Rental Car Questions

Our Fall trip to Las Vegas is our first in 10 years. We are considering renting a car. Best? Least expensive?
What about insurance? . Should we take coverages (overpriced) offered by rental car company? We want the least problems possible when returning the car.

Thoughts and advice please!!!

Mitchruss(Vegas Bound)

Best and Least Expensive are moving targets daily, even hourly.

Insurance? Most say it is unnecessary.
Your credit card that you use to rent the car often covers damages.
But call the cc company to be sure.

Spend some time reading the threads on this Transportation forum to get a feel.
Lots of pros post here their experiences and recommendations.

2-3 months closer to your trip, do Internet search of several companies.
Sign on with the one that looks best, print it. Don't pay yet. Pay when you get there.
You can keep searching and change if you see a better deal.

Have your printed reservation your when you get to the rental facility.
Don't sign on for the biggest or best vehicle.
Often they don't have what you reserved and will upgrade you for nothing.

Do inspect the car fully around before you drive off.
Note any dings, etc. with the attendant.
Refuse a dirty car. Again, you might get as good or better vehicle.

They'll ask if you want to fill the tank before you return or pay a flat fee now.

Hopefully others will post their experiences and advice.

We seem to have good luck with Alamo and Enterprise. Alamo would be our first pick if the price is right. I check prices daily (sometimes more than once a day). We always book directly with the website of the car rental company.

While I usually drive in Vegas, I book the rental in my name to start with. Then as I we start to see a better price, I book it in my husband's name. Then cancel out of my name after. We repeat this process until we have the best price. Luckily Alamo lets your spouse drive the car at no extra charge. (Not all will, in fact most of them charge a daily fee to have a second driver - Last I checked, Alamo, National, Enterprise, Avis & Budget will let a spouse drive at no extra charge)

Any other questions just ask!

American express offers some very good coverage if you rent your car with them!

Here's a helpful piece on Credit cards used for rentals!
https://www.smartertravel.com/blogs/today-in-travel/best-credit-card-for-car-rentals.html?id=12188440

check with your insurance company AND your credit card company.

Some credit cards only offer "loss of use " coverage at the higher card levels . My Costco AmEx does not offer it . My Total Rewards Visa does so I use it for car rentals .

I echo the same sentiment that you should constantly keep checking and re-booking. Costco members sometimes get a great deal, but not necessarily.

Want a free upgrade? Try this. When the agent takes you to your car, have a $5 or $10 ready in your pocket. Discreetly show him/her the money and ask "... are you still accepting these coupons for complimentary upgrades?". I remember that I rented the smallest crappy car and the agent asked me what car I wanted. I said it would be nice to have the Cadillac and he laughed saying, "... I can't give you that, but I can give you a full size".

I have had great success doing this in Vegas, but you really need to know your information before trying the tip-style upgrade. Often to upgrade your rental, it will only cost you an additional $2- $4 per day so make sure you factor that in before you try this.

You'll see some companies like "FOX" and "Payless" that offer rates much cheaper than everyone else. These companies are at a different site than the other car rental companies and require an extra travel stop. Also, you'll hear plenty of horror stories from people who have been hard-sold on unwanted upgrades at these companies. If you are tough you can truly save money with them...but they are definitely more hassle and more inconvenient.

For a calmer experience - Stick with Budget, Dollar, Alamo, National combined with coupon codes. You can scan this thread or use Google to get some good coupon codes. Lots of variables go into pricing but on a good week you can expect you pay around $100/week for a midsize (plus taxes and fees)....just keep plugging in your discount codes until something comes up.

I have rented from Fox twice. They had the best rates available, there was no upsale either time. I will rent from them in the future- I have no qualms.

Another trick might be to investigate your car rental from Dollar on Swenson. Of course, you need to get from the airport to the Swenson location which would be about $10- $15. If you REALLY want to go cheap, jump on the bus which drops you off very close to the Dollar location. (It is located right across the street from the UNLV stadium).

I did this once and I saved over $150 for a week rental by doing so. I am not saying this is the best way, but you may want to consider this technique.