Friarboy

NWA cancelled my family's flight to TPA this November (11/7 thru 11/11, Veteran's Day Weekend) and we switched to one that arrives at 4:11 PM rather than at 11:50 PM, which is better for our 3 young children anyway. I went to the Dollar website to arrange early pickup of the minivan, and if I change the pickup time the rate will go up from the $197 I reserved it at in July to $368 (both using AX10 promo code).

Haven't seen a similar question on this board, but the answer on other companies boards seems to be- if they have the car at the earlier time, no problem with the rate. If not, I'll end up with another vehicle type, which won't work for me in this case. We need the space of the minivan because we'll be hauling my family and some extended family living there around Florida.

Any insight on how I can assure myself of getting the minivan I need at the original rate (or at least something closer to it), with the earlier pickup time?

jackal

Whenever you do a change to a reservation online or via the national call center, the reservation is basically repriced at whatever the going rate is. Theoretically, a same-day change (especially of just a few hours) should not reprice, but especially if it causes you to go over or under an extra day (due to a 24-hour rental day), it often will.

Three solutions I see:

1) Call the location directly. At a large corporate location like I'm sure TPA is, this can be difficult, as the published number for that location basically redirects to the national call center. (They don't really handle phone calls locally.) With enough Googling and knowing where to look, it is sometimes (but not always) possible to get the direct number to the rental counter. When you do so, you can ask the agent to change your pickup time. Because the rental and reservation systems are separate, doing so should not reprice the reservation (but you should, of course, discreetly confirm this with the agent).
2) Don't notify them--simply show up early. There is risk in this, as they may (if they're short on cars) not be able to honor your reservation until closer to the scheduled pickup time. However, if they have a car available, they should be able to rent it to you without repricing the reservation.
3) Instead of attempting to modify it online, call the reservation center and ask them if you can change your pickup time without repricing the reservation. If they insist that it must be repriced, ask for a supervisor, who may be able to override the repricing. Of course, you're likely to get Jakarta and not really be successful in your request, so instead call the customer service line (800-800-5252) and press option 2. These folks should be based in the U.S. but have access to the reservations system and be able to make changes.

Good luck!

EDIT: looks like TPA is actually a franchise. Their direct number is published on Thrifty.com and Google Maps. Try calling (813) 289-4006--they should be able to change your pickup time without repricing it...

Friarboy

Thanks for the advice- I was able to use a code from the discount code thread to get it down to $233, but why spend the extra $36 if I don't have to. I'll give the location a call and see if I can get the original changed.