Southwest & Rental Car

[familyofd]

I was researching rental cars yesterday , and most were around same price for 2 day rental, today while checking southwest flights I saw that you can rent a car through southwest, after putting in my information they were almost half price of what was coming up yesterday, am I missing something, is there extra charges I will get hit with once I pay for it at the counter? also we are picking it up after our cruise , has anyone had any problems with that? thank you for any advise.

[6rugrats]

If you choose a car and go through the rental process, it will give you a total at the end. This should be about what the car should cost. It may vary a bit, and will say "Includes approximate taxes and fees", but there should be no "hidden" fees.

 

Of course, the car rental agency will try and sell you insurance, etc. which can increase your cost once you pick up the car, but you don't need to purchase it.

[greatam]

I was researching rental cars yesterday , and most were around same price for 2 day rental, today while checking southwest flights I saw that you can rent a car through southwest, after putting in my information they were almost half price of what was coming up yesterday, am I missing something, is there extra charges I will get hit with once I pay for it at the counter? also we are picking it up after our cruise , has anyone had any problems with that? thank you for any advise.

 

You can rent cars through so many venues anymore, the price competition is FIERCE. I use Priceline BIDDING all the time for rentals. Who cares what agency you get the car from??? As long as I get the category of car I want, I am satisfied.

 

Not only do I save a fortune over the rental car agency websites, I can usually save 20-30% over Kayak, the airline rental cars (almost all airlines now have rental cars and hotels available) and the big three travel agencies-Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz.

[ghulett]

You can rent cars through so many venues anymore, the price competition is FIERCE. I use Priceline BIDDING all the time for rentals. Who cares what agency you get the car from??? As long as I get the category of car I want, I am satisfied.

 

Not only do I save a fortune over the rental car agency websites, I can usually save 20-30% over Kayak, the airline rental cars (almost all airlines now have rental cars and hotels available) and the big three travel agencies-Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz.

We took a T/A that disembarked in Ft. Lauderdale. We were going to Walt Disney World for a few days and bid on a one-way rental through Priceline to drive up there. I figured we would take the shuttle from the dock to the rent a car center and return the car to MCO, taking the Disney Magical Express to the hotel. I "won" my bid for a fraction of the going rate, about 75% off! The rental ended up being through National. When we got to the counter I asked about changing the return location to the National/Alamo rent a car center at WDW. Figured it couldn't hurt to ask and it would save us the hassle of returning it to the airport rental center, taking their shuttle to the airport and then taking the Disney bus that stops at every hotel. The agent punched in a few things on his computer and said "You are all set. No extra charge". When we returned the car, they gave up a ride right to the hotel. Easy peasy...and cheap, too!

[familyofd]

Thanks for the reply's, im not sure why southwest is so much cheaper then any agency I tried yesterday, if the price is upfront and nothing hidden I guess im going to stick with them(southwest) for the car.:D

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We always us disc. codes

[frugaltravel]

I use discount codes too. I have tried both hotwire and priceline but I have never found them to be cheaper than what I have found on my own through other sources. Once I get within about $10 of my currently-booked reservation I don't use priceline anymore. I think one reason PL and HW don't seem to work for me is that I tend to book my rentals quite a bit in advance. I find that PL and HW generally work better for bookings much closer to the pick up date.

[kenish]

If you use a discount code for an organization, AAA, travel agent, etc. be sure you're qualified. Usually they don't check, but occasionally they do. I've been asked for proof a few times (I'm legit) and read here on CC about an ugly incident in Alaska where people felt "entitled" to an invalid discount code.

[ghulett]

...Once I get within about $10 of my currently-booked reservation I don't use priceline anymore. I think one reason PL and HW don't seem to work for me is that I tend to book my rentals quite a bit in advance. I find that PL and HW generally work better for bookings much closer to the pick up date.

I do the same thing. Pre-paying isn't worth it for almost the same price as cancellable. Interesting thing is that I bid for the one-way, FLL to MCO (changed to WDW), on Priceline at least six months out. It was only $25/day when everywhere else was more than $75/day (even on National's own website) and never went down!

 

BTW, my sister has found Costco car rentals are very competitive at times, too.

[kenish]

BTW, my sister has found Costco car rentals are very competitive at times, too.

 

I got a great Costco rate on an Avis car last year. I had to call Avis with a question, and the agent said she would better the Costco rate, and saved a few additional dollars!

[familyofd]

I have tried discount codes still southwest beats the prices, my rental is drop off at different location then pick up maybe this is why I was getting high prices.