Car rental prices moving lower
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,377
Car rental prices moving lower
If you're headed to Hawaii later this month (or probably next month) recheck your car rental prices. I've seen them move substantially lower at both OGG and KOA. We're talking under $100 for a full-size car for a week, before the nasty taxes and fees. Dollar/Thrifty seems to quote their best prices if you go directly to their website and DON'T put in any codes, but the competitors all use the code/coupon game (although Alamo generally only seems to have coupons these days -- the codes don't do much).
I'm finding Dollar/Thrifty, Alamo and Budget to have the lowest prices at the moment. Looks like an old-fashioned price war. Bookings must be soft.
This is why I always reserve a car when I book my airline tickets, but always check back periodically for better prices. Sometimes they go up, sometimes down, it's impossible to know.
I'm finding Dollar/Thrifty, Alamo and Budget to have the lowest prices at the moment. Looks like an old-fashioned price war. Bookings must be soft.
This is why I always reserve a car when I book my airline tickets, but always check back periodically for better prices. Sometimes they go up, sometimes down, it's impossible to know.
#2
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: CAE
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, HH Gold
Posts: 64
Thank you for posting! I thought I had pretty decent rates to begin with, but I was able to save almost $150 total on our Alamo rentals for Maui and the Big Island for the last week of May and 1st week of June. ^
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,377
I've heard that some Japanese are cancelling their trips, but I wouldn't think the Japanese would rent a lot of cars. I've not really seeing crazy prices on last minute hotels, but I haven't looked that hard.
#4
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Massachusetts
Programs: United/CO, AAdvantage, Hilton Diamond , Delta Gold, SPG Gold, Marriott & PC Plat
Posts: 102
I just booked a convertable Mustang to drive down the PCH from Santa Monica to San Diego ifor May and it dropped $100+ from Sunday to Wednesday. Glad I waited the extra couple of days, as now my Capital One will cover 2 roundtrip flights from Boston to the West Coast, plus the car rental in full.
Thanks
Thanks
#5
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,377
I just booked a convertable Mustang to drive down the PCH from Santa Monica to San Diego ifor May and it dropped $100+ from Sunday to Wednesday. Glad I waited the extra couple of days, as now my Capital One will cover 2 roundtrip flights from Boston to the West Coast, plus the car rental in full.
Thanks
Thanks
#6
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,377
If you're playing this game, pay particular attention to the specials on the alamo.com site. They have some good coupons right now (like free weekend day, $30 off a weekly rental, etc.) that Alamo doesn't always offer. They are fully combinable with the promo rates, including Alamo's "last minute" rates (which are useful for weekend rates, not so useful for weekly rates).
With these deals, I've now been able to drive down my daily car rental costs on a couple of rentals even further, to $11 to $13/day + tax/fee for a full size car. Priceline starts looking ridiculously expensive.
Oddly, Alamo's sister company, won't allow me to use coupons with their similar last minute rates (I would prefer to use my Emerald Club status to avoid the line). For 20 bucks, though, I'll wait on line.
With these deals, I've now been able to drive down my daily car rental costs on a couple of rentals even further, to $11 to $13/day + tax/fee for a full size car. Priceline starts looking ridiculously expensive.
Oddly, Alamo's sister company, won't allow me to use coupons with their similar last minute rates (I would prefer to use my Emerald Club status to avoid the line). For 20 bucks, though, I'll wait on line.
#7
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Programs: Starwood Gold, HiltonHHonors Silver, Marriott Silver, Delta SkyMiles
Posts: 1,775
Alamo Insiders is running a $40 off coupon for members this spring for weekly rentals. Don't remember when it expires, but the discount code is:
AD4027JDO
AD4027JDO
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,377
BTW, I joined the Insiders program. Seemed like a logical thing to do. Like with this coupon, they seem to give Insiders a few extra bucks off many of the promos.
#9
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Programs: Starwood Gold, HiltonHHonors Silver, Marriott Silver, Delta SkyMiles
Posts: 1,775
I agree. As you know, when you're a member of these rental car companies, you can fill in all your pertinent info ahead of time (e.g. driver's license number), which saves a lot of time. Plus it allows you to either use the dedicated Insiders line or the kiosk to check-in instead of waiting in that huge line.
#10
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: San Francisco
Programs: Four Seasons Aviara (owner), Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt, Hertz President's Circle, United MP 30+ yrs
Posts: 1,252
Thanks! Just re-booked HNL for a week in May and cut the rate by $40. Enough to offset some of the nightly parking I thought was included in my hotel rate!
#11
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Programs: Starwood Gold, HiltonHHonors Silver, Marriott Silver, Delta SkyMiles
Posts: 1,775
#13
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 754
$400/week for a convertible but an economy is $497 (all pre-taxes)? Priceline NYOP suggests $48/day. It's not like supply is incredibly limited, the fixed rate options from Hawaiian/Island Air are still available through Avis/Budget. And I'm seeing some sub-$10/day wins in June on the TripAdvisor forum.
#14
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,377
They end well before the summer...pricing is completely insane for July in Kauai.
$400/week for a convertible but an economy is $497 (all pre-taxes)? Priceline NYOP suggests $48/day. It's not like supply is incredibly limited, the fixed rate options from Hawaiian/Island Air are still available through Avis/Budget. And I'm seeing some sub-$10/day wins in June on the TripAdvisor forum.
$400/week for a convertible but an economy is $497 (all pre-taxes)? Priceline NYOP suggests $48/day. It's not like supply is incredibly limited, the fixed rate options from Hawaiian/Island Air are still available through Avis/Budget. And I'm seeing some sub-$10/day wins in June on the TripAdvisor forum.
I would never lock in a rate (like with priceline) more than a week or two in advance (well, if it were 10 bucks maybe I would).
#15
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Fairmont Platinum, Aeroplan Diamond, HHonors Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 18,686
So does priceline work that good? I've been receiving tips from various sources to make bids for mini vans for next spring break.. Do you really get that big of a discount?