Calling Costco Travel was a fairly straightforward process, which was unexpected because when they transferred me to the car rental company I thought that I was going to play a merry-go-round game. However, it only took me four minutes to get to someone who could help me book my rental car using the discount that I received from Costco. Considering how busy this could potentially be, I will take that as a win.
The real surprise is how quickly I got through, because I ended up calling Costco first, and after I got through their automated system was transferred to Budget and then had to go through their automated system. anyone who has sat in line on an automated system knows that being forced to go through two sets is probably the only thing worse than sitting through one. The outcome still came out in my favor, so that's not bad at all. I imagine people have dozens of reasons to call Costco Travel from actually booking packages to rental cars to travel all over the world. Add in the number of people on the phone with Budget about reservations or current issues with rentals, and this really wasn't a bad experience.
When I first called, it said, "Thank you for calling Costco Travel. For rental cars, press 1. For cruises, press 2. For travel with a guided group, press 3. For travel within the United States, press 4. For travel within Canada, press 5. For all other international travel, press 6. For travel insurance, or if you are in need of post-travel assistance, press 7."I chose option 1 since I needed a rental car, and then it said, "This menu is for rental car reservations that are not associated with any other travel packages or reservations. For new bookings, or to make changes to your existing reservations, press 1. For help with your online account, or to book on Costotravel.com, press 2. For in-travel assistance, press 3."
I pressed one again and it warned me that I should be prepared to show my Costco membership card. Then it gave a list of car rental companies stating, "Please be prepared to present your Costco membership number. For Alamo, press 1. For Avis, press 2. For Budget, press 3. For Enterprise, press 4."
After I chose 3 for Budget, the phone started to ring and an automated voice agent picked up and said, "Are you calling a new reservation?" Once I responded yes, it said, New reservation, if that’s not right, say go back. Great. Is this about a reservation for a rental car or a moving truck?" I said "car," and then she responded, "Okay, car, let me quickly get some basic information, and then I will get you connected to a representative. Please say your Budget code (something like that) or if you don’t have it, just say, I don't have it."
Almost immediately after I said I didn't have it, I was transferred to a hold line with upbeat music that played maybe ten minutes before Angel picked up. He had a thick accent but was able to help me and I got my reservation taken care of. I appreciated the very short hold time.