randix

Not only at Budget, but across the spectrum, pretty easy to find weekly rentals from $81-$95 per week at various markets; only a month or so ago, without discounts, they were quoting $300-$500!

I'm still topping off a SW award, they are now offering 3x miles on rentals at Budget--see below (still a better deal at Alamo, cause they only require a 2 day minimum rental to get 1800 SW pts..."...for Alamo, enter SRRMAY1 in the Corporate ID/Rate field and your Rapid Rewards account number to receive Rapid Rewards Points).

From May 1, 2011 through June 30, 2011, you can earn up to 1,800 Rapid Rewards Points and save up to 30% on qualifying Budget rentals. This offer is valid on all car groups at any participating Budget airport location in the United States.
Rent for 1 - 2 days and earn 600 points & save up to 30%
Rent for 3 – 4 days and earn 1,200 points & save up to 30%
Rent for 5+ days and earn 1,800 points & save up to 30%

For reservations, book online at southwest.com and enter coupon number MUAZ029 in the Coupon field to receive up to 1,800 points and enter BCD # U072700 in the Corporate/ID Rate field to receive up to 30% off your rental. Be sure to provide your Rapid Rewards account number at the time of reservation or check in to receive your points.

Additional Details
Terms & Conditions:
600 points offer is valid from May 1, 2011 until June 30, 2011 on qualifying rentals at participating Budget airport locations in the United States. Minimum rental day is 1 day; maximum rental day is 2 days.
1200 points offer is valid from May 1, 2011 until June 30, 2011 on qualifying rentals at participating Budget airport locations in the United States. Minimum rental day is 3 days; maximum rental day is 4 days.
1800 points offer is valid from May 1, 2011 until June 30, 2011 on qualifying rentals at participating Budget airport locations in the United States. Minimum rental day is 5 days.
Offer valid on daily, weekend and weekly rates on all Avis car groups.
Please mention coupon number MUAZ029 and provide Rapid Rewards account number at time of rental or check in to receive bonus points.
An advance reservation is required.
Offer may not be used with any other promotion or offer.
Taxes, concession recovery fees, vehicle license recovery fee, customer facility charges ($10/contract in CA) and fuel charges are extra.
Optional items such as LDW ($29.99/day or less except in Louisiana $49.99/day) and other surcharges may apply and are extra.
The savings of up to 30% applies to Avis leisure weekly and weekend rates and is applicable only to the time and mileage charges of the rental.
Please mention BCD number U072700 to receive up to 30% off your rental.
Offer is subject to vehicle availability at the time of rental and may not be available on some rates at some times, including some online rates at Budget.com.
Car rental return restrictions may apply.
Offer subject to change without notice.
Holiday and other blackout periods may apply.
Renter must meet Budget age, driver, and credit requirements.
Minimum rental age may vary by location.
An additional daily surcharge may apply for renters under 25 years old.
Frequent Flyer surcharge of up to U.S. $0.75 per day may apply. Point accrual structure subject to change.
Rental must begin by June 30, 2011.
All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply.
Please allow 6-8 weeks for points to post to your account

nicnac16

I noticed this as well with an upcoming Alamo rental. I have a 7 day res @ FLL next month, when I originally made the res a month or 2 ago it was close to $270. Decided to give it a check to see what rates are at now and it's now down to $111 all fees included. Can't beat that!

MJLouise

I'm looking for something cheap at DTW during the months of Aug / Sept, and am coming up with at least $200 / 4 days whenever I book. Don't care so much about future car rental points, but wouldn't turn down hotel or airline points

I will have probably 3 separate nearly-week long rentals during that time period -- any hints or tricks? Would it be possible to rent for a whole month, and leave it at the airport rental office when not needed?

tentseller

If you are staying at a hotel when you are in DTW you can ask them about extended parking. One can also take advantage of the airport shuttle.

