Rapid Travel Chai: Rental Cars at FTU DCA 2014

Rental Cars
FTU DCA 2014
Stefan Krasowski
Rapid Travel Chai

What is Your Priority?
Leisure?
Business?
Domestic?
International?
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

My Rental Car Experience
Rented cars weekly for 2 years of NY-Atlanta commute
Lots of short US trips for 1-2 people
International rentals in many countries
Fender benders in US
Breakdown in Bulgaria
Smash and grab in Toronto
Wife threatening divorce in Saudi Arabia

Itinerary
Rental Agencies
Portals
Hotwire and Priceline
More Deals
Extras and How to Avoid Them
International
Strategy

Goal Setting
Reserving:
You can spend a lot of time to save a little money
Renting:
You can save a little money to have a lot of aggravation
Set goals and stick to them!

Rental Car Tradeoff Hypothetical
When to not save $10:
Orlando, FL car rental
Spring break
Huge lines at counter
Eye-rolling spouse
Screaming children
When to save $10:
Moline, IL car rental
Always off-peak
No lines
No spouse
No children

Rental Agencies

Alamo
Alamo Insiders for skip the line and free additional driver
No rewards program
Few big miles and points promos

Avis
Avis Preferred – skip the line
Avis First – 12 rentals/35 days or Chase Ink; weekend certs
Avis President’s & Chairman’s – invitation only
Double-dip with Avis Corporate Rewards
Lots of miles & points promos

Budget
Lots of international locations
RapidRez profile + FastBreak to skip the line
Technically need 3 rentals/year to keep FastBreak
No rewards program

Dollar/Thrifty
Dollar Express/Thrifty Blue Chip to skip the line
Enroll for rewards: 16 rental days = 1 free day
Few big miles and points promos
Watch for scammy fees like huge daily toll charges

Enterprise
Tons of US neighborhood locations
Enterprise Plus:
Stingy, complicated rewards program
Must register, then separately opt in for rewards
Can credit National rentals to Enterprise
No miles and points promos

Hertz
Gold Plus Rewards - earn and redeem in many countries
Rewards great for one-way rentals - ≈ double price
Five Star/President’s Circle = 7/20 rentals per year
Platinum membership fee $1,200-$1,500 per year
Amex Biz Platinum – 4-hour grace period (must use CDP)
Amex Open Business – 3-10% discount or 1-4 points bonus

Hertz: Delta & United
Delta Medallion bonuses with Hertz
United copied earning and added elite status for 2015
1K/Plat/Club Card/Presidential Plus Card = President’s Circle
Gold/Silver = Five Star

National
Emerald Club:
1 rental = 1 credit (8 day rental = 2 credits, 12 = 3, etc)
Free days are 7/6/5 credits depending on elite status
Credit Enterprise rentals to National
Regular 1-2-Free promo is generous
Exec Exec Elite 12 rentals or 25 days or Amex Platinum
Exec Elite 40 rentals or 80 days
Emerald Club Aisle – must reserve midsize or higher

Earning Miles & Points
Watch the fees, see Travel by Points: http://bit.ly/1mF4AOY
Offers constantly come and go, always check fine print
Avis has lots of offers:
Virgin Atlantic 1,000 miles for 1-day rental
Club Carlson 9,000 points for 3-day rental
Delta & Hertz often have good offers

Corporate Programs
Double-dip with corporate programs

Portals

Portal Basics
Membership or credit card to book (maybe not to rent)
Discounts/coupons are quarterly, best deals within 3 months
Typically cannot earn awards or miles
Typically cannot skip the line with frequent renter program
Typically few international locations
Often saves a lot of money

Costco Travel
Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise – can add frequent renter
Fully flexible – no credit card required
Good for large vehicles
Low price finder not perfect – test coupons manually

BJ’s Travel
Similar to Costco but adds Dollar, Hertz & National
Don’t need to be a member to book

Capital One
Must have Capital One card, but can
pay with any card
Pay with points or cash
Prepaid but can cancel up to 24 hours
before rental

Chase Ultimate Rewards & Citi ThankYou
Same platform, often same pricing
Chase must pay with registered card
Pay with points or cash
Prepaid but can cancel up to 24
hours before rental
No one-ways or off-airport

