Alamo, Budget, or Thrifty?

[willywilkes]

I am headed to Vegas tomorrow and have had a reservation with Thrifty but just checked prices and both Alamo and Budget have dropped where they are all within $5 total. I now have reservations with all 3 but have never rented with Alamo or Budget. I signed up for Budget Fastbreak and if I chose Alamo I will check-in online, as no matter what I want a company that allows me to skip the main counter.

Any significant reason to pick one over the other? I know car rental yelp reviews are generally terrible but Budget's have me scared about them really trying to ding you for not marking every single dent/scratch - I have never had issues with Thrifty and rent from them regularly (but they are the most expensive of the 3). I don't care much about loyalty - I feel like it takes forever to earn a free day from Thrifty so I don't care about missing out.

Anyone use budget or Alamo recently and have good or bad experiences?

 

[Foos]

I have never had a problem with Budget, but always take multiple pictures of the car and also check the Interior (this applies to all rental companies)
My pay now reservation for Dec 13 9:00am to Dec19 11:30 PM is $122 with budget, using Costco code W852802 and $25 coupon code MUGZ090 (not booked at costcotravel.com)
USAA (free to join for anyone) is about $5 more and has some extra benefits

 

[dmr]

{Flip ... SLAP!} Yes.

 

[leo21]

I've only used Alamo in Vegas of the three and have always have good results with them. But based on recent feedback, Alamo has car classifications that are what consumers would consider to be more "true" than Thrifty.

 

[makikiboy]

I've used all 3 agencies. As a habit I always go around the car with a small flashlight and usually record all dents and dings just in case. I never had a problem with dents and dings with those 3 agencies, they are pretty lenient because most dings are normal wear and tear. As others have mentioned, use the fast pass type of process to avoid the lines at the counter.

If you have to go to their counter, make sure you have a copy of your reservation. If the dollar amount is different that your reservation then you should go over the bill with a fine toothed comb because they probably tacked on some bogus charge hoping you won't catch it.

 

[smerrian]

Usually when your home computer reservation printout shows a lower figure than the actual agreement being placed before you it is because the actual agreement is tacking on the minutes you're arriving earlier than the time on the reservation. So, if your reservation is for a 9:00am pickup and you are at the counter at 8:50am the computer will add a charge for the extra 10 minutes you will have the car.
You can ask the counter-ling to adjust the times so that the printout matches your computer printout. You just have to remember that the car is due back 10 minutes prior to what you scheduled. Then you can give yourself the 1 hour extra that the car rental companies allow you to still stay within the contract. Games. It's all games.