Hello! I booked a rental car through Budget for July because it was significantly cheaper than other companies (+$500 cheaper!). It is a long rental and returning to a different location which is the reason for such an expensive rental. I’ve seen many negatives with Budget. I signed up for Fastbreak and used the feature to pre-check in. It says I will get a text with a spot where my car will be ready so hoping that will help with the pickup process.
Are there any positive experiences with Budget? With such a significant difference in price, it’s hard not to roll the dice with Budget. Thanks!
When we had two flights get cancelled leaving Orlando, we made a reservation with Hertz to be picked up at Sanford. As Jerry Seinfeld would say, “So you can TAKE a reservation, but you can’t HOLD a reservation” We got there and they had no car and said they didn’t honor same day reservations. Said we could wait around and see if a car came in. It was 5pm and we had a 14 hour drive ahead of us.
Avis came to the rescue and had a car for us. They are the best in my mind.
I’ve not had any major concerns when renting with Budget. I would say their cars have not been as clean/well maintained as other companies. But nothing major
They are never again for me after they claimed damage to the car on return that was there when it was picked up. They apparently are using an AI module that is - quite clearly - very flawed.
Have never experienced them
My personal favorite is Alamo. Sure, they are more expensive overall, but their cars have been tops and (knock on wood) never a single service issue.
Also very much liked my rental with Sixt in December - my car wasn’t ready when I arrived so they gave me a (massive) upgrade to get me out of there on time. Car was impeccable
I have tended to prefer Alamo recently and have only had good experiences. This is who I have booked for my next trip.
I had mostly good experiences with Avis until they charged me for Unlimited Tolls when I expressly told them I wanted to pay as I go, and it was basically impossible for me to remove the charge when I discovered it.
I have heard too many horror stories about the AI damage inspection to use Hertz again.
I’ve used Budget several times and had no problem.
I usually use Autoslash to find car rental deals. They rate Budget the same as Alamo, Hertz and Enterprise (4/5 stars). They rate Avis and National a bit higher and some others lower. Personally I’ve also heard too many horror stories about Hertz to rent from them.
We’ve rented w/ Budget many times (and other companies) whichever is the lowest price. BUT I use the Costco car reservations app so I can have an extra driver for free, no credit card to hold etc. I’ve even used the Costco site successfully in the EU to rent cars.
I’ve used National and Budget. Only used Budget once. They were fine. But from an end-to-end experience, National was better. They are my go-to. I’ve not really seen that Budget was significantly lower than National…but then, I generally can get a discount at National using my work code. (Check with your work, but the last two places I’ve worked, they had discount codes for a few different places, and you were allowed to use the discount code even for personal use as long as, obviously, you pay for it yourself!)
We use Alamo and Enterprise almost exclusively when we need to rent a car. They have always treated us well and have always had the car they let me reserve (or better) at the time I needed to reserve it.
I book through Costco and I agree. My upcoming trip Alamo has been the cheapest and continues to drop. My last trip (during a race Disney weekend) I randomly found a great Alamo price early and then Alamo upgraded me at pick up.
Rented from them 20 years ago - at the local office by the Westport Connecticut train station. Maybe 10 years ago rented from the office on the peninsula south of San Francisco. No problem with either.
Not sure which thread to post this under so writing it here since it’s the most recent rental car talk that I see.
Need some advice/experiences, please. I have reservations for 2 different car classes through Alamo at MCO (Standard SUV and Full Size Car). I plan to keep only 1 based on which models are actually available when I pick up. My question is how far into the Alamo check in process can I go with both reservations without being charged a cancelation fee? I’d like to do Skip the Counter with both, but that step requires entering a credit card #. This makes me leery about whether it opens the door to Alamo charging a cancelation fee. Both reservations were made through Costco Travel. Thanks for any advice.
I don’t understand. Are they both the same price? Will you be happy with either? If the one you book is not available, Alamo will upgrade you at pick up if you go directly to your car. I would never purposely stand in that rental counter line.
You must link your final reservation, I believe, more than 48 hours prior to pick up. Costco will email you a reminder about 3-4 days before the reservation. When you cancel any Costco reservation there is a message that you are not charged until pick up, so you can cancel at any time before pick up. I will book/cancel multiple times as the price drops lead8 g up to my travel date..
Sorry I should have been more clear. I am hoping to get a 3 row SUV, which I know isn’t typically included in their Standard SUV class but I’ve gotten one from them before in that class so I’m hoping that’s the case this time too. If they don’t have a 3 row SUV available in that class when I go to pick up, I’d like to use my Full Size Car ressie instead since that one is $100 less for the rental duration.
So you are planning on standing in line at the rental counter? They will then allow you to go down and pick your car? (I alway do the direct to car so just clarifying how that works) . You will not know about the SUV until you see what is available in that row?
I was able to link the reservation in the app and then wait till about 24 hours before to do the “skip the counter” step where you enter your credit card info. You could probably wait until the very last minute. Also I don’t think they charge you until you drive your vehicle out of the lot and scan at the booth. All reservations I’ve ever had are fully cancellable, but I’m not sure if entering your skip the counter information is a binding step.
If I were you, I’d consider the extra $100 as assurance that you can get the vehicle you want. I mean, that’s exactly what it is. But if you’re willing to take a risk, I don’t think you’ll be harmed by trying the maneuver, as long as you read the fine print at each step and it is cancelable all the way through.