Costco Codes, Heads Up

I just rebooked a June rental using Costco codes as the price went down a few dollars for us. For the first time for us using the codes the form requires entering a Costco member number before the reservation was accepted. Not a problem for us as we are Costco members. I've never been asked for this in the past, and never been asked for a membership card when picking up the car. Just be aware that they (Alamo) are now asking for membership verification, possibly even asking for proof when picking the car up.

 

I just checked Alamo using the Costco codes and the coupon code is no longer available for our April trip but they did not ask for our Costco #. I know that they do ask for it on the Costco site.

 

Check back with Costco everyday. My reservation for a minivan has dropped so dramatically since I started in January. I started at $265 in January and have rebooked about six times. Down to $140 for a four day rental. I'll play their game of rebooking. We have four golfers with clubs and a minivan is a must. BTW, if you want, with Alamo, you can by pass the counter, and go straight to your car if you are willing to "check in" online. Cancel if you need, and not billed until you pick up vehicle.

I give them my Costco number at time of booking, never asked for it at the booth.

 

For the life of me........how does everyone find Costco car rentals cheaper than other competitors?
Example.....
Sept 7th-11th ( arrive Labor Day)....Costco.....$324.00; EZ Car Rental........$166.00; DOUBLE THE PRICE!!!!!!!!
Is there some code you use or what?

 

I think a lot of people, including me, want to rent from a major company. And.... I want to get the SW points for booking with Alamo, Budget, etc.

 

Costco/Alamo was $220 (includes fees, etc) for full size just now. I'm willing to bet it will go to less than $160 by August. I always book and just keep coming back to see if any changes. If no change, I'll just go elsewhere----Good Luck!!

 

Costco was $100 cheaper for me (Enterprise) when booking for a week in May.

It's like airfares and hotels, you have to look at all the options. Often Costco is the cheapest but not always.

 

We've found Costco to often be cheaper than renting directly from the car rental company. I've always needed to enter my Costco number to make the reservation. And like others have said, car rental rates are crazy and seem to change as often as airline fares. I'll check a reservation every day until my trip. Sometimes I end up making and cancelling it half a dozen times, and the rate may at some point drop by as much as half from the first reservation.

 

It was probably the middle of last year that the Costco travel site was upgraded to require you to enter your Costco number to reserve a car at their Costco rates.

If you book your car through the actual Alamo or Budget sites (using the Costco codes) you aren't asked for a Costco number but be forewarned that they may ask you for your card when you get to the counter.

Yes, if you bypass the counter you aren't asked for your Costco number very often. If you go to the counter to get your reservation you probably have a higher probability of being asked for your Costco card. At Budget, the Costco number isn't enough, if asked you have to physically show your Costco card to get the discounts.

While agencies like Fox, ez, sixth and payless may have lower rates I have been stung by limited (or no) selection of rental cars, having to wait in long lines at the counter and possibly having to wait for your rental to come in. I rather rent from national chains like Budget and Alamo over these others. Also note that sometimes the national chains give you a free upgrade (never happens with these other agencies). last year I rented an economy car and got upgraded (they ran out of cars) to a full sized car but I paid the economy price. Actually if you check daily you may be able to get comparable rates with the national chains as I got for my beginning of March Vegas trip. Checking daily is especially important during holidays like labor day and during special events (fight). prices fluctuate regularly, sometimes even many times during the day.

 

All the more reason to join Costco and do it the right way. The savings on just one rental will more than pay for your membership fee.

 

Funny, but some people just do not understand that. I tried to explain to a coworker, even if she joined and never used the membership, she would save money on the single rental she was looking at. Nope. She refused to do it for some crazy reason.

I joined BJ's warehouse for this exact reason, and there is not one within 1000 miles of me.

 

Always book through Costco and, although I know it's possible, we have never been asked to show our card with either budget or Alamo. Then again, we always check in on the kiosk and don't have to deal with a person.

 

does Budget have a kiosk now? i stopped considering Budget, and will pay $5 more for Alamo, because of the kiosk at Alamo. i also like that Alamo lets me pick what color car. ultimately color or model doesn't really matter, but i'd rather not have a white car, and i like having a choice of models, so even with a kiosk at Budget, I'll stick to Alamo unless the price differential is substantial.

 

OOps! No, Budget doesn't have a kiosk but, as you probably know, if you have Fastbreak, you just go upstairs to the window and sign the paperwork.(almost never a line there) Still, we've never been asked for the card. We've never been denied an upgrade at Alamo but I don't think we've ever gotten one at Budget unless there were no cars in the class we booked.

 

i had to post this somewhere:

car rates aren't dropping as i am use to, at least not so far for the week of may 3. i'm still checking three times per day, at least, and at this point i have a range of options i'm holding onto. there's no chance i rent the economy car from budget, but i'm gonna hold onto it, regardless, until departure day.

 

you are talking about the weekend with the big fight. I don't expect rental prices to drop or hotel prices to drop much. In fact I am staying away from it all since I don't want to deal with the crowds.

 

flying in the day after the fight. i'm sure some people who will be there on saturday night will stay for several days, but i'm expecting a minor exodus on sunday, so i'd like to think there will be a lot of rental returns that day. i've long been under the impression that sunday is a big day for departures, regardless of who fights on saturday night.

 

up to 11 vehicle reservations so far for next week. i might go ahead and cancel the economy car reservation with budget. i booked it a long time ago when nothing was dropping below $250. but i don't like tiny cars and i hate budget, so there's no chance i will be renting it. i've got reservations for multiple midsize cars from enterprise, more than one minivan, a crossover and an SUV. so many choices!

 

Last year when planning our October trip, I found that prices through Costco went down almost weekly. I rebooked several times. I also found that the economy and compact cars had higher rates than midsize or intermediate SUVs. The best rate was for an intermediate SUV. When we got to the Budget counter, they didn't have what we reserved, so we had to settle for a brand new Tahoe for the same price.