beebalmer

I checked prices in June for a trip for Sarasota Florida in October, and rates were $270.99 with Alamo for 2 weeks. (Canadian Resident)

NOW, I check in September, the best rate I can get is $451 for 2 weeks using an Entertainment Book $25off coupon code

Should I book it before the price goes up again?
Or is there a chance the price will go back down if I check on a different day? (I am checking on a stat holiday, so maybe that could cause higher rates...)

How would you proceed if you were me?

I have Emerald Club membership with National/Enterprise, but they are $498

I have a Hertz deal with my work, and that's $433

I have a Dollar membership...but they were a nightmare to deal with last time.

Suggestions?

Thanks =)!

lougord99

Were the rates you were quoted in June non-cancellable? If not, why didn't you book then? Why wouldn't you book now and keep looking for lower rates.

I have never seen car reservations that you could not cancel.

Are you a Costco member ( not sure if there are Costco's in Canada ). I often find that Costco rates the cheapest I can find.

AutoSlash

There are plenty of car reservations that cannot be cancelled. The two that come to mind right off the top of my head are Priceline reservations where you bid or ExpressDeals or any Hotwire HotRate deal. For all of those, you have to pay up-front and reservations are completely non-cancellable and non-changeable. If your plans change or your trip gets cancelled, you a SOL.

Additionally, most rental companies now offer prepaid rates as well. They give you a discount off the standard rate to pay up-front. The vast majority of these have a cancellation penalty of $25-$50 if you cancel up 24 hours before your scheduled pickup time, and if you cancel within the 24 hour window, you typically forfeit the entire amount paid.

We generally don't ever recommend pre-paying for your rental for these reasons.

AutoSlash

I'd book ASAP with the best rate you can find that is not prepaid. October is plenty of time to find a better deal, so I'd just check rates often or use AutoSlash's tracking service to automate the process.

beebalmer

Thanks everyone for the advice, I should have booked in June, don't know why I didn't...I research things too much, then it sneaks up on me and now I might pay this time for delaying the decision.

Never heard of Autoslash, sounds like a win win and risk free, I'll have to go check it out....do you know of anyone that used autoslash and it messed up rebooking their reservation? Or is it 100% safe to rely on?

AutoSlash

There's a dedicated thread on FT here for discussion of AutoSlash.

beebalmer

Awesome, thanks!
I booked with Alamo for an SUV for 2 weeks for $429USD...Now I submitted the request with Autoslash to track for savings, will see how it does and will report successes!
I did use an Entertainment book coupon/contract codes, that's the only special thing I used.

randix

How is it possible in the year 2015, that anyone has not heard of Autoslash? Even the Pope and Harry Reid use it!

Great service!!!

flyerfmaz

Autoslash is fine and has a very good reputation, but there's another alternative (or a companion one, anyway): just keep checking the rates yourself. Rebook and cancel, as needed. This week I'm pick up a FS Alamo rental that will cost me (total, including all taxes and fees), $95 for an entire week. Two weeks ago that same rental would have cost nearly $300. You have to catch the rental company dropping rates, and it's like watching the stock market drop, only you're buying your way to the bottom. I rebooked about 4 or 5 times before landing the $95 total cost.

garkster

I use carrentals.com to monitor rates after I've made the first reservation, and like flyerfmaz rebook and cancel whenever I see a significant drop.

Always book the replacement before cancelling the existing, and be careful to not have duplicate reservations open -- did that once and it cost me a bit.

Also, if you're a member of the Canadian Auto Club I'd check to see what rental firms they have discounts with -- here in the US they can be quite good.

partzguy

I use the same strategy as you. I always book my car rental at the same time I book my airline ticket. I then recheck the car rental prices weekly until my trip. As they drop, I cancel and rebook. I've had great success using the Costco car rental program! It's very easy to use, and their prices are consistently lower than the "Alamo Insider" rates I'm quoted!