I went to trifty.com to rent a car and noticed a link that read American Express: 15% Off.
Here are the terms:
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To receive this offer, rental must be charged in full to your American Express® Card. This offer entitles you to 15% off time and mileage charges on a weekly rental (5-day minimum keep) of a compact, mid-size or full-size car. 24-hour advance reservations required. Rental must be booked on Thrifty.com and use Promo Code AXZT. Limited number of vehicles available at this discount. Renter must meet Thrifty minimum age, driver and credit requirements. Some additional charges, holiday and other blackout periods apply. This offer may not be used in conjunction with any other offer or promotion and has no cash value. Offer valid only when you pay with your American Express® Card.
I followed the rules and used the promo code as it said and for the reservation. Before completing the reservation I opened up a different browser (I was using Mozilla so I opend up IE so it would not detect my session and know it was me) and made the same exact booking and the price was cheaper without the 15% Amex discount.
What a crock. Thrifty is raising the price so they can give you a 15% discount. EVERYTHING about the reservation was identical.
With the promo code: $180.97
Without the promo code: $165.13
They are screwing with us!
This thread proves I'm not just seeing things. I'm looking for a car for one day in SAT. The normal Thrifty site when using the WMRT 10% off code shows a rate of $69.99 less 10% or $62.99. I thought that was a bit high so I tried using one of my free day BlueChip certificates. With the BCFD code I get a rate of $36.94, the same as when I used no promo code at all. Of course, the taxes and fees in SAT are over 41% for a one day rental at that rate, but even with no certificate it's still cheaper after taxes & fees than the promo code rate before taxes and fees!
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I tried the online chat with Thrifty and got the same, "It's always been like that" answer. They said this:It is not something that has changed. When checking rates online we always recommend checking with and without the promotion code to determine the best rate. ... Sometimes the best rate available is a special non discountable rate.
FWIW, the rental charges for a car at SAT for *one* day are as follows:
Rental Time Charge $36.94
Concession Recovery Fee (11.11%) $4.54
City Tax (5%) $2.27
Fleet Recovery Fee ($3.91 per day) $3.91
Sales Tax (10%) $4.54
Total Estimated Mandatory Charges (USD) $52.20
Estimated Grand Total (USD) $52.20
The fees add up to just over 41%.
EDITED TO ADD:
I just realized that the "promo" rate is for an economy car. The non-promo rate is for a standard car. The standard car is $89.99 with the promo, after the discount!
I noticed the same problem with Sam's Club discount, it was actually cheaper to book without the 10% discount. Such bad business practice!!
I too am looking at car rentals in Cabo Mex for the spring and tried the Amex code it did nothing but raise the rate ... Darn .. :mad:
I've played with various promo codes with various car rental companies the past few years, it seems much more than half the time you can get the same or better rate NOT using any promo codes :confused: Bookmarks::
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Rental Time Charge $36.94
Concession Recovery Fee (11.11%) $4.54
City Tax (5%) $2.27
Fleet Recovery Fee ($3.91 per day) $3.91
Sales Tax (10%) $4.54
Total Estimated Mandatory Charges (USD) $52.20
Estimated Grand Total (USD) $52.20
They might be able to blame the airport for the Concession Recovery Fee, the city for the City Tax, the state for the Sales Tax but the Fleet Recovery Fee is ALL THRIFTY. This is an arbitrary amount meaning that National could charge $5/day and Thrifty $3.91. Separating it out allows them to market a very low daily rate and then hit you with the fleet recovery fee in the end. I am surprised they don't market $1/day with a $39.85/day fleet recovery fee.
Airlines used to market their fares without including the taxes and fees but if you went on line to book you would see the full price of fares for your particular query and the price would be the same if you chose that itinerary to book. Now they (most major airlines) are doing the same as rental car companies. Showing you the prices without fees until you hit the "book now" button and then hitting you with all the fees.
And were are the truth-in-advertising laws? They are still there its just that no one is enforcing them.
It's just like seeing "ADM" on the sticker at a car dealer. I once asked -- it stood for "Additional Dealer Markup." No sale there.
Regarding Thrifty, while disingenuous, I made another booking yesterday at SFO (where I rent all the time) and found that the promo codes did lower the rate as expected. I think what Thrifty says is true -- that there are some lower, non-discountable rates. If they're guaranteeing the lowest price then they should do what the airlines do and tell you that what you chose wasn't the lowest price. I guess they're not that honest.
"(A) fraudulent rip-off" may be a bit extreme, but only a bit. Many years ago Thrifty's reservations number (1-800-forcars) emplanted itself in my brain and I always dial it first when looking for a rental, meaning that >80% of the time I wind up in a Thrifty car. But I have had experiences with Thrifty that have left me less than entirely trusting of them. The sort of thing that the OP reported may not rise to the level of "a fraudulent rip-off," but it is the sort of thing that rightly makes one wary of dealing with Thrifty. So yes, as always, caveat emptor, but companies that promote in this way deserve to be called out for it.
Don't get me wrong. I don't like companies that employ deceptive practices, but 15% off is 15% off. Some people might find it useful if their particular rentals are only available at the highest rate (ie: no discounted rate), so 15% off that would be great. Obviously, some people might find it useless because their particular rentals always qualify for other discounts. Well, it would be nice if Thrifty also gives 15% off its lowest rates (it might, but I have no idea), but it doesn't have to and I don't see any of its advertising associated with that promotion claims "15% off our lowest rate!"
LAX
I am just going to chime in and offer my point of view. AFAIK, Thrifty/Amex offers a promo that's good for 15% off, but it doesn't claim to offer 15% off the lowest rate Thrifty has to offer (unless I miss the fine print some where). I think it's the consumer's responsbility to shop for the best deal if one is desired, with or without any promos. I happen to be one of the few lucky individuals to benefit from this promo. The cheapest rate I could find anywhere else is at least $20 more. I think it's good that the OP raised this issue so that others can be alerted to price out their rentals without the promo, but I think it's a bit extreme to call this promo "a fraudulent rip-off", IMHO.
LAX
"(A) fraudulent rip-off" may be a bit extreme, but only a bit. Many years ago Thrifty's reservations number (1-800-forcars) emplanted itself in my brain and I always dial it first when looking for a rental, meaning that >80% of the time I wind up in a Thrifty car. But I have had experiences with Thrifty that have left me less than entirely trusting of them. The sort of thing that the OP reported may not rise to the level of "a fraudulent rip-off," but it is the sort of thing that rightly makes one wary of dealing with Thrifty. So yes, as always, caveat emptor, but companies that promote in this way deserve to be called out for it.
I am just going to chime in and offer my point of view. AFAIK, Thrifty/Amex offers a promo that's good for 15% off, but it doesn't claim to offer 15% off the lowest rate Thrifty has to offer (unless I miss the fine print some where). I think it's the consumer's responsbility to shop for the best deal if one is desired, with or without any promos. I happen to be one of the few lucky individuals to benefit from this promo. The cheapest rate I could find anywhere else is at least $20 more. I think it's good that the OP raised this issue so that others can be alerted to price out their rentals without the promo, but I think it's a bit extreme to call this promo "a fraudulent rip-off", IMHO.
LAX
I just got off the phone with CS at thrifty. They acknowledged the problem and transfered me to their internet department.
Their attitude: ambivalence. Seems when you enter in a promo code their system pulls the standard rate and NOT the internet rate. Their standard rate is the rate you would get if you called thrifty for a reservation.
I told the women that the promo code, AXZT, is only valid when booking on line. Therefore it is an internet promo code. If I have to pay the standard rate to use the code and without the code I pay less, what good is the code? She just didn't get it and she did not care.
I asked to be put back on with a CS rep and got a supervisor. The supervisor agreed with ME. She tried to enter the code into her system so she could get me the rate but was told by the system that this promo is not valid for standard rate!!!! The same rate that the internet department pulls when you use the promo on line. What a mess.
My next task: contacting American Express.
Evan
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Thrify/Amex 15% promo is a fraudulent rip-off