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payless car rental vs alamo

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by buckeyetodd, Jul 28, 2015.

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  1. buckeyetodd

    buckeyetodd High-Roller

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    for my september trip i reserved a intermediate car through payless at a pretty fair price imo. yesterday, while sitting around daydreaming about my trip, i remembered i had a voucher from Alamo for one free days rental. i plugged the dates in on the alamo site, using the free day, and the price between the two was within a dollar or two.

    my question is this, is one better than the other? i've never used payless and my only experience with alamo is from a caribbean island and the car was a piece of shit.

    any input would be appreciated.

    todd
     
  2. LVHooked

    LVHooked High-Roller

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    Payless will most likely give you a bill that's about three bucks a day higher than your reservation. If you go through the bill you'll find the extra is for road side assist/lost key. They have done it to a number of folks on the board. Myself included the charge is hard to find.

    With that said I would make both, and go to the shortest line. Then cancel the other.
     
  3. Ty

    Ty ?

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    We've used Alamo a few times in Vegas, the cars seemed practically new. We do the skip-the-counter online check-in and go straight to the cars. We usually get to pick from 8 or more cars. Already have my skip-the-counter paperwork in my bag for our next trip.
     
  4. Jimbucc

    Jimbucc VIP Whale

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    If you use Alamo, make sure you join Alamo insiders. There is no fee to join. If the line is long or you don't want to get the upsell, you can check in at their kiosk. I believe the kiosks still exist but I haven't rented from Alamo in a couple years. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. The cars were always good that I got.

    I use Payless quite a bit in Vegas. The usual counter agents trying to make a buck on insurance and gas fill up etc. Stick to your guns and question anything extra that isn't on your reservation. I've never had a problem with their cars.
     
  5. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    You will find "horror stories" about every car rental place. One person will have a great experience and recommend a company and someone else will tell you how horrible it is. As long as you stick with one of the majors I would just go with the cheapest.
     
  6. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    If I had a choice I would probably go with Alamo. Payless IMHO is more of a "cut rate" agency. They don't have a selection of cars so basically what they give you is possibly all that they have available in your size. You are more likely to get a free upgrade with Alamo and Alamo usually has a number of cars for you to choose in their lot. Renting from Payless once I saw a family waiting for their rental car. They were there already for 45 minutes and were waiting for the previous renter to return the car so they had no choice but to wait until the car was returned and prepped.

    And while the lines at either can be long I find it takes longer when going through Payless and there are usually lines at Payless. I also find Payless to add extra charges to your bill so you have to go through your bill with a fine tooth comb to find out what else they charged you for. Yes, at the other agencies there are some clerks who will tack on charges but I find it occurs more often at Payless. One other thing, once at Payless I was told there an extra charge was "mandatory" and when I asked for a manager they said that the manager was out so I had no recourse on contesting the extra charge.

    As others have mentioned, if you sign for Alamo's insider's club you can bypass the line at the counter. Payless has no "club" so you have to wait in line with all the other renters.
     
  7. rhinoman7

    rhinoman7 A Diamond in the Ruff

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    Have rented from Alamo in Vegas many times, and have always had a good experience. As others have suggested, join the Alamo Insider's club (it's free), and fill out the necessary information so that you can check-in and print your rental contract from home. This will allow you to bypass the counter and the kiosks (yes, they are still there) and go straight to the garage to pick out a car. There was only one time they were out of cars in my class(Full Size), and I had to wait a couple minutes before they had one ready to go, but normally there are plenty to choose from.
     
  8. buckeyetodd

    buckeyetodd High-Roller

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    thanks all for the responses. i'm already registered as a alamo insider. i put my log in info in when i got the quote. does anyone know if there is an additional discount for AAA members above and beyond the insider price? if not, can i use a discount code with my insider price?

    not trying to be a tight ass but savings are savings.

    thanks
    todd
     
  9. aliasyoshi

    aliasyoshi Low-Roller

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    I used to love Payless, but not anymore. Last year they wanted to force me to use their daily (whatever) fee that almost doubled the price of the rental. So I cancelled right there at the counter, walked over to Alamo, and was out the door in less than 5 minutes for a bit less than Payless.
     
  10. NandJfrmNJ

    NandJfrmNJ VIP Whale

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    Stay with Alamo. I know that people have had ok experience with Payless but we have not. If you belong to Costco you can use their discounts which are pretty good. No place to put in your Insider # but we just call them and add it.
     
  11. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    AAA doesn't have many other rental partners other than Hertz. I ddn't think they work with Alamo as of right noww. The insider price is usally the same as most other discount codes out there. Sometimes Costo has codes and coupons that are better. My last few retntals I've done well with the insider rate and a free class upgrade coupon. The advantage tp that is being able to check in online and head straight to the cars when you get in. When I use third party codes, I don't usually get that option.

    As for Alamo v Payless, I use Alamo almost exclusively in Vegas and have no issues. I've seen so many negative comments on Payless over the years that I don't even include them in searches. I can stand an older car for a better rate but the stories of the hard upsells at the counter scare me off.
     
  12. buckeyetodd

    buckeyetodd High-Roller

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    thanks all for your help. decided to switch to Alamo. payless for the three days was $88, Alamo, using one free day, was $92. just didn't want to risk it for four bucks.

    todd
     
  13. AndrewJ

    AndrewJ Tourist

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    I took a print out of my reservation and avoided this scam. They did try to charge me extra for my spouse as a driver. Since I wasn't drinking, I didn't mind driving... saved a few bucks.
     
  14. alexlifeson

    alexlifeson High-Roller

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    I consider Payless Rental the equivalent of Payless Shoes for whatever that is worth. I've never actually determined the amount I would pay extra to walk straight to the car and not wait in a long, slow-moving line while people are getting the hard sell for unnecessary extras but I would pay more. For WolverineTodd, that price difference is a no-brainer.
     
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