September 2021 Car Rental Watch

[Heather07438]

Goodluck on rates for Sept. I think prices may go down as we get closer. Demand will likely dip and hopefully that means great offers!

We booked/paid back in April for Sept trip. Have used Sixt many times and no complaints (this is either #6 or 7). For larger families, lots of cargo &/or mobility devices this company is a solid choice on bigger vehicles.

BMW X7 or similar | SUV (XFAZ) 7 Seats

Orlando Int Airport (They finally have a counter at MCO, used to have to take a 5 minute shuttle)

Estimated total (6 Rental days) $432.25 Tax included
Booking information:
Sep 12, 2021, 10:30 AM
Sep 18, 2021, 6:00 AM

 

[TimeforMe]

How did you get that rate? We will need an 8-day rental, but i can't get anywhere near that rate?

 

[Heather07438]

How did you get that rate? We will need an 8-day rental, but i can't get anywhere near that rate?

We got that rate back in April. Other trips with much less lead time we’ve found great offers about 3 weeks out. Keep an eye on it. Between Sept being a slower season and many people cancelling to Delta, there’s a good chance prices come down. Who knows if they’ll go that low again but it is possible.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We got that rate back in April. Other trips with much less lead time we’ve found great offers about 3 weeks out. Keep an eye on it. Between Sept being a slower season and many people cancelling to Delta, there’s a good chance prices come down. Who knows if they’ll go that low again but it is possible.

I agree. We canceled our August trip due to Delta but still have Autoslash tracking our rental to see how low it will go. We started off at $589 and are now down to $293 for a full size for 7 days.

 

[andigomeep]

Alamo through Costco is down for me today. I had $602 for a compact SUV as the cheapest but was able to get a full size car for $524. 9/4-9/15. I have a rental through UCT for $477 with Avis, but I’m hoping Alamo will come down a bit more as they’re my preferred company.

 

[holyrita]

Got an alert that my week long Alamo booking through Costco dropped $45. Rebooked and on a whim checked Alamo directly using the Annual Passholder discount code and I saved an additional $10. I foresee a lot of cancelling and rebooking over the next few weeks.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

My rate is down $67 total today, over 3 separate drops (I'm beginning to think I should check it hourly LOL).

I am now sitting at $373 for a seven day rental, with Alamo, and a free extra driver (booked through Costco). We have a midsize pickup but a full size car is also available for the same price, and an SUV is less than $10 more.

I was so excited to get it under $400 (and by a tidy margin, no less), but my husband is less than impressed.......his response? "Oh goodie, it's almost to down to our Worst Case Scenario starting rate from previous trips". He's not wrong! But it still feels like a victory!

 

[Lynne G]

Yay, down to 587 for two weeks, small SUV though may change to full size, but that was only 4 dollars cheaper when I just booked. Rather have the SUV. But will keep trying to get lower. Costco code would not let me stack with free upgrade. Still a lower than had before.

 

[KK505]

Rebooked through Costco tonight and got Premium SUV with Alamo for $616 instead of $778 previously booked. Big difference

 

[Heather07438]

Rebooked through Costco tonight and got Premium SUV with Alamo for $616 instead of $778 previously booked. Big difference

Now you can buy us dinner

 

[davper]

Very happy customer here. Had originally booked an SUV through Budget for almost 700 for my 9/22-10/3 trip. Alamo was nearly $1000.

Then a couple of weeks ago, mid-size pickup was the same price at alamo. Not the ideal vehicle for us. But we could make it work. Was very happy to get to Alamo.

Last week, the Intermediate SUV (our preferred vehicle) was about $50 bucks cheaper. Woohoo, except for the price, we were very happy campers to get what we wanted.

Today, $50 drop. We are now below $600. Come on Costco/Alamo, do I hear $500?

I am checking twice a day.


Pro tip: If your rate drops dramatically, double check the dates. I almost screwed up huge. Checking for my 12/1-12/13 trip where I have a large pickup for $1000 but really need a minivan that is at $1600. I checked yesterday and saw that the Minivan was now $1000. Booked and went to cancel the pickup. Realized just before I canceled that I had entered in dates missing 1 week. That would have been a $300 mistake if I had to rebook the pickup.

 

[georgina]

My rate was down today also. The compact car I had reserved dropped by $20, but then it offered me a compact SUV for another $30 off. So I now have a compact SUV for 9 days for $392. (Costco, Alamo) Intermediate SUV would also have been less than the compact car.

 

[PatMcDuck]

Mine dropped again, $476 to $412, mid SUV, Costco Alamo, 9/25 to 10/3. I never thought it would go this low, and I will try every day for better.

 

[holyrita]

I accidentally searched this morning picking up and returning the car a half hour later than what I wanted, but that fare turned out to be $30 cheaper?? Not sure what that's about but I booked it!

 

[holyrita]

I accidentally searched this morning picking up and returning the car a half hour later than what I wanted, but that fare turned out to be $30 cheaper?? Not sure what that's about but I booked it!

Ok down another $13 from an hour ago and at this point I am paying less than when I booked at the height of the pandemic/pre-vaccine*.

Makes sense with how bad FL is right now and how many cancellations there are, but also makes me crazy nervous that I too will wind up cancelling when I hit 31 days before my arrival and I have to make a decision to avoid DVC penalty

*edited to add: I'm rebooking because my flight times have changed and need a car earlier for longer.

 

[andigomeep]

Alamo through Costco is down for me today. I had $602 for a compact SUV as the cheapest but was able to get a full size car for $524. 9/4-9/15. I have a rental through UCT for $477 with Avis, but I’m hoping Alamo will come down a bit more as they’re my preferred company.

Down to $512 for a compact SUV with Alamo via Costco. We can deal with anything standard or larger so I’ll keep taking whatever is cheapest.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I rebooked today for a $4 savings. Yep, 4 bucks. I had the time, so I thought, why not? That's a Dole Whip.....or, almost! LOL

Now at $369.

 

[Heather07438]

I rebooked today for a $4 savings. Yep, 4 bucks. I had the time, so I thought, why not? That's a Dole Whip.....or, almost! LOL

Now at $369.

That's at least 12 spoonfuls lol

Every bit counts!

 

[georgina]

I rebooked today for a $4 savings. Yep, 4 bucks. I had the time, so I thought, why not? That's a Dole Whip.....or, almost! LOL

Now at $369.

Gotcha beat - I rebooked this morning for $5 less! I hesitated for a minute, then said, what the heck, it's a Mickey bar. Not sure how much those are these days either!

 

[Heather07438]

Gotcha beat - I rebooked this morning for $5 less! I hesitated for a minute, then said, what the heck, it's a Mickey bar. Not sure how much those are these days either!

You’re in the big leagues now, that’s almost 70% of Mickey Pretzel That’s all you need anyway, nobody can eat the whole thing.