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Old 28 Jun 16, 08:15 AM  
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Yorkshire_Dan
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Alamo Guide (Accelerated Check-In & Skip The Counter - Updated)

This thread has been automatically created, because the original thread had over 500 posts.

The original thread was located HERE.

The first post was...

Please make sure that you read ALL of the following information. I appreciate that it is lengthy but some people have encountered troubles because they have missed parts. You do not need to read through all of the additional pages but a lot of really good information is contained within them if you are struggling with a particular problem.

There has been a lot of confusion lately surrounding Alamo and their system in terms of avoiding the counter and going straight to the garage to collect your car. Alamo do not make this process straight forward and the information is quite hard to find hence why I have been asked to write this (by Lisa29) step-by-step guide to avoid any doubt.

Whilst I understand and accept that people in the past have gone straight to the garage and been successful whilst only completing SaveTime. This, according to Alamo, is NOT sufficient and lately people on this forum have been sent back to the desk because of this. As mentioned by myself previously, I for one do not want any issues when arriving in Florida after a 9 hour flight!

The procedure is as follows, in order to bypass the counter and head straight to the garage you need to complete the following, in this exact order (after booking your vehicle): *Please see update below

• SaveTime
• Online Check In
• Skip the Counter (sometimes referred to as Bypass the Counter)

UPDATE - SaveTime has now been replaced by Accelerated Check-In. Complete this followed by Skip The Counter.

The booking procedure example I did further down this thread is now outdated too. I completed each process on the website immediately after reserving my vehicle by clicking the links one after the other. Alamo have made the process much more straight forward in that regard.

The definitions of each, according to Alamo, are as follows:

Accelerated Check-In
“You can save time at the counter when you activate Accelerated Check-in online. Just provide your driver's license and contact information that are normally collected at pick-up and we will be ready when you arrive. You'll be on the road and on vacation before you know it!”

Skip the Counter
Skip the Counter does just as it says, it allows you to bypass the counter/kiosks and head straight to the garage to select your vehicle. Here’s the official line from Alamo:

Many of our top locations offer “Skip the Counter” after you check in online.

Here's how it works:
• When you “Skip the Counter,” you don’t need to visit the counter or kiosk. You can go straight to your car!
• This optional service is offered free of charge at select locations in the Online Check-In process. Check if your location qualifies for "Skip the Counter."
• To “Skip the Counter,” you will be required to confirm your protection options, agree to the Rental Agreement Terms & Conditions, and enter a valid credit card. (No charge is made until you return your vehicle.)
• Certain restrictions apply.

First of all you need to make sure that the airport you are flying to offers the Skip the Counter service. As we are mainly dealing with Orlando International Airport, I can confirm that Skip the Counter is available here. However, please note that this service is NOT available at Orlando Sanford Airport. To check this, please follow this link which explains the entire procedure and includes restrictions which is my next point:

alamo/en_US/car-rental/checkin.html

In order to complete the Skip the Counter process, you must check that you meet the requirements, these can be found below:

Skip the Counter Requirements
In order for a reservation to be eligible for "Skip the Counter," it must meet these requirements:

• Reservation must be at a rental location that offers “Skip the Counter” Check a location for eligibility.
• Reservation must not exceed 30 days.
• Reservation must be made at least 24 hours in advance.
• Reservation cannot include certain add-ons that need to be added to vehicle (i.e. fuel, mobility devices, etc.).
• Reservation cannot be prepaid or direct billed to a 3rd party (i.e. Voucher, Business Account, etc.).
• Renter must use a major credit card (or debit card) to secure rental.

Please note that if you have pre-paid or have billed via a 3rd party (does not include Alamo Brits) you cannot complete Skip the Counter. This also applies if you have included any add-ons when you originally made the booking such as fuel etc. **There is now a workaround for this contained within the comments.**

Throughout the Check In and Skip the Counter processes you will need to agree to the Rental Agreement Terms & Conditions, and enter a valid credit card. (No charge is made until you return your vehicle). You will also need your driving licence details.

The procedure
This is the exact method I used to go through the process. Other people have confirmed this method as being successful also. (Outdated).

• Book your vehicle either via Alamo.com, .co.uk or Brits (you should receive a confirmation email).
• Once you have this email there should be a link on there for ACI. Click this link and complete the process As per update, this is no longer necessary. Proceed directly to Online Check in below.
• You should receive another confirmation email thanking you for using the SaveTime feature.
• Next, you need to go to Alamo.com or follow this link to Online Check In:

alamo/en_US/car-rental/checkin.html

Log in entering your first name, last name and confirmation number and complete the Check In procedure.

• You should then receive another confirmation email thanking you for checking in online with a link to bypass the counter. Again, follow that link or log into Alamo.com using the link above and finding the option for it on the right-hand side of your booking page.
• Once you have completed Skip the Counter you will receive another email confirmation which tells you to go straight to the garage. This is also confirmed on all of your paperwork, print off your barcode and paperwork and head straight to the garage!

Issues
One problem I encountered was the flight number information. If you have included your flight number on your original booking, you will need to remove it from the additional information section which is a drop down menu when completing Online Check In and then re-submit.

If you have booked with Virgin you will need to complete this via their own booking system on confirmation emails etc. Virgin differs slightly in that once you have completed Online Check In with them this is sufficient as it seems to include Skip the Counter during this process.

The latest issue is when Rachy tried to do Online Check In and Skip the Counter but couldn't due to some unknown error within the Alamo system even though she clearly qualified for this. Rachy originally booked via Alamo.co.uk and I believe she also tried with the .com site. I suggested she tried with Alamo Brits and the process worked flawlessly. Please bare this in mind when choosing who to book with.