There is a post on the cruise sub-forum about leaving a rental at Walmart for four days in South FL. instead of doing two rentals, pre and post cruise.

FYI be careful about CC rental insurance benefits when renting longer than 30 days. Some CC agreement exclude long term rentals.

randix

limits its secondary rental car coverage to a 2-week period. Happens to be a MasterCard.

stewigriffin

I can't see really cheap price quotes so far.
I rented twice this month, once had an intermediate car from AVIS and paid 75$ and the second time from Budget and I got a quote for premium car 775$ for 30 days of rent. And both times LDW and SLI included(I don't trust in supplemental coverage from CC). I got 2011MY car and I am happy with it.
Now when I want to book another long-term rental for 30 or 60 days I can't find anything near of that price, cheapest quote is around 850 for the same class and guess what, no tax or insurance included.
Any suggestions where to find a cheap long-term rental? I might need to have a rental for a couple of more months as I like the idea driving a new car with option to change a model as soon as I want to.

randix

all of the rental car companies have turned their pricing back up, so that window of relief a while back has evaporated. All you can do, is do the usual if you want to try and find the most inexpensive pricing... (1) check off-airport sites, especially at collision centers that have car rental company offices on location (hertz especially); (2) make sure you check out the secondary car rental companies like Fox and Advantage and Payless; (3) consider renting a car within 50-100 miles from where you really want it...if you're renting for a month, getting a substantial discount in another city can still make it profitable notwithstanding the distance in getting there and back. Those are my three "favorite" ideas when rates go into the upper atmosphere.

stewigriffin

Thank you, randix!
I am trying all the tricks with no success so far. In the end I may end up with using Zipcar as I mostly need the car on weekends.
My goal is to get as low as 20-25$/day all-inclusive(car, LDW, SLI, extra driver).

tbird2000

Due to some problems in my personal life and finances I had not rentd for quite some time, and I was absolutely shocked to see what has happened in the past 12-18 months. All I need is a small car for a weekend. I mean SMALL - a Yaris hatchback will work just fine. A few years ago one could get rentals for as little as 21 per day.... it is almost triple now, no matter what coupon i put in...half of them do not work, either.... sigh...

randix

Yes, car rental prices are back up in the summer upper hemisphere. For your weekend rental, try priceline (naming your own price), the secondary tier companies like fox, advantage, payless, etc; or promotions for weekend rentals like from alamo or from off airport locations like from, gulp, enterprise (personally, I'd rather crawl than use enterprise). Not aware of any code/promotion for budget that will make any significant difference. Doubt we'll see any "relief" till September...

jackal

If you can post where/when you're looking, I'm sure some of us can help with some tailored assistance. Otherwise, rental rates vary FAR too much across the country to be able to give any sort of meaningful advice.

Hard to help without further details, but try looking at some off-airport locations (if there are any in the area you need a car for). Hertz Local Editions and Enterprise home city branches tend to have rates that are more consistently reasonable (unless the whole area is sold out). Try calling some dealerships in the area; some maintain rentable fleets at rates far lower than the better-known national chain agencies.

stewigriffin

I am searching for another nice deal. I just returned my rental 2011 Taurus and I am pleased both by the car and by the price I paid. I ended up paying 27/day when renting from off-airport location.
I received some offers by email yesterday, 199/week for a full size which is quite a good price.

JPat

Car rental firms employ the same 'dynamic pricing' that the airlines use,

I check back regularly on reservations and continue to seek out codes and coupons at travel sites. This will typically lower the cost of the rental. I also try and guestimate the 'all-in' costs of the rental including the likely cost per gallon of gas, probable miles to be driven and the fuel economy of the cars available. With the fluctuations in the oil markets these days sometimes the larger car at the cheaper price is a better value than the premium priced smaller car.

I just wish that they had a yapta.com like site for car rentals...

jackal

Ahem, may I point you to the fourth and fifth links in my signature?

JPat

hmmm.... so noted. I'll check it out!