Amending a prepaid reservation
Aug 5, 2021, 6:52 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2015
Programs: AY Plat
Posts: 20
Amending a prepaid reservation
Hello FT community,
I have made a FFMR booking yesterday for next week's journey at Milan MXP station for 11 days. The booking is on prepaid basis and the amount has been reserved on my CC.
Today I pop up my Sixt app and I see that the prices have dropped by ~15% for exactly the same period. Has anyone tried making changes to an existing prepaid reservation? The change fee is 30EUR at Sixt Italy as per T&Cs. So if I make a change (say put the pick up time 30min earlier than original timing) - will the new rate be honored? In that case I shall pay the change fee of 30EUR, but would I be refunded a fare difference?
Has anyone tried going this route?
I have made a FFMR booking yesterday for next week's journey at Milan MXP station for 11 days. The booking is on prepaid basis and the amount has been reserved on my CC.
Today I pop up my Sixt app and I see that the prices have dropped by ~15% for exactly the same period. Has anyone tried making changes to an existing prepaid reservation? The change fee is 30EUR at Sixt Italy as per T&Cs. So if I make a change (say put the pick up time 30min earlier than original timing) - will the new rate be honored? In that case I shall pay the change fee of 30EUR, but would I be refunded a fare difference?
Has anyone tried going this route?
Aug 5, 2021, 7:17 am
#2
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,666
It's unlikely that you will get money back. Sixt's policies are not very customer un-friendly in this area. Additionally, canceling and re-booking will cost you 3 days worth of rental charges as a penalty. This is why we don't typically recommend prepaid bookings in general--but especially so with Sixt.
Aug 5, 2021, 7:28 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2015
Programs: AY Plat
Posts: 20
Thanks for the reply!
If we are talking about rebooking - yes, no point in going that route, agreed.
However my idea is that I do not intend to make a cancellation, I want to make a change to an existing booking, say extending the rental by 1 hour vs original booking. I wonder if that would classify as change, and if new rate that is valid at that moment would be applied.
If we are talking about rebooking - yes, no point in going that route, agreed.
However my idea is that I do not intend to make a cancellation, I want to make a change to an existing booking, say extending the rental by 1 hour vs original booking. I wonder if that would classify as change, and if new rate that is valid at that moment would be applied.
Aug 5, 2021, 7:57 am
#4
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,666
Our belief is that you would not receive a refund but there really isn't any harm in trying (other than maybe being out $30 in the worst-case scenario), so please do report back with your findings! 
Aug 6, 2021, 3:26 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2021
Programs: Sixt platinun, Avis Preferred Plus, Delta Skymiles
Posts: 5
Same thing for me. prepaid yesterday after seeing prices plunge $250 for a rental I have been holding for next week. I made this otherwise ill-advised move in hopes that would give me leverage to persuade them to hold a certain model for me (I know, prob not likely, but the trip is def going to happen as its close now -- just a few days out -- and I was willing to gamble slightly as the pre-pay discount helped mitigate risk of missing lower price. And the prices were nearly as low for my dates as I have ever seen them at Sixt except for last fall at mid-pandemic Las Vegas when they were desperate.
But this morning I checked and it had gone down ANOTHER $200 to rates I have not seen since February, maybe because its so close and they now have a clear picture of demand for that period of rental. BUT, cancellation fee is just $100 so worst I can do is get cost down another $100 by cancelling and rebooking.
still... decided it wouldn’t hurt to call and ask for the change free... person who answered said cancellations are free within 24 hours of making the payment, and she handled the cancellation for me. I am skeptical and can’t find this policy on their website anywhere and its not on the cancellation form they sent. But...if it turns out not to be free, I’m still ahead $100 vs what I was willing to pay yesterday.
Honestly, I find Sixt pretty quirky to deal, with but have only had super pleasant dealings with them and talked with unusually good folks on the phone and counters. And some memorable cars -- Jag F-Pace upgrade just because I asked and told them I was willing to take one even if it wasn’t cleaned yet... they laughed and cleaned it quick.... and Volvo v90 Cross Country with turbo AND supercharging....mind you that was an upsell at Vegas so yeah I did get an upsell when I indicated I wouldn’t touch a Cadillac with the pole. But it was $90 more. And geez, $600 for 10 days in a car like that across the desert and the full length of US 1 along the pacific coast...cant beat it.
But this morning I checked and it had gone down ANOTHER $200 to rates I have not seen since February, maybe because its so close and they now have a clear picture of demand for that period of rental. BUT, cancellation fee is just $100 so worst I can do is get cost down another $100 by cancelling and rebooking.
still... decided it wouldn’t hurt to call and ask for the change free... person who answered said cancellations are free within 24 hours of making the payment, and she handled the cancellation for me. I am skeptical and can’t find this policy on their website anywhere and its not on the cancellation form they sent. But...if it turns out not to be free, I’m still ahead $100 vs what I was willing to pay yesterday.
Honestly, I find Sixt pretty quirky to deal, with but have only had super pleasant dealings with them and talked with unusually good folks on the phone and counters. And some memorable cars -- Jag F-Pace upgrade just because I asked and told them I was willing to take one even if it wasn’t cleaned yet... they laughed and cleaned it quick.... and Volvo v90 Cross Country with turbo AND supercharging....mind you that was an upsell at Vegas so yeah I did get an upsell when I indicated I wouldn’t touch a Cadillac with the pole. But it was $90 more. And geez, $600 for 10 days in a car like that across the desert and the full length of US 1 along the pacific coast...cant beat it.
