[Anonymous]

[Binman62]

I have a trip to the USA coming up and booked a car via AvisBA some time ago and felt I got a great deal……..until that is, I tried to alter it!! At that point the rate quoted quadrupled as a result of adding 2 extra days. I called Avis who could not help but suggested I waited till I got there. 13 days SUV £377 became £1367 for 15 days!
I tried to rebook on the site and got the bizarre response of £1009 buy now or $900 buy at pick up.

I was then alerted to a deal by a fellow poster on this site and used travelsupermarket who came up with some great deals. My only concern was that the SUV did not guarantee 4WD, which was a must as we are skiing. In the past we have been caught out by this getting 2WD SUV. In addition, in most cases the company providing the car was not stated and several did not accept Amex as a form of payment.

I looked at the codes posted on other sites and at using Singapore as my country of residence…..which for some reason knocked about $200 off some rates. However I am just a big fearty and would not wish to be embarrassed in front of my two kids if asked to produce ID to support the Florida State employee code or Singapore residence requirements. (Florida State employees pay almost nothing for Avis car rental…they have fabulous rates)

However last night I stumbled on Virgin Atlantic’s web site. This is not an airline I use or have any interest in, but I tried to book a car. Wow….. Guaranteed 4WD for the dates selected for just £340!!! All inclusive and via Alamo and for £5 a day more, Alamo Gold. They did add 2.5% credit card charge but this was acceptable given the rate.

The myriad of rates and discount codes and providers means that car rental is a highly competitive but you do need to have a great corporate deal or do a lot of leg work. I have probably spent too much time on arranging this but the saving on some rates is huge and I am now booked. Not sure what BA and Avis hope to gain by their pricing and frankly their P… poor and unreliable web site…I still cant get over the £1000 pay now $900 pay later offer.

[RichHI1]

Good luck. I always book Hertz using Hertz website and then call local station number in advnce. Even then I have ben disappointed on vehicel type. I gave up with Alamo and DOllar/Thrifty as booking promises stopped matching vehicles available (was in bsuy periods). Let us kno whow you fare.
I have had the same issue with last minute rebooking. When you need to extend it is often better just to make a seocnd booking of 1-2 days to add on end. Hertz and Avis will normallly allow you to butt join them without returnign to rental agency if total rental is udner a month.

[MartynSinclair]

Binman62 – Mrs S always uses Virgin Holidays due to the excellent car hire rates in Florida. These rates arent available through Virgin Atlantic.

[VintageKrug]

Thugh I always advised against buying car rental at http://www.avisba.com/ I now find it very competitive, if you book the non-refundable rates buy in advance rates.

Remember these rates include one way rentals, some of the insurance and an upgrade if your a Gold Card holder.

Use the code N744400 for best deals, especially good for mid-size SUVs.

The need to purchase in advance seems to be a change in the past 18 months or so, and so you are paying for flexibility.Chnaging from 13 days to 15 nudges you across the 14 day threshold; you’ll often be charged a full week for every week (or part thereof) over the seven days, so it’s best to try and fit your rentals into 1, 2, 5 or 7 day tranches.

[MartynSinclair]

I have in the past used a firm in Manchester called Carhire3000. They are a mass market firm, but have provided good rates in the past. May be worth a look.

[VintageKrug]

Though independents may give good rates, there are myriad examples of such firms collapsing; ensure you have good insurance if you go down this avenue.

[RichHI1]

I would share VK’s reservations through bad experiences in the past using third parties. But i guess if you have insurance against their collapse yoiu are OK. Hope all goes well and go get great vehicle.

[Binman62]

CarHire 3000 are very good and accept Amex which always helps as the insurance on the platinum card removes all concerns about such firms going bust.

Travel supermarket is also great because they get prices form Argus, Net flights, holiday autos and carhire 3000 in one hit.

A tip with carhire 3000 is to put a hold on a booking. I have found they invariably call you within 24 hours and offer £20-£30 further reduction.

AvisBA rate was superb for the 13 days but the inflexibility and doubt around the costs of an extension was awful. I did use them in April and not only got a fab rate as gold card holder but a superb upgrade at Phoenix.

The Virgin booking is with Virgin Holiday via the Virgin Atlantic Site, similar to BA.com redirecting you to BA holidays when ever you book a hotel or car with them.

I am happy with Alamo as they have in the past provided excellent service includng a replacement car in an hour delivered to my door.
I am overnighting at the airport after arriving in the USA and will collect the car the next day and before the first long haul start to arrive. I hope that will help improve the choice of cars available as in the past have been slow off the ark and was left with what i viewed as the US equivalent of a Robin reliant.
Just got an email from Virgin offering online check in for the car thus providing service equivalent to Avis Preferred…..result.

[Cwyfan]

I would suggest going through the cashback site of Quidco, and try cardelmar, they give 10% off the lowest prices I have found to date, although netflights is close too

[Bucksnet]

The purchase of anything over £100 on a UK credit card means the bank has to refund you if anything goes wrong.

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