Codes to save on rental cars?

Sailing in early January 2013 and with the price of air fare we are considering renting a mini-van and driving from central Illinois to Port Canaveral. Right now rates on mini-vans seem high and I seem to remember seeing on these boards something about codes to enter for discounts. Any help will be appreciated.

We've always had good luck with car rentals on "Priceline". You bid what you want to pay. I believe if your bid is rejected, you can't bid again for at least 24 hrs. But.....you have plenty of time, I'd start at something really low, and just bid daily a dollar or two more than the previous bid. Everytime we used Priceline, we ended up paying 30%-45% less than the lowest price offered from any rental company. And for a car rental, I really don't care which company it's through, as opposed to priceline bidding on airfare where you don't get to pick your routing, time of day, or #of stops/changes. With a car, it's "X" o'clock pick-up and return at the specified location, and that's about it.

are you looking for codes that you're eligible to use due to you being a member of some club/airline/internet member/ bank user/etc?

Or are you looking for any available code you can use to scam the merchant?

http://www.retailmenot.com is a good website to check for coupon codes. Google the name of a company and retailmenot - i.e. "Avis and Retailmenot" and the first link will likely be the correct one. Then you can see if there are any rates you qualify for.

The Priceline advice is good as well. A couple of caveats though, you will have to pay right away if your bid is accepted and it is nonfundable. It is only an option for a round trip rental (i.e. will not work if you want to return the car when you arrive in port, then rent a second car for the ride home). Also you do not get to choose the company and may end up receiving a car that has had smoking in it. However the savings can be 50% or higher if you are willing to deal with these pitfalls.

Sailing in early January 2013 and with the price of air fare we are considering renting a mini-van and driving from central Illinois to Port Canaveral. Right now rates on mini-vans seem high and I seem to remember seeing on these boards something about codes to enter for discounts. Any help will be appreciated.

If you are a member of one of the major warehouse clubs check their car rental programs. My sister has always found good deals through the Warehouse Membership programs.

Thanks for the help. I did not intend to scam anyone I did not realize that codes were owned by certain entities. I will check with my wholesale club and perhaps my creit union.

Are you really sure you want to drive from central Illinois to Port Canaveral in January? Remember if you're even one hour late, the ship sails without you.

Seems like a long drive in the Middle of Winter with the Midwest and Appalachian Mountains and possible bad weather. But I am assuming that you have 5 to 7 people to fly in which would affect the overall cost.

Remember that you would also have a drop charge unless you rented round trip.

Since you are leaving from Central Illinois, I would suggest that you check with the Rental Car Companies that have local to Central Illinois locations. You might be able to work out a better deal than even the "codes"

Another option is an internet site AutoShark. They will have links to all the major rental car companies and any coupons and/or discounts.

Google the name of the various car rental company & the words "coupon codes". Stuff will come up. You may have to try various combos to get it to work.

If you pick up in one place (Illinois) & drop off in another (FL) you have have to pay a huge fee for that conveneince. It may actually be cheaper to pay to park the rental car. You will have to do the math.

January 2013 is a little far out to be concerned right now because any code you find now will likely have an expiration date of Dec 31, 2012. Having said that, if you are a member of Costco, you can check car rentals through the Costco website. One other tip - whatever code you use, be sure to check periodically for price drops with that code as January 2013 approaches. Prices do drop even when using a code.

We are just thinking about this. Weather is a consideration but we would leave on Wednesday for a Saturday sailing and have three adult drivers. Most likely we will fly, even that can be affected by weather.

Doing some recent Google searches, I've found some discount codes for just about everything, and every store, merchant or service. Just enter the travel type (car rental coupons/discount or name "Hertz") and the codes will come up. You may have to try a few to get one that currently works. Also, as stated above, the "Bid" option on PL is a great way to save also.

For years I have used the Costco codes and have been very happy with the results.

Budget y937800

I would also suggest price line dot com. In June got a full size for a week at $13 per day. If you bid fails, you cannot make that same bid for 24 hrs but yiu can raise your bid and try again.

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

Another vote for booking through Costco. You don't pay in advance, can change or cancel as often as you want (keep watching for price drops), plus they allow a 2nd driver at no extra charge. Watch out for additional charges - with multiple drivers, you could be paying A LOT extra.

Be careful as some rental companies restrict how far you can drive or charge extra if you go out of state or adjacent state.

It is only potentially worth it if you have 4 or more to travel. Southwest had prices unde$150 per person each way for feb when I checked. Also keep in mind cost for food on the road and hotel rooms.

Alamo-7013463

Avis-AWD#A359807

Hertz-CDP#50075

Can anyone tell me if you book a car through Costco, do they allow cancellations?

Alamo-7013463

 

Avis-AWD#A359807

 

Hertz-CDP#50075

Are this still good ???

Are this still good ???

From over 2 1/2 years ago? :eek: