Preferred rental car agencies on Oahu

[Anal Annie]

We're going to Aulani in April and I've been watching SEVERAL sites for rental car rates and they seem to have suddenly dropped to a reasonable amount. I don't have a lot of experience with the various agencies - we've mostly used Enterprise or National. Anybody have any problems or note anything to be aware of with Thrifty or Dollar car rental? They're currently coming up as the cheapest vendors.

 

[Noah_t]

We were just there a couple weeks ago and both our parties used Thrifty. I believe Thrifty and Dollar use the same kiosks btw. Anyway after waiting almost an hour to get the paperwork done to get our vehicles we were sent over to the pickup area, There was a bunch of other parties all waiting around and we were informed they would call our names when our vehicles were ready. Fast forward another hour until we got our vehicle. It looked like as soon as the vehicle was returned they cleaned them and brought them over for us. In all fairness Thrifty was much cheaper (~150$ for 10 days) but I think in the future I would rather pay more and immediately start heading to the beach.

 

[Anal Annie]

We were just there a couple weeks ago and both our parties used Thrifty. I believe Thrifty and Dollar use the same kiosks btw. Anyway after waiting almost an hour to get the paperwork done to get our vehicles we were sent over to the pickup area, There was a bunch of other parties all waiting around and we were informed they would call our names when our vehicles were ready. Fast forward another hour until we got our vehicle. It looked like as soon as the vehicle was returned they cleaned them and brought them over for us. In all fairness Thrifty was much cheaper (~150$ for 10 days) but I think in the future I would rather pay more and immediately start heading to the beach.

Hummmm. Don't like the idea of 2 hours to get a car but that doesn't surprise me a whole lot. What time did you land? We land @ 2:20-ish so I'm guessing we'll need a car around 3:00. I wonder if there's a higher demand time period with the flights landing from the mainland? I grabbed a no-fee cancelation res on a std size SUV thru Discount Hawaii Car Rentals (which I've used before to book) @ Thrifty because I was OK with the price ($689) compared to what it was last week and I'll keep watching it. I may end up booking directly through CapitalOneTravel (our credit card) because we're hoping to cover the car with miles rewards and it's super simple to just book directly through them if I can get a close enough price match. We have JUST ENOUGH miles leftover after booking flights at today's prices to cover a car rental for our 8 day trip. Costco rates are significantly higher but they use what I assume are the more premium agencies (Enterprise, National, Budget, Avis). I'll keep an eye on them too. Thx.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Discount Hawai’i Car rental was the same price as CostCo for a weekly Alamo minivan rate.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We're going to Aulani in April and I've been watching SEVERAL sites for rental car rates and they seem to have suddenly dropped to a reasonable amount. I don't have a lot of experience with the various agencies - we've mostly used Enterprise or National. Anybody have any problems or note anything to be aware of with Thrifty or Dollar car rental? They're currently coming up as the cheapest vendors.

Any major national brand will be functionally the same thing. Alamo, National, Enterprise, Hertz, Thrifty, Dollar, Budget, and Avis. They're all the same. There will be good reviews from all of them and horror stories from all of them, but they're all fine.

Avoid Sixt, Ace, and Fox.

 

[cgattis]

I’ve used Enterprise on 4 islands and been VERY happy with their customer service! They will definitely be my first choice unless price is insanely higher than the others.

 

[Anal Annie]

I’ve used Enterprise on 4 islands and been VERY happy with their customer service! They will definitely be my first choice unless price is insanely higher than the others.

Comparing a "standard SUV" on the same rental site (Discount Hawaii Car Rentals) I was able to get a "std SUV" for $689 thru Thrifty VS $1,036.95 for the same category @ Enterprise. Costco's rates dropped a smidge today over yesterday but this size vehicle was still about $76 higher if I tried to select Enterprise as the vendor. Since we're trying to pay for the rental with credit card miles and I've already spent most of them on the flights I pretty much need to stay under $700 in order to cover it with miles. I'll just keep watching the rates and hope Thrifty isn't all that bad.

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

I use Alamo almost exclusively on vacations, including Oahu. I used to use Hertz because of the AAA discount, but since COVID, their rates rarely come in less than Alamo.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Hi, I have a question.
I have a car rental for same dates/ car-type for our Aulani trip. One is booked directly through Budget and the other is through Costco Membership (Budget). I am prepared to cancel one but prefer to keep the Costco reservation as it's $100 cheaper. Costco rates dropped from Sunday when I made original booking.

However, will I get quicker service sticking with the direct through Budget as we have been Rapid Rez/ Fastbreak Members for 15 years. I am hearing long waits at counter? I have never used Costco before so not sure if it's a more complicated experience getting our car in the HNL airport. Thank you!
PS: one last add.....Costco includes a second driver FREE. Direct Budget did not.

 

[mrebuck]

Hi, I have a question.
I have a car rental for same dates/ car-type for our Aulani trip. One is booked directly through Budget and the other is through Costco Membership (Budget). I am prepared to cancel one but prefer to keep the Costco reservation as it's $100 cheaper. Costco rates dropped from Sunday when I made original booking.

However, will I get quicker service sticking with the direct through Budget as we have been Rapid Rez/ Fastbreak Members for 15 years. I am hearing long waits at counter? I have never used Costco before so not sure if it's a more complicated experience getting our car in the HNL airport. Thank you!
PS: one last add.....Costco includes a second driver FREE. Direct Budget did not.

We just got back from our 10 day trip to Aulani. Rented Budget through Costco and had a great Fastbreak experience. Skipped the counter and went right to the garage. A folio wasn't printed, but was helped by the attendant and given a car assignment within minutes. Keep the Costco reservation.