone who has flown on a full fare ticket, can change the flight switch to an earlier flight, take a later one etc at (usually) no additional cost. Book a cheap flight? Try making a change and there are fees attached etc etc.

Alamo's rate products are a lot more strcutured and sophisticated than on the National side, even though the "software" is basically the same.


So to answer your question, National rentals and Alamo rentals are handled completely different and the system is set up to handle them different.

Same system, different rate qualifiers. The best analagy (albeit not exactly the same) I can use is this. Think of National as your "full fare economy airline ticket". MAke any changes you want, get your airline credits and/or rental credits. Return early, keep it longer (no understay or overstay fees). Rates wont change (much) other than daily to weekly or weekend depending on the timelines. For Alalmo,on the otherhand think of it as a reduced fare, restricted Airline ticket. It is used to fill in the gaps of slower times, lower rates in specific spots needed to fill in some rental day gaps, but with it, specific paramters and rate changes along with understay or overstay fees. Anyone who has flown on a full fare ticket, can change the flight switch to an earlier flight, take a later one etc at (usually) no additional cost. Book a cheap flight? Try making a change and there are fees attached etc etc.

Alamo's rate products are a lot more strcutured and sophisticated than on the National side, even though the "software" is basically the same.


So to answer your question, National rentals and Alamo rentals are handled completely different and the system is set up to handle them different.

Don't worry about my getting that analogy, I fly Air Canada. :D Thanks for that, makes a lot more sense now. I was a little annoyed that they shifted the rate, but I could understand why. It was cheaper for me to re-book again for the 4 days, and then I got an upgrade to a fully-loaded Escape. Everybody was stranded from the snowstorm so I went Christmas shopping in an empty mall. ^

With regard to Alamo Rates and the extreme tight reins on the times. I've explained them like this...think of them like "bulk rates"...gonna be here Three days...it's a special rate. Minimum keep is three days...max 4 or 5, usually. Gonna be here 5...Minimum then 5....gonna be here 8...blah blah.

Now I've also tried to explain...DO NOT use your airline flight OUT time as your return time on your rental. BECAUSE...it can change your rate. Many many times I will see someone have a res for 8 days, only by one or two hours time. Meaning they put in their flight time not the return time. SO...when I am processing their rental and double check their return time, they are actually here only 7 days...Their rate booked was based on an 8 day minimum keep...so the Rate changes Big Time. No we can't keep the week rate the same and just take off the extra day. I'm sorry! :(
There are some circumstances where flight Arrival issues come into play, but in most cases...if the parameters of the booking change at time of rental or at time of return, the new rate rules.

So be very careful with your booking times. Make allowances for getting your baggage and getting to the rental counter on your Pickup time and don't use your flight times for your Return Time.
When you are booking On Line or one the phone the computer system will always pick the Best Rate available for that moment in time. There are all kinds of specials going on all the time. But once you stray from those parameters on the Alamo brand especially, you can lose the special bulk rate. Some are more sensative than others. If a location is tight on cars, you can expect those parameters to be very tight.