December 2019 car rental

We will be in Orlando 12/21 to 12/27 and the rental rates are obscene. I have what I think are "good" rates for this time period: $346 AAA rate for a standard car through Alamo, and $364 for a midsize SUV at Thrifty. We are staying offsite this trip, only doing one Disney day but also going to Universal one day and then out to Cocoa Beach to see a friend once or twice, so we need the vehicle, and DH would prefer something larger than midsize. Honestly, I've never paid this much for a week-long rental EVER. I'm going to keep on trolling for a better rate, but I don't think it's going to change much over Christmas week.
 
We will be in Orlando 12/21 to 12/27 and the rental rates are obscene. I have what I think are "good" rates for this time period: $346 AAA rate for a standard car through Alamo, and $364 for a midsize SUV at Thrifty. We are staying offsite this trip, only doing one Disney day but also going to Universal one day and then out to Cocoa Beach to see a friend once or twice, so we need the vehicle, and DH would prefer something larger than midsize. Honestly, I've never paid this much for a week-long rental EVER. I'm going to keep on trolling for a better rate, but I don't think it's going to change much over Christmas week.

One of the busiest weeks in Orlando for the entire YEAR. High demand. I think you're probably correct that you won't get a good rate.
 
Strange that you think that the price of a car rental for 6 days is high but how much are you paying

for 1 day at Disney & another 1 day at Universal ?
 
One of the busiest weeks in Orlando for the entire YEAR. High demand. I think you're probably correct that you won't get a good rate.

I totally agree with you. I've been holding these reservations for several months now, and they were low back when I made them. Right now I'm seeing economy/compact cars in the $500+ range, and that's using codes/coupons and specials from carrentalsavers. Crazy! But I'll spend Christmas at Disney :banana:
 


Reserved a standard car for my Dec 6th through Dec 14th trip through Alamo w/ coupon code - AD2824JAR & contract id 860292 for $241.

There are other coupon codes I checked but that was the one that worked the best for me.
 
Strange that you think that the price of a car rental for 6 days is high but how much are you paying for 1 day at Disney & another 1 day at Universal ?

Apples to oranges, but what makes you think I don't think the park pass price is ridiculous, also? I rarely pay over $150 for a weekly vehicle rental, so to pay more than double that is crazy. Disney one-day park hoppers start at $169 on a "cheap" day and we are paying $199 for Christmas Eve, so the mark-up isn't as inflated as that of the rental car. Rental car prices are never standardized, fluctuating daily and sometimes hourly; the price I am paying, which is double what I'd normally pay, is an arbitrarily chosen price based on anticipated market. True, Disney tickets also are, to some extent, but at least that price is set. (However, one of the reasons we visit Disney less often is the change in ticket structure. We were 2-3 times-a-year visitors when tickets were the same price for every day of the year, and the ticket you bought was good forever, until the # of days were used up.)

For the record, we haven't purchased the Universal tickets yet. We are waiting to see if we think it's really worth the $400 investment, or if we'd choose to add to the Disney ticket or not do that second park day at all, depending on how our wallet is feeling as the trip is closer. Only reason we bought the Disney tickets already is for the PH benefits. EVERYTHING else on this vacation, so far, can be cancelled for no charge/full reimbursement, including the airfare, just in cases!
 
Apples to oranges, but what makes you think I don't think the park pass price is ridiculous, also? I rarely pay over $150 for a weekly vehicle rental, so to pay more than double that is crazy. Disney one-day park hoppers start at $169 on a "cheap" day and we are paying $199 for Christmas Eve, so the mark-up isn't as inflated as that of the rental car. Rental car prices are never standardized, fluctuating daily and sometimes hourly; the price I am paying, which is double what I'd normally pay, is an arbitrarily chosen price based on anticipated market. True, Disney tickets also are, to some extent, but at least that price is set. (However, one of the reasons we visit Disney less often is the change in ticket structure. We were 2-3 times-a-year visitors when tickets were the same price for every day of the year, and the ticket you bought was good forever, until the # of days were used up.)

For the record, we haven't purchased the Universal tickets yet. We are waiting to see if we think it's really worth the $400 investment, or if we'd choose to add to the Disney ticket or not do that second park day at all, depending on how our wallet is feeling as the trip is closer. Only reason we bought the Disney tickets already is for the PH benefits. EVERYTHING else on this vacation, so far, can be cancelled for no charge/full reimbursement, including the airfare, just in cases!
Shouldn't have to explain yourself. This is why I don't post very often. I am renting from Alamo 12/09-12/19 and yes, the rates are higher than I have ever paid. I check the rates a few times a day and have a lower rate than I had when I first started looking BUT, still higher than in the past.
 
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Anybody use Ace Rent a car? Priceline has an elite SUV for $100 for my dates but Yelp has some pretty bad reviews.
 
The cheapest rate I've found so far is directly through Alamo with coupon code AD3868JST and the Costco corporate code (in Canada is 7016405). I currently have a mini van from Dec 8-26 for $450. I find the best time to check rates is Sunday evening for some reason.
 
Finally!! Some downward movement on my reservation today. Dropped $25., total is $155 for a full size car 12/7 - 12/14 using AD3868JST and AP discount code. I feel like that's a great price. :sunny:
 
I just tonight got around to booking a rental car for our Dec 6-11 trip. With this thread and just a little searching I got Alamo mid-sized for $168.14 (using the coupon code Rich M posted above and the AP ID). This seems a touch high to me, but I am looking for only 1 week away. In my quick searching this is less than I have seen elsewhere (Costco, which seems to generally be noted as having the best rates per this thread is $183 for the cheapest mid or full sized). I really don't want to spend a lot of time searching and find this is the lowest, or save $5 but spend 4 hrs. So what is anyone's opinion? Think I'll get much better, or is this pretty decent and save my time? I haven't rented a car in quite a while, but I remember when I used to do it frequently it would take a LONG time searching for different combos and variations on discounts at all of the MCO onsite rental companies. I don't know if I have that in me now, with one week left, and Holidays and packing in addition.
 
Just booked a last minute quick trip 12/10 - 12/12. Budget, Full Size (12/10 8 am - 12/12 8 pm). $121.11 (checked on carrentalsavers and then booked direct through Budget.

Got Dollar full size today on carrentalsavers for $108.18. It's a little savings, but I'll take it. Lol.
 
Got Dollar full size today on carrentalsavers for $108.18. It's a little savings, but I'll take it. Lol.

Thank you for the insite. Got a full size car for $139. I was at $161 for SUV but I will take the savings. Only two of us going. Make sure you put in the promo code 101497 for 25 percent off
 
Thank you for the insite. Got a full size car for $139. I was at $161 for SUV but I will take the savings. Only two of us going. Make sure you put in the promo code 101497 for 25 percent off

Thanks. That was the code that carrentalsavers used.
 
Keep checking those rates as time gets closer. We're 5 days out and just got our standard car rental from Alamo for dates 12/6 to 12/14 down from $241 to $220. Using coupon code AD2865DAD and contract ID 860292 for my annual pass discount.
 
Keep checking those rates as time gets closer. We're 5 days out and just got our standard car rental from Alamo for dates 12/6 to 12/14 down from $241 to $220. Using coupon code AD2865DAD and contract ID 860292 for my annual pass discount.

You can get a full size car for your dates from Dollar for $176. I put in for pick up at noon and drop off at noon just to get an idea. That is using the Black Friday promo code of 101497.
 
Finally seeing some movement on my rental price! I got my price dropped twice in the last week. I started at $1502 for a minivan for 12/18-1/6, and I am now down to $992. I moved from Budget with a coupon to Costco Budget rental.
 

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