Whats the best Rental Car Company?

[Lownslo]

I like alamo rent a car they dont put a hold on your credit card what they
put on hold on your credit car is what you are charged for the car.

what the . . . .

 

[Mr Wu]

Budget works great. Don't need to give credit card info to reserve a car.

 

[SpeedMetal]

You have to be kidding me, "rental cars" deserves it own area on FI? I can understand a thread under general but its own area?

i totally agree...........this flight info...not car info....cmon lets keep it simple.

 

[TheRaven]

Always had good luck going through AOL Travel....type in where you want the car and when and then compare rates from all companies on 1 page....I have gotten a compact car for $10 a day multiple times.

 

[75M]

National's Emerald Club. No annual fee. Take the bus to the Emerald Isle, get in the car and go. How's that for keeping it simple.

 

[Spinn555]

Avis Preferred is just like Hertz Gold...Except Avis doesn't charge you $50 for the service. The system at Avis works pretty good, and the dozens of times I've used them, I've been pretty happy.

As far as wondering if this is a flighinfo.com worthy section, I'd say let the contributors decide. If they don't like it, they won't write in these threads.

I, for one, like it. It is very related to all forms of aviation. If you are flying somewhere, you're going to need to drive away from the airport somehow.

 

[fieldinsight]

My trick is to book a car at the best price I can find, and then go undercut it on Priceline. I have to rent in DTW on weekends a lot. We have an agreement with Avis, can book direct with them for $19-22/day for a compact on the weekends. Then I go to Priceline, get the same car for $11-12 day. With Priceline you have to pay for the car up front, and there are no refunds, so unless you are sure you'll be able to get there, it might not work for you. I've always gotten cars via Priceline thru Avis and National in DTW. Had Hertz elsewhere. But I've never gotten Priceline car thru what I call the "second tier" companies (Thrifty, Dollar, etc...)

 

[Wankel7]

I love advantage rental car...always been good to me.

 

[abxdx]

Kittyhawk1048, how is shuttle america working out for you.

 

[Andy]

For air carrier airports, I really like Hertz #1 Club Gold. For $50/year, you get on the bus (which is typically big and runs frequently) and are taken to a covered parking spot with a car waiting for you. Get in, drive off, and show your license to the security guard. No forms to fill out, no lines to stand in -saves a HUGE amount of time.

You can get Hertz #1 Club Gold for free. Here's a link describing how to get it free: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=518498
When I joined, I did it through USAirways' free deal - and I don't even have a FF account with USAirways!

I am both Hertz#1 Gold and Avis Preferred Select; recently switched from Avis. Both frequent renter programs are similar as far as hopping on the bus and having the car waiting for you. So far, I think that I prefer Avis because they give you a decent discount once you achieve status. I'll have to see how Hertz does.
My reason for switching is that I switched hotel chains from Starwood group to Marriott; Starwood's hooked in with Avis & Marriott's hooked in with Hertz.

Is this thread worthy of FI? Oh yeah. Pilots travel a lot and should think about how to get the most bang for their buck. I think that Avis or Hertz is the best way to go because of being able to get your car immediately. I am hoping that Hertz throws me a few decent discounts once I've been with them for a while. With Avis, I've rented a car for less than $11/day in Denver on a weekend - easily competitive with any other discount car rental company.

I would also recommend that all pilots look at which hotel chain that they go with. I chose to switch to Marriott because they offer lifetime Platinum status once you've met several criteria. I am currently a Marriott Gold; soon to be Platinum. As a Starwood Platinum, I have been upgraded to suites numerous times.
I think that it's important to try to put most of your business with the same company, because that's when the perks add up. Just like FF miles (Currently United Premiere, will be Premiere Exec at the end of Aug; hoping to be 1K before the end of 2006).