RF
Romain Ferry
May 5, 2026
I strongly advise against using this Alamo car rental agency; if I could have given it 0 stars, I would have.
When it came time to pick up the car, they easily found an excuse to refuse to give me a vehicle, even though I had booked a 7-passenger car for a trip from Chicago to New Orleans. I think the agency simply overbooked and failed to take responsibility.
When I arrived at the airport, I was told I couldn’t pick up the vehicle because my flight was scheduled to arrive on April 11, even though the rental period didn’t start until April 14. This was a surprising argument, since I was clearly there on the scheduled pickup date.
I asked to see the terms and conditions mentioning this rule, but they were never provided to me. To verify, I even simulated a new reservation through online customer service: I was confirmed that it was sufficient to pick up the vehicle on the rental start date, without the flight arrival date being an issue. The manager who handled my case on-site was completely obnoxious and unhelpful.
As a French citizen, I found myself with my family of seven without any means of transportation to enjoy my long-awaited vacation, which was to take us 2,500 kilometers away...
Result: I had to urgently rent a car from another rental company; fortunately, they had one available, which cost me an additional $2,500.
When I contacted customer service to request compensation, a new excuse emerged: the rental had allegedly been denied because I used a debit card instead of a credit card. However, this was never mentioned to me at the branch, and I did indeed have a credit card to pay for the rental.
In short, Alamo is a scam agency and does not fulfill its legal obligations. My lawyers will be happy to take them to court for compensation.
In summary, a very disappointing experience, marked by a lack of transparency and contradictory explanations. If you want to avoid unpleasant surprises, you’re better off looking elsewhere.