Alamo’s relatively few locations and average pricing put it in the middle tier of the car rental companies we reviewed. Its reward program isn’t as strong as other companies, so if you rent cars regularly it’s not the best option for points.
To compare pricing, we looked at how much a one-day and one-week rental cost. We tested three different cities – Los Angeles, New York City and Houston – and three different car types: economy, compact and full-size. We found Alamo was in the middle range of rental car prices, lower than Hertz but more expensive than Thrifty.
Prices depend on when you book. We booked a few weeks out, but longer lead times can get you lower prices. Booking closer to the rental date tends to result in higher prices. If you want to add another driver, you’re charged a $12 per-day fee, which is about average.
Alamo’s rewards program, the Alamo Insiders club, provides a variety of benefits. It’s free to join and gives you the option to quickly check in and bypass the standard line. Unlike many of the other rewards programs, it doesn’t offer points or other ways to earn free rentals. All members are eligible for a 5 percent discount on all purchases, along with special rates and other offers.
With only around 250 locations in the U.S. and other locations across the world, Alamo is one of the smaller rentals companies we looked at. As a smaller company, most of the locations are at airports. Though they’re convenient, airport rentals tend to cost more since they include additional fees on top of whatever state and local taxes are applied to car rentals.
If you are renting from a non-airport Alamo location, Alamo has a pick-up service that comes to your home or another location and takes you to the office to complete the checkout process. Alamo offers a wide range of vehicles, including electric and hybrid cars. Though it’s a smaller rental company, we didn’t have any issues with sold-out vehicles like we did with rental companies of similar size.
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