Budget Fastbreak

I going to Las Vegas in a few days and we're renting a car while we're there. I made my reservation through Priceline at Budget. I enrolled in Fastbreak so that I could go directly to the car and not have to wait in line to check in. I'm a little confused about how to do it. I logged into my account, but my reservation only shows up when I put in my confirmation number. It only gives me the Fastbreak option if I make a new reservation. I want to use the reservation that I made through Priceline since it's fifty dollars cheaper than Budget.

Our flight arrives at 8:50, so I'm wondering should I even bother with the Fastbreak option since we're arriving so late. I figured we probably wouldn't get to the rental center before 9:30, is it possible that it won't be so busy at that time of night.

 

It may be very busy - arrived late many times to find the line exceptionally long. You may want to call them and add the Fastbreak # to the reservation. I believe they can do that for you.

 

Yes, do whatever you can to get the Fastbreak number added to your reservation. 9:30pm is NOT late by Vegas standards, and you could easily face a 30-60 minute wait (or more) when you arrive.

So, you are able to view your reservation on the Budget website when you enter your reservation number? If so, look in the section "Rate & Benefit Information". Does it show anything for Customer ID? This should be your Fastbreak ID, and if you see it here, you should be just fine. Of course a call to Budget (or maybe even an e-mail) to confirm wouldn't hurt. Better safe than sorry!

 

In order to use the Fastbreak benefit, you need to book directly thru Budget.

 

Ok, I called Budget and representative added my Fastbreak number to my Priceline reservation. But she said that since this is my first time using Fastbreak,
that I still have to go to the counter to sign master agreement and then I should be good for future Fastbreak reservations. From what I read there is a counter
for regular customers and then a separate line for Fastbreak customers. Am I understanding that correctly?

 

I just booked 2 rentals through priceline and in the terms and conditions IIRC it states something to the effect that you cannot use your "member perks". They want you to go to the counter - I suppose for the hard up-sell.

If you want to avoid the counter (which is always better IMHO) you should book through the car's website as others have said.

Only you can determine if standing in line is worth $50 savings.

I would keep monitoring the rental prices at the Budget website as they fluctuate on a daily basis and maybe you can get the same deal through there.

 

Yeah, I'm seriously considering doing that. I just checked Budget again and it's only 26 dollars more than my Priceline reservation. I think I'm going to go ahead and
make the reservation with Budget and be done with it

 

Don't "be done with it"....as Fet297 mentioned, the rates fluctuate a LOT in Vegas, so check back on a regular basis. It only takes about a minute and you may end up getting an even better rate in the process.

 

I went ahead and made the reservation with Budget, but then I called because I was a little confused about what the representative had said on an earlier call to add my
Fastbreak number to my Priceline reservation. So I called back to clarify, they told me that I had to go to the Fastbreak counter not the regular counter and sign the master
agreement because I had never used Fastbreak before and that I would be good for future reservations. I cancelled the Budget reservation and kept the Priceline since it
was 26 dollars cheaper. I'll keep checking Rhinoman7, if I can get it cheaper than 116 dollars for 4 days, I'm reserving it.

 

Makes sense, but I believe you would have to stop at the Fastbreak counter anyway regardless (it may just take a tad longer because it being your first time). TBH, I have not used Fastbreak in Vegas, but I have in other airports, and it definitely saves time!!! Have a great trip!!!

 

It has been my experience that you don’t always have to book directly with budget to skip the counter. Gosh, I hate a rental car lineup!

I make my reservations through Costco. During the booking process, I am able to add my fastbreak number. I skip the counter and head straight to the booth outside, look for my name on the screen to find the slot my car is in. And, I’m off.

 

As coach said, if you have a Costco membership their prices are usually considerably cheaper than Budget website and you can add your Fastbreak # to the reservation. As has been said,once you have a car booked, keep checking. We have gotten our best deals through Budget within a week of travel.

 

@Lisa108 thanks for starting this discussion. Thanks to you I now know you can actually go to the website of the car rental company which you rented through Priceline and complete your reservation.

I rented an express deal through Priceline for Chicago and received a car at Alamo. I logged into my Alamo account and was able to pull up my reservation and check in. No counter wait for me, thanks!

Sometimes the obvious isn’t so obvious for some...

 

You are so welcome. I love VMB, I have learned so much since I started reading all the posts. I'm assuming since you reserved your car thru Priceline that you know about AutoSlash. If not, go to autoslash.com and put in your reservation info and they will search for a better price. I started at 178 dollars, I'm down to 116 dollars for a mid size car. I love Autoslash.

 

With some (many?) of those services, you do have to talk with somebody the first time - sign something, present DL, etc. Or at least that had been my experience in the past.

 

I’ve been very lucky - signed up online with Dollar, Budget, Alamo and Advantage over the past few years and haven’t needed to go the counter yet.
On another note, we had a surprisingly good experience renting from Advantage in July.....

 

At Vegas the rental car chaos, I mean rental car center, go directly to the cars for Budget Fastbreak. There is a little booth there that can handle the necessary paperwork. (If they complain, as they did once with a friend who was using Fastbreak for the first time, just wait them out.) There was no line at the Fastbreak booth. There was a 45-minute line inside.

 

Thanks for the help everybody. Now fingers crossed that my departure time going to Las Vegas gets
changed so I can request an earlier flight. They changed my time leaving a few months ago, changed that. Let's hope I get lucky twice.

 

Any updates on how Fastbreak worked? Did you go to the counter in the hub, or did you go directly to the garage and talked to someone at the booth?...or other?

 

It worked perfect. I followed the signs in the airport to the Budget Fastbreak booth in the garage. It only took a few minutes to sign and they verify the card I had on my Fastbreak account. They said next time, I would see my name on the board and where the car was located. Return was easy as well. Pulled into retrn area, wrote mileage down, left key in the car. I was suppose to drop them off in the Fastbreak return box, but they weren't busy, so the attendant did it for me. Got an email a few minutes later with a receipt. The whole process was awesome. They even gave me an upgrade when I asked for one.