If you are getting the dreaded "protection type invalid" message upon check in, which a few people have reported (generally the screen is populated with your details briefly then disappears taking you to a new reservation page), try checking in again, then open up another page in Google (whilst leaving the check in tab open on your original page) and then search Alamo Bypass the Counter and complete the process that way (special thanks to Orlando 2004 for this).

Another workaround for the issue directly above is to log into your completed SaveTime booking page, click save and continue at the end then attempt Skip the Counter by pressing the button on the right of the page (thanks to oeamon for this). You will still need to have completed OLCI prior to this.

Good luck!

Dan
Please feel free to carry on...

Edited at 02:37 PM. Reason: Updated Oct 2022
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Old 28 Jun 16, 08:28 AM  
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Just wanted to say cheers for this completed it last night no issues. Made the res back in March so just looked for the conf number and put it in via the OLCI link you provided. Just needed to fill out drivers driving licence details etc then a pop up comes up asking if you want to skip the counter as Orlando is eligible.

Didn't get chance to do it then as don't didn't have my CC on me but there's a link in the online check in email asking if you want to skip the counter too if you don't want to do it at the same time. Nice and easy! Appreciate the guide.
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Old 23 Apr 17, 06:48 PM  
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disney861
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Originally Posted by disneyoli View Post
Just wanted to say cheers for this completed it last night no issues. Made the res back in March so just looked for the conf number and put it in via the OLCI link you provided. Just needed to fill out drivers driving licence details etc then a pop up comes up asking if you want to skip the counter as Orlando is eligible.

Didn't get chance to do it then as don't didn't have my CC on me but there's a link in the online check in email asking if you want to skip the counter too if you don't want to do it at the same time. Nice and easy! Appreciate the guide.
i go in july 2017 and have booked my car hire when do i need to do all the online stuff to skip the counter can i do it now or do i need to wait like a week before i go
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Old 31 Jul 17, 03:55 PM  
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I have just managed to do OLCI, then had the option for STC...ticked decline for roadside assistance, ticked to say read terms and conditions then entered my credit card details. Worryingly it did say that the full amount of car rental $518.18 would be collected from my credit card on collection of car... even though i have already pre-paid?
But in the end "unable to process"?
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Old 31 Jul 17, 09:17 PM  
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Originally Posted by Bella Vita View Post
I have just managed to do OLCI, then had the option for STC...ticked decline for roadside assistance, ticked to say read terms and conditions then entered my credit card details. Worryingly it did say that the full amount of car rental $518.18 would be collected from my credit card on collection of car... even though i have already pre-paid?
But in the end "unable to process"?
Is your booking through Alamo Brits? If so post #5 on this thread may help.

https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1038151
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Old 2 Aug 17, 12:04 AM  
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Worked like a dream for me. Booked through Flexible Autos/Charter. Added second driver and fuel option with no problems. $45 dollars to pay.
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Old 28 Jun 16, 02:40 PM  
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I've booked via discount florida car hire and all prepaid
On there website they advise doing online check in but dont mention straight to garage
Can i do STG?
Also if not how much time does it save as having looked into how to use the kiosks its doesn't look too tricky or time consuming
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Old 30 Jun 16, 01:39 PM  
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Yorkshire_Dan
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Originally Posted by soggy View Post
I've booked via discount florida car hire and all prepaid
On there website they advise doing online check in but dont mention straight to garage
Can i do STG?
Also if not how much time does it save as having looked into how to use the kiosks its doesn't look too tricky or time consuming
The kiosks can be busy (at least in my experience). Even though the kiosks only take a few minutes by that time you can already be in the parking lot and picking your vehicle.

Every minute counts when you have got off a 9 hour flight and you just want to get on with your holiday!
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Old 12 Aug 19, 09:11 PM  
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boosterbosch
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Hi all,

Got the following issue, we are booked via Virgin Holidays and trying to do Alamo skip the counter, however my wife's name on her passport and therefor the booking is in her maiden name, but her drivers license and credit/debit cards are all in her married name.

when I try and do the Virgin Online Checkin and try putting in her Married name, it says: Unable to find an exact match, please refine your search.

but I am worried if I put in her Maiden name it will cause an issue as it doesn't match her drivers license and credit card.

Any advice?
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Old 12 Aug 19, 09:28 PM  
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Originally Posted by boosterbosch View Post
Hi all,

Got the following issue, we are booked via Virgin Holidays and trying to do Alamo skip the counter, however my wife's name on her passport and therefor the booking is in her maiden name, but her drivers license and credit/debit cards are all in her married name.

when I try and do the Virgin Online Checkin and try putting in her Married name, it says: Unable to find an exact match, please refine your search.

but I am worried if I put in her Maiden name it will cause an issue as it doesn't match her drivers license and credit card.

Any advice?
That's a tricky one and I certainly haven't got personal experience. This might be a fix though. The name on the passport is irrelevant for the car hire. Are you starting with a form like this but with a Virgin logo at the top?

alamo/en_US/car-rental/checkin.html

Try accessing the next step by entering your wife's maiden surname in the box. Then, if the Virgin form is the same as the Alamo one that I've completed loads of times, it will open another form asking for D/L details. On that form enter wife's D/L details as they appear presumably her married name.

Again if it's the same as Alamo you then get the option to print the bar code. Bar code, D/L and credit card should match.

Only a suggestion but maybe worth trying

Mick
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