Alamo & Sun Pass etc

[cook22uk]

We have own Sunpass on our Alamo hire car. On passing through tolls from airport it did not beep the first time but did on subsequent tolls. Checked Sunpass account online & it shows time tolls taken & separate processing date similar to bank statement ie date of transaction may differ to processed date but two of these were showing date/time actually passed through tolls as day when we hadn't left the villa... Also as we're with Alamo will we now get charged tolls by them or by Sunpass or both..

[Laurel Oak]

We have a transponder from Sun Pass but it does not beep. What I do is drive through the first toll booth when I leave the airport for the first time rather than using the Sun Pass lanes and I get the green light which confirms my transponder is working. I then use the Sun Pass lanes for the rest of our holiday.

[Dads_Taxi]

Is this service unique to Alamo? Do any of the other big suppliers offer anything similar?

[Tony G]

Dave, if you're referring to an agreement to pay tolls, most rental companies have it now. They register their vehicles' licence plates with the toll people and whenever one of their vehicles passes through a toll gate without another form of payment, they automatically charge the hire company who automatically charge you.

Avis has a a big transponder on their windscreens, which has a large switch you can use to turn it off (it actually just moves the transponder away from the windscreen), so you can use your own Sunpass or pay cash if you prefer.

[Dads_Taxi]

Cheers Tony, that was what I was asking. I've only heard of Alamo offering this service and I did think the others would have to do something similar.

[SDJ]

We are hiring a car from this site in September - Alamo - but have our own transponder. We have never hired a car in US before as we had our own car until last December. Do we need to inform Alamo when we arrive that we have our own transponder so we are not charged by them?

[Laurel Oak]

We are hiring a car from this site in September - Alamo - but have our own transponder. We have never hired a car in US before as we had our own car until last December. Do we need to inform Alamo when we arrive that we have our own transponder so we are not charged by them?

Pretty sure you don't.

I have a transponder and a Sun Pass account and I just put the transponder in the car when I pick it up. The sensors pick up the transponder and so there is no notification to Alamo that a toll has not been paid so no charge from Alamo.

[Tony G]

We are hiring a car from this site in September - Alamo - but have our own transponder. We have never hired a car in US before as we had our own car until last December. Do we need to inform Alamo when we arrive that we have our own transponder so we are not charged by them?

A Laurel already said, no, there's no need to inform Alamo.

To make doubly-triply sure you won't get charged, register the hire vehicle details with your Sunpass account (there's an app that lets you do it easily). If it's registered, even if the booth fails to pick up your transponder, it will see your licence plate is registered to your account and charge you for it.

Only in the absence of both will it charge the hire company.

[Philomena]

Cheers Tony, that was what I was asking. I've only heard of Alamo offering this service and I did think the others would have to do something similar.

Check out the charges with each hire company - Dollar used to charge about $35+ tax a week. It included the toll charges but very expensive in my opinion! Didn't spend that much with Alamo when we were there for 3 months last year!

[roger]

Although most (if not all) car rental companies now allow use of the toll pass, Alamo and National have always been cheaper than most of the others. This link shows the various charges and whether you have to op in / out. Note, that Alamo charge $3.95 per 'usage' day compared to some others that charge per rental day (regardless of whether you use a toll each day).

https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar