bergsey

Hi, I have Exec Elite status courtesy of my CC and are looking at booking a week's rental in April. The rental is one way and i also need CDW/SLI insurance being from Australia (which bumps up the cost)

However when comparing apples with apples, the National website quoted costs are more than double (>$1k extra) than what i get quoted for the same booking/vehicle class by using one of the third party websites (autoslash/priceline, rentalcars, holidayautos).

What gives? and would i lose out on anything by booking through one of these third parties?

Thanks

Auto Enthusiast

National's one-way retail rates unfortunately are often uncompetitive. Are the 3rd party websites showing better rates with National, or actually with some other rental company? National offers a better customer experience, but with such a large price difference, it's good to be flexible.

bergsey

NCLSEA123

Auto Enthusiast

Also, you're going with the flow for the seasonal FL driveout. If you search other threads, there are ways to get the $10/day return anywhere outside of FL deal and the insurance you'll need as a foreigner. Caveat is that National's parent company increasingly does not offer these specials through National itself, but only through its Alamo and Enterprise affiliates. You can get coupons off with Alamo, and National Emerald Club credits with Enterprise, but not the seamless customer experience that National offers.

ezak

Certainly seems like it. Last year (2018) National offered discount price for Florida drive-in, however for this year's drive-out, Alamo/Enterprise has published the official deal page but National hasn't. I have a feeling that they don't want people taking advantage of the aisle service and $10/day discount at the same time. Probably trying to control which cars are going out and which cars are staying.

ezak

I'd suggest wait until at least February to book the car. The seasonal Florida drive-out discount usually starts on 4/1 and runs through mid-May. Right now Hertz and Avis hasn't posted this year's discount yet, so their prices are very high now. But once they set the discount rules (start/end dates, maximum days, etc.), which is usually in February, you'll likely have way more options.

Like other posters said, National's participation in the FL drive-out is a hit or miss, but Hertz is usually there every year. If you have EE, it's easy to match to Hertz PC and they'll also allow you to choose any car from the aisle. That's what I did last year for the Arizona drive-in, when National didn't join the discount.

bergsey

bergsey

ezak

Yes Alamo's offer page is already online, though the price's a lot higher than usual. Checked the other day it's $17/day before taxes and fees. Don't know if they're going to lower it once other companies join as well.

bergsey

Auto Enthusiast

Foreigners have definitely used the driveout deals, and found a way to get the insurance they need, at most for a minimal extra cost. Even if they had to buy the full daily insurance package, it was still much cheaper than the foreign regular one-way rates with a separate, hefty, taxable, drop charge.

Please search the threads from previous years for specifics. Some people might have called customer service, for instance.

bergsey

Thanks, i contacted Alamo direct and they confirmed OK to book as US resident to access the lower base rate. I can then add CDW/SLI later in the process.

Interestingly the quote via Priceline is still lower (including insurance), although Priceline says their quote includes all charges, in the fine print it states "the care hire company may charge a one way fee". The only way to find out is to actually book and wait a response from Priceline then cancel later.

Do these drive out deals normally extend to third party booking sites or just via the car rental companies themselves?

Auto Enthusiast

It depends. They will show up on American versions of Orbitz, Priceline, Hotwire, etc. European sites, or sites selling to European residents, are by European law required to show a separate one-way fee, in the name of "transparency." In the US, we care about the total price, not its subjective components.

ezak

You might be able to book on Priceline, and then use the confirmation number to look it up on the Alamo site and verify the total. I've done this with 3rd party reservations before and Alamo even let me do online check-in to skip the counter.

Speaking of prices with insurance included, many OTAs (mainly foreign ones in Europe or Asia) offer cheaper insurance than what the rental company charges officially. My impression is that for foreign travelers who must buy insurance, that could be a great deal. These OTAs probably negotiate lower insurance fees with rental companies directly. However, keep in mind some coverage might be coming from a separate company (though not always), which would create extra trouble if you do get into an accident.

For your last question, as long as the drive-out deal doesn't require a coupon code (which Alamo/National doesn't), they should be searchable on 3rd party sites. A few years ago some companies were doing the coupon thing, but at least in 2018 all drive-out discounts were public to all.