Getting Tee’d off

I am getting tee’d off with car rental agencies. Why specify a car size when you are reserving because 9-out-of-10 times, you don’t get what you reserved for. I didn’t when I tried to pick up my compact car from Alamo inVancouver. I ended up with a Charger – a full size vehicle that has rear wheel drive and was totally useless in snow. I ended up going back to the airport the next day to trade it in for a compact car.

If you had read my earlier blogs on the Calgary Stampede, you would have noticed that we feature some of the biggest stars on stage for free. This year we had July Black and Natasha Beddingfield that performed on the Coca-Cola stage. With an admission to the Stampede, these concerts were free.

Click here for the 2009 Stampede and enter the password: insider to get 15% off tickets. Taylor Swift is one of the performers at the Saddledome. As soon as I find out who is playing on the Coca-Cola stage, I will let you know.

Christmas on a Budget

Everybody is going to budget-minded this Christmas. And talk about Budget, be sure to use BCD code U114800 to save on your Christmas rental. In Vancouver, you can rent a economy/compact car for only $45 for a 3-day rental from December 16th to 19th. I’ve been shopping and comparing with Thrifty’s using the code: LM78 and it comes close. Remember, the trick is picking up the car from a non-airport location to save on airport taxes. In Vancouver, the tax is well over 17% which cancels out alot of promo code rates.

Alot of people are going to strap down their budget and shop for themselves. If you are looking to stock your house, perhaps your new renovated basement with a home theatre, spa or home office, here’s a free visitor’s pass to DirectBuy. We’ve seen the ads on tv where they say you can save up to 50% off all your home remodelling and fixtures.

And if you have golfers on your Christmas list, check out all the golf shirts and windshirts by Antigua and Oakley at savings up to 75% off at Knetgolf. To take advantage of this special, be sure to use the coupon code: SHIRT.

Free Hawaii Coupons

My niece is having too much fun studying abroad in Hawaii. She chose to spend her last year at the University in Hilo, Big Island Hawaii. Every week, I die of envy as I see her beach photos and the sun and surf in Hawaii. Her dad is planning a trip in January to visit her and was asking me for the best golf courses to play at and who to rent a car from to get the best deal. 

It seems like Alamo has the best deal. Using the ID/CORP ID: 675899 and the coupon code: AD6974JDM, you can rent a compact car for about $184 Canadian where everybody seems to be charging over $250. With National, a compact car is $287 and with Avis, it goes for $296.

Too bad he is not going in December because I have some coupons for Avis renters going to Hawaii. Check these coupons out but you will have to had rented a car from Avis because you have to show your Avis keys when redeeming these coupons.

Going Out of Business

If you’re a store owner and you are going out of business then slash your prices. The latest chain to go down the tubes is Linens & Things in Calgary but since announcing this news, they have only discounted their goods by 10%. That’s hardly a ‘going out of business’ or ‘final sale’. They have to do better than that, or else they are going to be there for some time.

Need a car? Budget just announced a sale on their cars until Sunday. Use coupon: U113700 and pay $149 per week for a compact.

Need a Wii game? Visit your local Wal-Mart for a whole slew of discounted Wii games such as Wii Star Wars, Nameco Museum Remix, Gameparty, CSI, Cars2, MonkeyBall, Emergency Heroes, Spiderman III, Ratatouille, MLB Power Pros, Jumper and many, many more. All for under $20.

Also for under $40, get Gucci, Dior, Fendi glasses at ClearlyContacts.

Turkey Santa Needs a Car

It’s almost time to rent a car for the big Thanksgiving trek if you live in the US and for Christmas if you are heading out of town. First of, lets start with Dollar. Use coupon code: 8CMCA to save 15% off a premium, luxury, midsize SUV or a standard SUV from a Southern California location such as San Diego, Palm Springs, Ontario or Los Angeles Airport. Also at Dollar, you can rent a car from select locations for only $1 per day but you will have to drop it off at a participating location with no drop fee. For example, take a car from Chicago and drive to Miami for only a $1 per day then pay no drop-off fee when you get to Miami. That’s a fantastic deal. If you are interested, check out the list by clicking here.

Some people rather not fuss with promo codes and coupons when renting a car. If you’re one of those, go to Orbitz. With Orbitz, you will get a pretty good rate but read the fine print if you plan to cancel. Did you read my last blogs on renting a car for Palm Springs? Up to the last week of travel, I booked and cancelled my car until I was paying about $100 less than my first booking. This you can only do, if you booked it directly with one of the car rental agencies. With Orbitz, HotWire, CarRental – you might have to pay a penalty so watch out.

NeverLost

I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting this blog but I started a new job a few weeks ago and really haven’t found time to write to you. I promise I will make it up to you, especially my loyal readers and shoppers who are looking for the BBD or coupons to save money.