Hotwire and Priceline

The Hotwire and Priceline Tradeoff
Why to Not Use:
No changes, no refunds*
Unpleasant surprises*
No elite status recognition*
No miles and points*
Why to Use:
Save Money
*There are always exceptions and luck

Hotwire and Priceline Fees
Hotwire Priceline opaque rates often loaded with fees
Do not compare per day rates
Do compare total price
Portland 1 day car: Expedia $18/day=$23 total vs Priceline $18 bid=$29.34

Hotwire Hot Rates
Rates often not as good as flexible reservation portals
(Costco, Capital One, Chase, etc.)
Guaranteed major agency – but includes Dollar/Thrifty
No off-airport, no one-way
Must be age 25+

Hotwire Hot Rates
Pick-up up to 24 hours late – book Sun night, pick-up Mon
(call agency to hold a car on peak times)
Atlanta Sun 10 pm pick-up $63.65 vs Mon 8 am $81.26

Hotwire Hot Rates
Always unlimited miles (important for international)
30-minute grace period on returns
Extensions at agency rates – can be very expensive
All add-ons billed at agency rates
(e.g. Dollar/Thrifty huge toll charges)

Priceline Name Your Own Price®
Rates often 10-30% lower than Hotwire
Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National only
Rates not always available – change search parameters
No off-airport, no one-way
Always unlimited miles (important for international)
Extensions and add-ons at agency rates
Drivers under 25 allowed for additional fees

Priceline Cars – Bidding Strategy
Step 1: Priceline Lowball Test
Enter a lowball bid and click “Choose”

Step 2 (cont): Lowball triggers “low chance of being accepted”
If you don’t get this screen, you are starting too high

Step 2 (cont): “Previous Page” and step up the bids

Step 2 (cont): Priceline Sweetspot when goes to offer page
You’re not done yet!

Step 3: Bid around Priceline Sweetspot
For short, economy rentals, $1-$2 under often works
Longer rentals and bigger cars can widen the gap
Can be more aggressive depending on lead time
Needed car next day so bid $16, final price $54.36 with Hertz

Priceline Cars – Re-Bidding the Official Way
Same trip wait 24 hours to re-bid
Can immediately re-bid for different car type (up or down)
Compact may be same price as economy
Change return date may allow re-bid (e.g. Tue 6 am, then
try Mon 11 pm – you get the car for 24-hour days)
I generally find 1-2 weeks out is good time to bid

Priceline Re-Bidding Hack
1. Use browser private window
2. Don’t log in
3. Bid with low balance gift card
4. Repeat in new private browser

Priceline Re-Bidding Hack
If bid is accepted you get a processing error
If not accepted, no processing error
You can enter correct number or abandon

Other Deals

Endless Sources to Try
Check out Million Mile Secrets 12-Part Cheap Car Rentals
http://millionmilesecrets.com/category/rental-cars/

Are OTAs Useful?
OTAs are mainly a starting point, rarely the best deal
Kayak is useful for meta-search
Priceline often has good flexible rates

Discover Certificates
$20 for $40 certificates at Alamo, Enterprise, National
Read the exclusions, except some hassles in redemption
Check out FrequentMiler: http://bit.ly/1hoI3Vy

Corporate Codes
Corporate codes can be useful IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE
Often good for eliminating one-way fees
Risky to use non-eligible codes – invalidate insurance
SEA-PDX: $62 vs $198
with my corporate code

Off-Airport
Check locations on agency websites
Reach by walk, hotel shuttles, public transport
Verify hours – closed Sunday, charge till Monday
May pick you up (but not at airport)
May drop you off (possibly at airport)
Many portals do not include off-airport

Off-Airport Example
Atlanta Mon peak: airport $66.71 vs off $48.15/day
One Subway Stop Away
Verify Business Hours

Don’t Forget Cashback Portals
Cashback deals for rental agencies and OTAs
Always check the fine print, especially for OTAs

Extras and How to Avoid Them

Insurance - CDW
Most credit cards provide CDW secondary to any insurance
Chase United Explorer and Diners Club are primary
Amex Premium Rental Protection is primary but only CDW
($19.95/$24.95 per rental)
If you are comfortable using your own auto insurance,
you don’t need CDW
Business cards typically limited to business rentals
Example: smash and grab in Toronto on business rental
with Chase Ink Plus – claim process took 3 months

