Thrifty - Don't rent from O'Hare | Wild Card | Credit Issue

I have been loyal to Thrifty for 3 years but thinking about switching to Enterprise.

The Bad:

- Don't rent from O'hare, the Thrifty location is OFF the rental car location and you will have a lot of trouble finding it (you can NOT find it by following the rental car return signs!), plus, there is no shuttle bus before 5 am so if you are catching an early flight, you are screwed. It's just a lot of extra work and you will be stressed, just really don't rent Thrify from ORD.

- Wild Card... I got 'upgraded' 3 times into a Ford Crown Vic (luxury car), in ELP, ORD and CLE, it gets 20mpg on highway and doesn't have an AUX...at this point I would not recommend the wild card option but just an intermediate car, which is cheaper and always gets you a fusion or a malibu. (Fusion is better)

- Credit issue...I always have credit issue with Thrifty, sometimes they don't get posted, sometimes they are incorrect (I rented in DEN for 4 days and 3 days showed up in my account)... I always have to call.I recently hit my 16 day level and I had to call on May.20th, I still haven't received my certificate yet...

The good:

- relatively cheaper fare (especially on SUVs) and it's convenient to skip the counter being a blue chip member. However I recently opened my mind and checked Enterprise the price is similar and they also have the membership program, I think I'll give them a try.

However I recently opened my mind and checked Enterprise the price is similar and they also have the membership program, I think I'll give them a try.

Note that Enterprise's E-Plus program does not allow true counter-bypass like Blue Chip. You'll still need to visit the rental counter and wait in line (although there is usually a special E-Plus line that is shorter) and have your rental agreement processed by one of the Enterprise rental agents (who will subject you to the full spiel of scare tactics to try to get you to buy the coverage--my favorite is hearing the Enterprise agents in Alaska claim Alaska is a no-fault state, which is patently false), who will then walk you out to the car and do a detailed, two-minute inspection for damage.

I don't have anything major against Enterprise and do use them myself on occasion, but I just go in prepared for the full frontal assault. That said, Enterprise agents are also the easiest to take advantage of for my own ends... :D

If you use Enterprise, you're better off signing up for National Emerald Club and earning National rental credits for free days through enterprise.com/loyalty. E-Plus doesn't offer anything free, but just speeds up the rental process by pre-loading your license information, etc.

Thank you Auto Enthusiast and Jackal! Thrifty has been very good to me when they have the $60 SUV (Ford Escape 27+mpg hway!) and everyone else is over $120... also I have enjoyed skipping the counter and pick any car in the same class! (really liked the Fusion; Malibu gets amazing mpg but doesn't drive as nicely as the Fusion) Also the wild card had given me a V6 Ford Edge in Denver back in April when I encoutered a snow storm... they also have an excellent reservation website, I thought I would be Thrifty for life.

However lately I found that in smaller airports (LIT, for example), other rental companies sometimes have cheaper fares; also in Denver they charged $50 for toll pass and I almost missed my flight in Chicago made me want to try something different, I'll sign up for the National Emerald Club, thank you!