Alamo Car Rental - SeaTac to Vancouver

[nslatin]

We decided to rent from Alamo for the journey from SeaTac to Vancouver and back. Alamo has a kiosk at Canada Place so I was expecting this transaction to be very convenient.

 

The Consolidated Car Rental center at SeaTac is easily accessed via shuttle from the terminals. There is staff there to help you load your luggage at the terminal and to help unload at the Rental Center. They also have free carts to load your luggage on so it’s easy to roll inside to the counters and then down to your vehicle.

 

The tricky part is when you go to return the vehicle at Canada Place. It’s really easy once you know what to do. That’s why I am writing this post, to make it easier for everyone else.

 

There is no need to drop your luggage at the curb first. If you do, as we did, you will need to leave the terminal and drive around the block. We were lucky that it was Victoria Day, so traffic was light. You can just enter the parking garage heading north on Howe St. The far right lane is for taxis staging so be in the second lane from the curb. Once you enter the garage get a parking ticket and follow signs to the car rental return. Park in the spots labeled for Alamo and drop the key in the box by pole #9. The Alamo parking spots are right next to the elevator so just take it up one level. You can check your luggage here at the curb. There is no need to go to the Alamo counter, but take note of where it is if you will be renting for the return to SeaTac. Now you get to suffer through the normal embarkation process.

 

Upon your return and debarkation head straight to the Alamo counter. Things move a little slow here as the Alamo staff needs to process your reservation and then walk you down to the vehicle. They will help with your luggage, find your vehicle, do a quick inspection and give you a ticket to exit the parking garage. Just follow the signs to exit and enjoy the ride back to Seattle

 

Hope this helps.

 

Neal

[Putterdude]

Being a native of Vancouver I know the landscape and I am sure that many will benefit from your post.....thanks for taking the time to explain this to people.

[KookyGuava]

Nslatin, thank you for your post! I found it so it so helpful when I had a one-way car rental from SeaTac to Canada Place. We've been to SeaTac a few times already so I sorta knew what to expect there, but learned that you can't use the quick kiosks at Alamo if you'll be doing a one-way rental into Canada (which irked me at the time cuz it meant I'd have to wait in the long customer service line).

 

At Canada Place, although the OP suggested it wasn't necessary to drop luggage off first, that's what we did anyway. During my experience, I found that it was not true that you have to circle around the block to re-enter the garage. You can access the Alamo drop-off spots within the terminal. As we pulled away from the luggage drop off area and started to head out of the terminal, there were signs that led us down to the lower level parking area and car rental drop-off spots.

[Underwatr]

How much does it add to the cost to do a one-way rental into Canada?

[Pierlesscruisers]

How much does it add to the cost to do a one-way rental into Canada?

 

The total cost for my rental of a VW Jetta from SeaTac to the Vancouver Airport was $47.58 when I paid in advance. After I realized that I could have scheduled a drop off at Canada Place and save some hassle for the 3 of us that are driving up, I called up and talked to somebody in India who told me that with the pay-in-advance plan it would really be easier to just call them at the 888 number after I picked up the car and change the drop-off location from the airport to Canada Place and that there would be a $5 change fee added. So that' what I plan to do. Hope this helps.

 

Tom

[KookyGuava]

How much does it add to the cost to do a one-way rental into Canada?

 

My experience with Alamo is that the one-way rental is built into the daily rental charge. So what normally would have been $30/day for a fullsize car if I picked up and returned at SeaTac, I ended up paying about $55/day for the one way into Canada.

[Putterdude]

How much does it add to the cost to do a one-way rental into Canada?

It will vary from day to day and from company to company but can range from 0 to as much as $200.

 

As an alternative to Alamo, Thrifty/Dollar are about 3 blocks from Canada place and while they don't shuttle you they have been known to pay a cab fare back to Canada Place. With them I would advise dropping your luggage off with the porters at CP and then return the car.

[xlxo]

With drop charges... also consider the Quick Shuttle. For $50 it picks you up at Seatac and drops you off at the cruise terminal or downtown hotel. 5 to 7 daily trips to conveniently meet your schedule.

[notentirelynormal]

The total cost for my rental of a VW Jetta from SeaTac to the Vancouver Airport was $47.58 when I paid in advance. After I realized that I could have scheduled a drop off at Canada Place and save some hassle for the 3 of us that are driving up, I called up and talked to somebody in India who told me that with the pay-in-advance plan it would really be easier to just call them at the 888 number after I picked up the car and change the drop-off location from the airport to Canada Place and that there would be a $5 change fee added. So that' what I plan to do. Hope this helps.

 

Tom

 

I was going to drop off at Canada Place but the drop off fee was just too much. I think Sunday played into it. I switched to Dollar at a fraction of the cost for going into Washington.

Edited October 23, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[Pierlesscruisers]

I was going to drop off at Canada Place but the drop off fee was just too much. I think Sunday played into it. I switched to Dollar at a fraction of the cost for going into Washington.

 

I thought that the $47+ one way cost at Alamo was very reasonable especially since the first checks I made was with some of the bigger names and they were all in the $100 range.

 

Who were you with that had a large drop-off fee and what was your cost for a 1-way from Seattle to Canada Place from Dollar? I'll have to admit, though, I'm a bit confused about what you said about "going into Washington".

 

Tom