Insurance - Other
Credit cards only cover CDW, nothing else!!!
Liability – state mandated minimums enough for you?
Personal Accident, Theft – evaluate based on your needs

Additional Drivers
1. Avis, Budget & Enterprise – free for spouse or partner
2. Alamo, Hertz & National – free for program members
3. Book through Costco Travel portal
4. AAA, AARP & USAA membership & using their codes
5. California law
See details at Million Mile Secrets: http://bit.ly/QAZ8Bv

Young Drivers
20 years old can rent with Hertz, 21 at other agencies
Under 25 surcharge varies by agency and state, $15+/day
Free membership with USAA (no military affiliation
required) and book with their codes waives the fee at
Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Hertz
See details at Million Mile Secrets: http://bit.ly/QHW0nc

One-Way Charges
Very hard to avoid one-way charges
Minimize by doing separate rental for one-way days only
Redeem Hertz points for roughly double roundtrip price
Some corporate codes may waive one-way

Tolls
Most agencies charge per toll plus daily fee for entire rental
Dollar/Thrifty charges per day for unlimited tolls
Welcome to Newark
- $17.49/day
Trip one toll and you are charged for the ENTIRE rental
Ways to avoid:
1.Get a toll pass for frequent destinations
2.Pay tolls online with toll authority right after rental

Fuel
Refill or prepay
The less than 75 mile rental scam – must have fuel receipt

International

International Driving
Exhilarating or stressful?
Is driving the best option?
Will your companions be a nuisance?

International Driving Alternative
Charter a taxi for a day
• Pick a moving taxi, not one parked by your hotel
• Test driver first with a short trip
• Be very clear about route, time and costs

My Guide to International Driving
Driving on the left is surprisingly easy
Driving a manual in tight, hilly European towns is not easy
Automatics are rare and expensive

International Driving Permit
Valid only for 1 year, can be forward dated for trip
Need to get in home country (get at AAA in US)
Relatively few countries insist on IDP to rent
Absolutely must have in Japan and South Korea
Must carry driver’s license as well

International Booking
Booking sites often ‘location not found’/’sold out’
Try rental agency websites
Try AutoEurope for unlimited mileage (not just for Europe)

International Rental Process
Major agencies are almost all local franchise
Rarely get elite benefits (some exceptions like Australia)
Slow, slow, slow rental process in many countries
Frequent renter program preferences can mess things up
like insurance options that are not equivalent
(ex: I have had Avis US liability become EU Supercover)

International Gotchas
High mileage charges – I had a 0 km rate in Macedonia!
After-hours pick-up/drop-off charges – especially Europe
Winterization – Europe again
Mandatory insurance – Mexico & Central America
Cross-border fees and paperwork
One-way drop charges
Administrative fees for traffic violations

International Gotchas
Riga, Latvia:
$43 to pick up at 8 pm!
Ayers Rock:
100 km fee +
$0.23 per km!

The Avis/Budget Home Currency Scam
Avis/Budget default opt your credit cards to bill in home
currency at terrible rate plus 3% fee
Uncheck!!!
Europe may still be USD – don’t use Avis profile to reserve

International Insurance
Credit card CDW exclusions – Ireland, Israel, Italy and more
Many Chase and Citi cards now cover ALL countries –
get certificate of coverage for rental agency (Ireland, Israel)
Insurance often mandatory, sometimes included in rate:
• Canada rates include liability
• Mexico/Central America require adding liability
• Basic CDW included in Europe – Supercover enhances
• Kuwait temporary license and insurance

International GPS
T-Mobile phone with free data in 120+ countries
Offline map apps for iPhone and Android
GPS device – buy region map chips on ebay

Strategy

My US Strategy
My goal: economy to mid-size for cheap
1. Baseline check at Hotwire
2. BJ’s, Costco or Capital One provisional booking
3. Recheck 2-3 months out (new portal coupons)
4. Recheck and try Priceline 1-2 weeks out
My key: keep discipline to avoid endless rate searches

My International Strategy
My goal: basic car, unlimited mileage, no surprises
1. Check portals, especially BJ’s (others limit locations)
2. Check agencies & verify location, hours, charges
3. Check OTAs like AutoEurope and Priceline
My key: major agency with unlimited mileage

Thank You
rapidtravelchai.com
stefan@rapidtravelchai.com
@rapidtravelchai

Rapid Travel Chai: Rental Cars at FTU DCA 2014

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