picking up car early

I have a rental car with budget reserved. I had originally planned on taking a later flight, but I will now be in town 10 hours earlier. I tried to rebook, but the rate went up by 100% (from 255 to 520) for the week. What are my odds of getting in, going to budget and getting a car earlier for a better rate than that? Or am I just stuck?

 

Tell them you got your AM and PM mixed up.

 

You should be able to just call and have them adjust the arrival time.

Or, you can play dumb and show up asking them where your car is.

Or just screw it and do cabs/uber, etc.

 

I think this would work best. Play dumb at their mercy. I think they usually have a time frame limit that they will use to screw you. By telling them this simple error you appeal to their human side.

 

Has anyone tried the "mixup" am/pm trick successfully?

Do you really need to get a rental? If so I would recommend making a back up reservation just in case they don't go for your am/pm mixup.

Worst case scenario would be to just pick up the rental an hour or more before the scheduled rental time. It also might be good to just call the agency to find out how early from your reserved time can you pick up the car. They do allow you to pick up your car a little early, I picked up my car almost an hour early with no problem. Not sure if 10 hours will work since it would qualify as a half day (pay a full day).

What about renting a car at the same agency for a day (10 hours) and asking them to put the 2 reservations together?

I know that you can say it was a mixup with the am/pm but what happens if that doesn't work? Might be good to have a backup plan just in case, either with the same agency or with another agency. I did have problems with a rental before, my flight was delayed and I arrived 3 hours later than my reserved time. When I got to the counter they said I was out of luck because they gave away my car already. They said that with no shows after an hour or two the agency gives the car away and no complaining, talking to the manager or sob story (flight delayed from Hawaii and stuck on the plane so couldn't call) would get me a car at the rate I reserved - like you price went up drastically.

But if the "mixup" story doesn't work (and you don't have an alternate rental) you could just take the shuttle or cab or Wax to your hotel and come back later to pick up your rental.

 

You can just show up. If they have car available they will give you. The rental time is the actual time you pick up the car, not the time you reserved. Very often they don't care.
If it is busy time all cars reserved then they will check your time.

 

I'm going with the "I'm stupid and put PM instead of AM" plan. I'll let you all know how that works. I pass for stupid pretty easily.

 

yes, please get back to us about this. I guess if a car is available you may luck out but who knows.

 

Listen, do you think those girls in the booth or at the desk give two shits about your rental time? Their job is to punch up the numbers and get you out of there. You don't need to lie to them. I've picked up my car earlier than my "time" almost every trip, and it doesn't even get mentioned.

I was there a few hours early a couple weeks ago, and my name wasn't even up on the reservation board yet. I walked up to the booth, gave her my license, and in 20 seconds I was told to "pick any car in the aisle". My total charge was same as it was quoted.

You'll be fine.

 

A little early isn't a problem but have you gone to rent a car 10 hours earlier than your reserved time? That is the OP's situation so it will be interesting if they allow it or not. It also depends on the agency and the clerk too so will be good to know which agency will allow you to rent a car 10 hours earlier for the same price.

 

If they have a car they will give it to you, if the extra 10 hours becomes another day you will pay more.

 

exactly! the charge is based on your actual rental, not on your reservation.