Originally Posted by
davemflyer
I usually get a rental car in Denver Christmas week. Dec 24-31.
Normal pattern - I book an intermediate car with Budget, then when I get there, they offer me an upgrade to SUV for MUCH less than the SUV rental price online (travelocity).
Does Thrifty / Dollar behave the same?
Budget is showing very little availability - and much higher rental rates - compared with last year.
Thanks,
All I can say is: it depends.
It depends on what the rates are online (sometimes they're a relatively small difference online; sometimes they're terribly expensive), what the MOD has set for the day, what kind of freedom the location gives the rental agents for pricing, the rental agent's personal sales goals are and how much they're personally comfortable with, etc.
For some tips on how to try to get an upgrade a bit more cheaply, look at my post #2 in the sticky at the top of the Thrifty forum. The key is to not appear like you want it very much but to seem like you are interested in a good deal (i.e. that price is your major issue).