Waiting and waiting and waiting at ALAMO
 

Found this little entry in my diary and finally remembered to pass it on..

Since we don't have a separate CAR RENTAL Forum and bulletin boards, I'll post this here.

My friends rented a car from ALAMO for the Vegas trip. We took the shuttle bus to the car rental pickup area then proceeded to wait
ONE HOUR to get a car. There were five agents on a sunday, 14 computer terminals and
things moved T...H...I..SSSS SSSLLLOOOWWW!
One guy was so jetlagged he fell asleep standing up!

The ALAMO agent took forever to process the
forms for the car saying "I just started two days ago and don't know this computer too well." When we finally got to the car, it was a bit dusty and the gas tank was nearly empty (I rarely rent but isn't the car
supposed to be filled before use?)

My friend said "I'm never going ALAMO again."

How were your experiences with ALAMO. If I have to rent, I got Hertz because of all the discount cards I get from the airlines.
CATMAN

Hay Catman, I bet that is why BA announced the end of their partnership with Alamo.

HAPPY BONFIRE DAY!
MF

i've used alamo at las vegas and honolulu. before i signed up for "quicksilver", the wait was anywhere from 20-45 minutes as CatMan reported. in the past year, though, my waits have never been more than 10 minutes from getting to the kiosk, entering my quicksilver card, and driving away. my experiences with hertz's #1 gold, and national's emerald club have been even more impressive since there's no need to go to a kiosk -- just get into a car & go. anyone who travels frequently and rents cars at their destinations should definitely look into at least one of these "bypass-the-counter" clubs.

I agree. I waited almost an hour at midnight in LA about a month ago at the Alamo counter. Normally I use AVIS Preferred or Hertz #1Gold or Budget Express (or whatever they call it now) and even Thrifty Blue Chip. Hertz and Avis are far better

one Alamo experience only (and this one 3 years ago) at LAX, with my whole family waiting more than 1 hour - never again (at that time Alamo was the only one offering a bus, for 6, without one-way-extra-charge in California and Nevada).

I am now pampered by Hertz#1 gold (always with "never-lost"-navigation-system for 4$/day-extra, but worth it in a foreigne country).

Sometimes, heading for the luxury (as in two weeks from now for Seattle-Vancouver-Whistler Mt and back), I take a Cadillac (and to get this I have to take AVIS Preferred: weekly rental, everything included (weekly-rate SFr 660 = US$460, prepaid 21-days in Switzerland: unlimited miles/km, all-personal-, 3 Mio liability- and theft/damage- insurances, extra-driver, gas-option, winter-equipped, taxes).

Catman, you should try Alamo at Orlando Airport! You get bused (along with hundreds of tourists) to this massive off- site facility. The line switch backs are often 10 deep and I've waited more almost an hour just to get to the front of the line (not counting the bus). Just like a ride at Disney World, but nowhere near the fun!

As long as you mention renting in Orlando....

Anyone know how National is there? I know they're on-airport, but that's all I know.

First week of December I'm taking my 2 and 4 year old to Disneyworld (their first airplane) ride. The plane will be rough enough, but If I have to wait another hour for the car, they (or their mother) will kill me.

Can't use my Emerald Aisle stuff 'cause I need to use an upgrade certificate....

Thanks
Dave

PS: Thank me. I didn't have the heart to upgrade all of us to First Class. That's all a First Class cabin needs is two scared kids.

I used to rent a lot with Alamo. They used to offer car rental points along with frequent flier miles and often had good promotions. Now the car rental points are gone and the frequent flier miles are much reduced :-(

My worst experience with them was also once in Las Vegas, almost identical to Catman's experience. SFO and LAX can also be bad. Now I always give my Quicksilver number and use the QuickSilver kiosk. Last time I was in Las Vegas there was no line for QuickSilver and I was done in a couple of minutes. Make sure to give your FF number also when making the reservation, I do not think that the quicksilver machines allow you to enter your FF number. Incidentally, the gas tank was half full when I was about to drive away. I reported this while checking out and the agent made a remark on my paperwork.

I have not been able to find good discounts with Hertz. I think that with the new program at Hertz, it is better to get points than airline miles (points can also be converted later to miles). As others have reported, their #1 Gold service is really good.

NJDavid: You can use Emerald Aisle with upgrades, etc., but you have to stop at the counter first. Sometimes you'll find a helpful attendant when you check in, but that's iffy. It's not usually a big hassle. I stopped using Alamo years ago for the same reasons expressed here. Hour-lpng waits and people who don't know from up.

I rented from Alamo in DEN this past week. I forgot my QuickSilver card at the office but it didn't matter as there were 3 agents and no other customers! I had my contract signed and keys in hand in less than 4 minutes.

The last time I rented in LAS (as this is where Catman's complaint originates) was last year from Hertz. No line, no wait, no problems.

The Alamo QuickSilver machines will also accept your credit card (the credit card associated with your QuickSilver account).

I rented from Alamo this past Feb at London Heathrow. It took forever including calling Diners Club to confirm indeed that they did provide insurance...additionally I have had problems getting my FF credited. Hertz # 1 Club has provided excellent service..but usually cost about 20%. Maybe you get what you pay for?

pgupta,

Thank you very much for that handy tip! Now I can eliminate one more piece of plastic from my travel wallet and leave the QuickSilver card at home.

Forget using Alamo. I used them about 10 times last year and had to mail in documentation to get my miles 6 out of the 10. This year I have used National since they gave me complimentry membership in their Emerald Club. I have been having trouble getting miles out of them also, but the no wait is nice.

I have used National, Dollar, and Alamo at Orlando. The only way to go is National They are on airport and you have to walk about 200 feet from baggage claim to get to your car. I will be using them in December when I am visiting DisneyWorld.

JayJ

JayJ