I don't rent cars all that often (most of my travel takes me to public transit kinds of cities or where I can borrow a friend's car), but I mostly use Enterprise when I do.

Last time I rented a car in Chicago (Had to drive to Michigan City), they charged me an additional driver fee for my partner. They don't charge an extra fee for spouses, but they wouldn't waive the fee when asked about domestic partners.

Later, I sent an email and got a credit, but I'm wondering which agencies do and don't charge gays and lesbians this extra fee.

I'd rather pay an extra $10 per day in a higher rate than pay it in a discriminatory fee.

Edited for clarity.

[This message has been edited by robb (edited 04-12-2002).]

I know that National doesn't charge a fee for additional driver as long as the other person has the same address as you (at least for Emerald Club members). Since Alamo is under the same parent company, I wonder if they have the same policy.

Steve007 had asked this same question before this forum became active. He wrote "My partner and I are off to Hawaii, where, as usual, we intend to share driving on a rental car. AVIS is very explicit that we DO count as spouses and so pay no additional driver fee but their rates at some islands are very high. Budget, Dollar and Thrifty are equally clear that, unless we share a last name (so I guess brothers who are life partners qualify? :-) we will be charged extra. "

So I guess that we know for sure that National and Avis do not charge additional driver fee for partners. Does anybody know about Hertz?

[This message has been edited by peteropny (edited 04-12-2002).]

I've rented from Enterprise a couple of times in the last year and when they asked if there was an additional driver I just said yes and gave them my parner's name and driver's license number and that was it, no additional charge, and no questions as to what relationship we had, this was done with Avis also, so I assumed they didn't care. Would be interesting to see if others have had different experiences.

Dale.

Sorry, I didn't read your post thoroughly enough, it looks like you did have a different experience...so they charged you extra for your partner? Did you tell them he was your partner? Hmmmmm....maybe it's a regional thing?

A good source of information about these policies is the gay travel magazine "Out & About". (I am not connected to it, just subscribe.) They rank the companies every once in a while. Unfortunately, I do not recall the last issue with those rankings.

Our experience with Hertz is that ALL additional drivers (even legal spouses) get charged. Fair, but rather ridiculous. A AAA membership gets that waived, though.

According to Hertz... and I have experience with this... there is NO fee for partners as long as they share the same address (and it must be the same on the driver's license).

William

Hmmm...seems like a little inconsistency with Hertz. Perhaps that is a legacy from its Allegis days?

I decided to look at the different companies' websites, and make a list of the webpages where it states the policy, if at all, I also found Out & About's update from 12/98.

Out & About Car Rental report (http://www.outandabout.com/ratecarrental.html)

Alamo (http://www.alamo.com/Help/HelpAtoC.asp#ADDITIONAL) - unclear/varies
Avis (https://www.avis.com/AvisWeb/JSP/global/en/rentersguide/policies/us/US_Additional_Drivers.jsp) - no fee
Budget (http://www.budget.com/visitor/questions/general.html) - unclear/varies (Can I add additional drivers?)
Dollar (http://www.dollar.com/faq/general_policies.asp#additionaldriver) - unclear/varies
Enterprise - unclear/varies (cannot get the board to post the URL correctly)
Hertz (http://www.hertz.com/help_11/faq/termconditions_224.jsp#link8) - unclear/varies
National (http://www.nationalcar.com/servlet/DocHandler/AllAboutNCR/FAQ.jsp#authorizedDrivers) - free with Emerald Club only
Thrifty - website does not discuss additional drivers whatsoever, except for a mail form to ask questions about it.

---

I think I will email all the companies where it is not clear.

BillJ

[This message has been edited by wcj1 (edited 04-14-2002).]

A gloss on the Hertz answer - while regular rentals are unclear, your domestic partner is clearly covered if you make your reservation as a member of #1 Club Gold.

What counts as a "spouse" or "life partner" under these rules?

When you're straight and get married, it's easy to determine who is a legitimate spouse and who isn't. But, since we're not allowed to get married, what's the deal?

d

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by chazas:
A gloss on the Hertz answer - while regular rentals are unclear, your domestic partner is clearly covered if you make your reservation as a member of #1 Club Gold.</font>

Do you have a reference for this?

From the U.S. #1 Club Gold Terms and Conditions (go to www.hertz.com (http://www.hertz.com) and click through clubs and #1 Club Gold and act like you're going to sign up - eventually it gives you the Terms and Conditions):

Only You and the following persons, with Your permission ("Authorized Operators"), may operate the Car: Your spouse, Your domestic partner (if You are not married), Your employer, employees and fellow employees incidental to their business duties, and any other person who meets Hertz's qualifications and who signs an Additional Authorized Operator form at the time of rental. A "domestic partner" is an unmarried partner of the same or opposite sex who is not Your parent, grandparent, sibling, child, grandchild, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew (in each case by blood or adoption), who permanently resides at the same address as You, and whose driver's license shows the same residence address as Your driver's license. Except as provided in the following sentence, all Authorized Operators must be at least 25 years old and have a valid driver's license from a jurisdiction acceptable to Hertz. For rentals which commence in Michigan, persons between the ages of 18 and 24 who meet Hertz's other qualifications and who sign an Additional Authorized Operator form at the time of rental may be Authorized Operators; in such cases, an Underage Liability Charge will be assessed. Except to the extent necessary for valet parking or in an emergency as permitted by law, no other persons are permitted to operate the Car. With respect to persons who must sign an Additional Authorized Operator form, other qualifications may, at Hertz's discretion, be in effect at the time and place of rental; and, where permitted by law, Hertz may impose an additional fee for such persons. By operating the Car (whether or not an Additional Authorized Operator form is completed), an Authorized Operator will be deemed jointly and severally responsible for Your obligations under this Agreement related to the Car, as well as for any obligations that this Agreement directly imposes on an Authorized Operator of the Car (for example: the obligations contained in Paragraphs 9 and 10(e)).

Hope that's helpful!