Aug 8, 2021, 11:52 am
#6
Join Date: Aug 2021
Programs: Sixt platinun, Avis Preferred Plus, Delta Skymiles
Posts: 5
update...
Sixt fully refunded my pre-payment, so apparently it’s true that there is a policy that if you cancel within 24 hours of prepayment there’s no penalty.
It took about a day for the money to be refunded to my credit card.
So, I cancelled, rebooked, and saved about $200 on a 10-day rental.
It took about a day for the money to be refunded to my credit card.
So, I cancelled, rebooked, and saved about $200 on a 10-day rental.
Aug 9, 2021, 12:14 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2015
Programs: AY Plat
Posts: 20
Good tip on cancelling within 24 hours of booking! I wonder if it works only in US or in other destinations too.
In my case, I have dealt with Sixt via Twitter support, it was not straightforward to be honest and I did not get any price difference refunded.
What I did do though, was the booking change, change the car category to a higher class, the amount for higher class SUV was the same as previous amount paid for lower class vehicle, so I had to pay only 30EUR change fee.
So to sum up my situation, if you paid 1000 EUR for a pre-paid rental with Sixt in Europe and the prices have gone down dramatically afterwards, you cannot avoid the cancellation fees (that are worth 3 days of rental fee), but you can use this 1000 EUR as a paid deposit to book a better car under new rates and your new total will be 1030 EUR + any difference in price if any. In my case I managed to rebook from FFMR to PFAR just paying the 30 EUR fee. Not the best scenario possible since no money saved but at least you can get something more for your paid amount.
In my case, I have dealt with Sixt via Twitter support, it was not straightforward to be honest and I did not get any price difference refunded.
What I did do though, was the booking change, change the car category to a higher class, the amount for higher class SUV was the same as previous amount paid for lower class vehicle, so I had to pay only 30EUR change fee.
So to sum up my situation, if you paid 1000 EUR for a pre-paid rental with Sixt in Europe and the prices have gone down dramatically afterwards, you cannot avoid the cancellation fees (that are worth 3 days of rental fee), but you can use this 1000 EUR as a paid deposit to book a better car under new rates and your new total will be 1030 EUR + any difference in price if any. In my case I managed to rebook from FFMR to PFAR just paying the 30 EUR fee. Not the best scenario possible since no money saved but at least you can get something more for your paid amount.
Aug 9, 2021, 10:25 am
#8
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: autoslash.com | hotelslash.com
Posts: 5,666
It's interesting because Sixt's own FAQ shows completely different rules for changes and cancellations to prepaid bookings:
Someone who was persistent might be able to get them to honor the terms above rather than what is on the reservation given that they are probably more favorable/lenient in many cases.
HOW MUCH WILL I GET CHARGED FOR CANCELLING A PRE-PAID BOOKING
Cancellation fees apply to all pre-paid bookings. However, the fee varies depending on when you cancel.
If you cancel 24 hours or more before your scheduled pick-up time, you will be charged a $100 cancellation fee (plus tax, if applicable).
If you cancel less than 24 hours before your scheduled pick-up time, you will be charged a $200 cancellation fee (plus tax, if applicable).
Upon cancellation, your payment - minus cancellation fee - will be refunded. You can cancel your pre-paid reservation online by providing us with your security code. You can find the security code in the confirmation email. If you need help, feel free to email our reservations team: [email protected].
Cancellation fees apply to all pre-paid bookings. However, the fee varies depending on when you cancel.
If you cancel 24 hours or more before your scheduled pick-up time, you will be charged a $100 cancellation fee (plus tax, if applicable).
If you cancel less than 24 hours before your scheduled pick-up time, you will be charged a $200 cancellation fee (plus tax, if applicable).
Upon cancellation, your payment - minus cancellation fee - will be refunded. You can cancel your pre-paid reservation online by providing us with your security code. You can find the security code in the confirmation email. If you need help, feel free to email our reservations team: [email protected].
WILL I BE CHARGED IF I MAKES CHANGES TO MY PRE-PAID BOOKING?
You can make changes to your pre-paid booking, for free, up to 1 hour before the start of your rental. Please note that if you make any changes to your booking, the total price of your rental may change. In order to modify your booking online, you will need to provide us with your security code. You can find the security code in the confirmation email. If you need help, feel free to email our reservations team: [email protected].
Note: if you are a corporate customer, individual agreements and alternative prices may apply.
You can make changes to your pre-paid booking, for free, up to 1 hour before the start of your rental. Please note that if you make any changes to your booking, the total price of your rental may change. In order to modify your booking online, you will need to provide us with your security code. You can find the security code in the confirmation email. If you need help, feel free to email our reservations team: [email protected].
Note: if you are a corporate customer, individual agreements and alternative prices may apply.
Dec 28, 2023, 7:48 pm
#9
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Miami, FL
Programs: UA 1MM, AA Plat, Marriott LT Titanium, Hyatt Glob, IHG ♢ Amb, Hilton ♢, Hertz Pres
Posts: 6,018
Sixt fully refunded my pre-payment, so apparently it’s true that there is a policy that if you cancel within 24 hours of prepayment there’s no penalty.
It took about a day for the money to be refunded to my credit card.
So, I cancelled, rebooked, and saved about $200 on a 10-day rental.
It took about a day for the money to be refunded to my credit card.
So, I cancelled, rebooked, and saved about $200 on a 10-day rental.