Alamo...How lenient are they on return times?

[wiggles]

We have our return time at 5:00 but we switched our flight to a couple of hours later. So we don’t have to be at the airport until 7:00. Will I have to go on and modify our Ressie or can we just show up a couple of hours later than we were suppose too. I’m afraid if I modify it it will raise the price or can I even modify it since we have the car already? Thanks!

 

[Timothy02359]

Here ya go. https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental-faqs/grace-period-rental-return.html

 

[clutter]

The price is dependent on the number of days, so it depends on your pick up time.

Lets say you picked up the car at 4pm on a Wednesday. When you booked a 5pm return for Saturday, you likely got an hour's grace time and were quoted for 3 days. If you return the car at 5:10pm, you would get dinged for another day. If you picked up the car at 1pm, you are already paying for 4 days, so there's no additional cost.

 

[verleniahall]

With security the way it’s been lately, I would go with your original plan and just hang at the airport for a while

 

[sam_gordon]

With security the way it’s been lately, I would go with your original plan and just hang at the airport for a while

If they don't have to be at the airport until 7, I'm guessing the flight is at 8:30 (hopefully later). You would get to the airport at 5?

Now, I might depending on added cost of the rental car (I spent 7 hours at the Vegas airport a couple of months ago, but I didn't have a rental car).

 

[bumbershoot]

The price is dependent on the number of days, so it depends on your pick up time.

Lets say you picked up the car at 4pm on a Wednesday. When you booked a 5pm return for Saturday, you likely got an hour's grace time and were quoted for 3 days. If you return the car at 5:10pm, you would get dinged for another day. If you picked up the car at 1pm, you are already paying for 4 days, so there's no additional cost.

Yep.

If they don't have to be at the airport until 7, I'm guessing the flight is at 8:30 (hopefully later). You would get to the airport at 5?

I might. There’s a lot to keep you occupied at mco. I too a dme bus that was the earlier one than what I was assigned to (the driver invited me) at something like 3am, I had Pre, so I was hours earlier than needed, and even that early the people watching was primo. There’s always something to do there lol.

 

[Lynne G]

Yep, I would change it, even if changed the price, could do on app or call. I would not want any surprises when I return the car.

 

[verleniahall]

If they don't have to be at the airport until 7, I'm guessing the flight is at 8:30 (hopefully later). You would get to the airport at 5?

Now, I might depending on added cost of the rental car (I spent 7 hours at the Vegas airport a couple of months ago, but I didn't have a rental car).

Totally - its better to be on the waiting in THAT way than be stuck in traffic and miss a flight - plus, like a PP stated - there is tons to do at the airport - you can browse, shop, etc... and sometimes you have a wait to just get through security!

 

[zoo2tycoon]

You need to call Alamo and ask or email them. Nobody here can give you the correct answer. As others stated it depends on if you go into another day rental period and then they can charge you. You can't return two hours late and say I was told by XYZ on disboards there was no extra charge for late return.

I'd email so you had written documentation of what they tell you.

 

[wiggles]

Thanks everyone. Our flight is not until 11:00. Didn’t really want to get to the airport 6 hours early when I could be at Disney. Trying to prolong leaving...

 

[wiggles]

Guess I should have added we rented the car Saturday at 5:00. We will be returning it Saturday at 5:00. It’s not letting me modify it online since we already have the car. Guess I will have to call...thanks again!

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Guess I should have added we rented the car Saturday at 5:00. We will be returning it Saturday at 5:00. It’s not letting me modify it online since we already have the car. Guess I will have to call...thanks again!

Your rental agreement given to you when you picked up the rental should show an hourly rate for extra-time and distance as well as a daily rate for the same. This is the amount you will be charged once you get past 5:00. A typical hourly rate for an Alamo rental might be 1/3rd of the quoted daily rate.

 

[rdevine10]

In April we had a minor issue with Alamo but in Houston. Our flight was cancelled and we ended up getting in to Houston several hours after we were supposed to. When we turned in our rental it was over a $100 more than my paperwork. We had to work with the desk to get it corrected. They told us it was because we were so late getting our rental. In any event, the location did adjust it for us thankfully.

 

[NotUrsula]

US Rental car contracts are always written for 24-hour increments, but it appears that you know that picking it up at 5 pm means that keeping your quoted price depends on returning it at 5 pm on the return day.

That said, Alamo *DOES* normally give a 1-hour grace period, which is actually built in for long lines at the return garage (it's a throwback to when they didn't have those nifty handheld scanners to check you in.) The grace period is dependent on your actually having the check-in process completed within 60 minutes of the time on the contract. So, if you have receipt in hand by 5:59, you'll be fine, but if it is later than that, the hourly charge will kick in for anything after 5 pm. The hourly charge for your particular contract is in your fine print; look closely. As an estimate, a late return on a weekly rental will usually cost somewhere between $10-25 per hour (or portion thereof) after the contract due time.

About 6 months ago at TPA, I asked for a waiver on a 2-hour late return charge and got it, because I had been stuck for 2.5 hours behind a wreck on the Howard Frankland Bridge (which leads into the airport from the west via I-275). They will sometiimes cut you some slack if you are outside the 60-minute window due to a known traffic incident.

In your place, I'd take an extra 45 minutes or so and then just use the rest of the time to eat dinner at one of MCO's better restaurants.

 

[writerguyfl]

That said, Alamo *DOES* normally give a 1-hour grace period

The grace period is 29 minutes. That's confirmed in the link that Timothy02359 kindly provided to the Alamo website on the second post.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I would call.... I had this once, and when I tried to modify online, I lost my great base fare, it recalculated the whole week based on current, higher price. When I called, they just added on an extra 2 hours worth of charges, which was fine. They held the currently booked fare and just added the additional time, is what I mean. I had heard stories of people returning late and them recalculating the whole time period, not just adding the couple hours.

This was years ago, current practice may vary.