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Hi,
I am going to Los Angeles in june and wanted to find the best price for my car rental and wanted to know any tips to do so. In addition I am under 25 so any ways to get that under age fee waved would be great. thanx
« Last edited by themisc on February 16, 2016, 04:29:24 PM »

Author Topic: Car Rentals for Beginners  (Read 22750 times)

Offline @Yehuda

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Car Rentals for Beginners
« on: December 07, 2014, 01:04:50 PM »
I've rented a car twice in my life, and I just paid a TA to do it for me. I know that the "Need help?" thread barely gets responses, and I don't mind doing the legwork myself. My problem is that I have no idea where to start.

I can read the wikis of the main companys' master threads, but how does one go about deciding who to rent from and which codes will work best for their specific situation? When I want to fly somewhere, I can use ITA to determine which airlines fly my route and then figure out which partners can book that route for the cheapest points. Any ways to knock down the car rental options, so it's somewhat less daunting to start searching? Or does everyone here search through every major company's site and try all the codes till they find with company/code will be cheapest?

Offline lunatic

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2014, 01:40:48 PM »
I like this thread. I have done a few times,  but always shooting in the dark

Offline SOS

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2014, 02:06:51 PM »
+1 on this thread
I Feel like a total noob on this

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2014, 02:36:39 PM »
+1 on this thread
I Feel like a total noob on this
Although your programs list seems to indicate you know what you're doing ;)

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2014, 02:40:25 PM »
I use kayak to get a general picture, but then use codes on the individual sites to find the cheapest prices. Maybe I'm doing it all wrong, but I still feel pretty confident when I'm done that I've got the lowest rate.

I also check sites like carrentals.com and sometimes consider buying Hertz free day vouchers if renting in the US or Canada.

Offline SOS

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2014, 02:44:17 PM »
Although your programs list seems to indicate you know what you're doing ;)

There was a thread here a while ago that said if you have a world mastercard you get all these statuses, so I did it
I still never used any of these statuses because whenever I looked at rental cars these companies were more expensive

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #6 on: December 07, 2014, 02:44:54 PM »
There was a thread here a while ago that said if you have a world mastercard you get all these statuses, so I did it
I still never used any of these statuses because whenever I looked at rental cars these companies were more expensive
Ah, gotcha :)

I use kayak to get a general picture, but then use codes on the individual sites to find the cheapest prices. Maybe I'm doing it all wrong, but I still feel pretty confident when I'm done that I've got the lowest rate.

I also check sites like carrentals.com and sometimes consider buying Hertz free day vouchers if renting in the US or Canada.
Thanks! So you're saying that if Kayak shows that Avis will be cheapest, then you'll go to Avis.com and starts playing with different codes to see if you can make it even cheaper than what Kayak quoted you?

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #7 on: December 07, 2014, 02:48:43 PM »
Ah, gotcha :)
Thanks! So you're saying that if Kayak shows that Avis will be cheapest, then you'll go to Avis.com and starts playing with different codes to see if you can make it even cheaper than what Kayak quoted you?
Yes. Sometimes if the prices are close say between Hertz and Avis I'll go to both sites and try codes. If prices are super high then I'll just look into free day vouchers. Kayak is just really to get a picture of the market. I almost never actually use it more than once or twice per booking. If Avis for example is really expensive, it's not going to get that much cheaper that it would beat Thrifty or Dollar.

Costo car rentals is also a cheap place to look if you're a member.

Offline lunatic

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #8 on: December 07, 2014, 02:49:32 PM »
There was a thread here a while ago that said if you have a world mastercard you get all these statuses, so I did it
I still never used any of these statuses because whenever I looked at rental cars these companies were more expensive
Yes, I got national and avis status. National is good because you can choose any car in a certain aisle if you reserve a midsize or above

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #9 on: December 07, 2014, 03:00:18 PM »
Yes. Sometimes if the prices are close say between Hertz and Avis I'll go to both sites and try codes. If prices are super high then I'll just look into free day vouchers. Kayak is just really to get a picture of the market. I almost never actually use it more than once or twice per booking. If Avis for example is really expensive, it's not going to get that much cheaper that it would beat Thrifty or Dollar.

Costo car rentals is also a cheap place to look if you're a member.
Okay thanks for those tips! Will start with that.

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #10 on: December 09, 2014, 09:24:41 AM »
What are my options if I need the car rental FROM my hotel (and drop off at an airport)? Do any chains deliver the car to your hotel?

Offline lubaby

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #11 on: December 09, 2014, 09:33:53 AM »
What are my options if I need the car rental FROM my hotel (and drop off at an airport)? Do any chains deliver the car to your hotel?
Hertz, Enterprise, maybe others.

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2014, 09:38:10 AM »

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2014, 02:13:36 PM »
Thank you!
I've rented from Avis and picked up from hotel, but it wasn't a one way rental.

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2014, 04:30:58 PM »
I've rented from Avis and picked up from hotel, but it wasn't a one way rental.
Thanks for the data point.

Offline Ulitkany

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #15 on: December 21, 2014, 11:08:19 AM »
I've rented a car twice in my life, and I just paid a TA to do it for me. I know that the "Need help?" thread barely gets responses, and I don't mind doing the legwork myself. My problem is that I have no idea where to start.

It will be my firts time renting, i asked for help in "Need help?" thread but didn't get answered. I need to rent a car from JFK and drop it off at the airport in Washington, DC 9 days later. The best rate that i was able to find was $650. Are there any recommendation/ rules on what is the cheapest way to rent a car with different pick up and drop off locations?

Offline Feivish

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #16 on: July 14, 2015, 10:34:37 PM »
Can an additional drivers credit card be used for a rental (National)?

Offline yitrap

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #17 on: July 15, 2015, 01:57:14 AM »
Can an additional drivers credit card be used for a rental (National)?
Doubtful

Offline Feivish

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #18 on: July 15, 2015, 09:16:05 AM »
Can an additional drivers credit card be used for a rental (National)?
Doubtful
No doubts please.

Anyone know or tried it?

Offline lubaby

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Re: Car Rentals for Beginners
« Reply #19 on: July 15, 2015, 09:51:15 AM »
No doubts please.

Anyone know or tried it?
Why not just change the name on the reservation to the additional driver, making him/her the primary driver?