When I was in Palm Springs last week, I rented from Hertz rent-a-car for the first time. I loved their cars. Actually, I love their NeverLost GPS. With it, we were cruising around town like a local. We knew exactly where to go and we didn’t get lost, well we did but it was my fault for not trusting it. Sometimes I get disoriented and think I’m heading south when I’m really heading north. 

The fellow at the Hertz counter couldn’t believe the rate that I managed to find. Thanks to this blog, I rented a compact with a NeverLost GPS for only $143 total for the week. I ended up with a Mazda 3 sedan that was easy on the gas and big enough to hold our two sets of golf clubs, luggage and shopping bags.

As a AMA (or AAA for US, BCAA for BC residents), I got 2 free days of NeverLost using PC# 106282. If you want hard cash savings, use PC# 119770 and save $25 off a weekly rental. If you’re not an auto club member, just go to the Hertz site and sign up as a #1 club member – it’s free. After you sign up and print your card online, you can use PC# 118650 and save $25 off your weekly rental or $15 off your weekend rental.

Free Downgrade

This is the first time I have ever seen that renting a midsize SUV is actually cheaper than a compact car but it is true. I just reserved a vehicle in Palm Springs and is paying alittle more than $200 per week for a Yaris. For $158, I can drive around an Equinox, a midsize SUV. My thinking is that I would probably burn a $50 tank of gas easily in three days so I’m better off paying more for a Yaris and hoping I can squeak by with a $20 fill-up when I return the car.

It still helps having corporate/promo codes when renting a car. Also, don’t jump to booking until the last two weeks, except around an important holiday. In other words, if it is around Christmas or Thanksgiving, by all means, book it just to be safe. But when I booked a car four weeks ago, I was looking at $250 per week. I just booked this one yesterday and have saved $50. I will continue to monitor it this week until I leave Sunday.

I also have a free upgrade from Enterprise to share with you but knowing that you pay more at the tanks for an upgraded car, you might not want to use this. If I get any free downgrades, I will surely share it with you. That is, pay a lower price for a midsize and drive off with a compact.

BBD is waiting for you

I think it would be foolish of you to think that the BBD (Bigger, Better Deal) is static. I mean, I booked my car for Vancouver next week about 3 weeks ago and thought the BBD was $250 per week. The next week, I checked with Hertz and used a coupon to bring the price down to $206 per week. I was pretty happy saving almost $44 in one week then I decided to check Alamo and found a better price at $185. This week, I looked at Dollar and came up with a rate of $166 but decided to go with Thrifty’s instead at $168. You see, Dollar rents Chrysler Calibers as their compact cars versus the Toyota Yaris that I prefer at Thrifty’s. With the high fuel costs in Vancouver, I think I can around more places with a Yaris with less gas than a Caliber.

The morale of the story is that with car rentals, you have to book, cancel and rebook. Don’t think for a minute that your BBD is it. Try and try again until the last day you fly out. The BBD is around the corner waiting for you. And we will try to help with coupon codes to save you more money. Bookmark our page on car rental to get the latest coupons and promo codes.

Here’s some codes for you to use. Get $15 off a weekend rental at Thrifty’s by using CP87. Or get $25 off a weekly rental at Dollar by using DC103.

Be Careful with Compact Cars

After booking a car for Vancouver with Hertz, I’m still after the BBD (ie. Bigger, Better Deal). Today, I received a promo code from Dollar and using code: EMDY5, I can save myself $10 per week but I chose to stay with Hertz instead. Why? The reason is because of the type of cars they deem as compact rentals. In this day and age of fuel costs, be careful when renting a car. When I rent an economy or compact vehicle, I expect the type of car rented will save me gas. Dollar rents Chrysler Calibers as their compact vehicle. I hardly think a Caliber saves you gas. With Hertz, I will settle for a Ford Focus. A Toyota Yaris is best if you want to buzz around town and save fuel.

Thru the Nose

I’m looking for the best deal for car rentals in September when I go out to Vancouver, BC to visit my folks. I find car rentals to be on the expensive side in Vancouver, but to get around, it’s easier by car than by transit. I keep a little black book with coupon codes and promo codes by my computer and use it religiously whenever I book a car. Today, I started with Alamo and tentatively booked a car for $250 total for 5 days. Pretty expensive, eh? Even with Enterprise 50% off weekend rentals, the total came out to $258. I scanned the prices for Budget, National and Ace and found their rates to be more than what I was quoted by Alamo.

This afternoon, I researched another web offer and stumbled upon a code for Hertz. Usually, I stay away from using Hertz or Avis because I find their prices to be a lot higher for the average joe like me. But with a special code, I managed to get the total down to $223. The code I used was 1770665. It will save you 33% off the online rates.

Try it out wherever you need a car from Hertz. Hopefully, you won’t have to pay through the nose like me in Vancouver.