American Express Membership Rewards - Using MR points for car rental - which company would you choose in LAS?

We're traveling to LAS at the end of April and will have our 15 month old son and "grandma" in tow. Figure best vehicle for us is a minivan. Plan to use Amex points for rental certificate but it eliminates the ability to use other discount codes or coupon numbers. The Hertz rate using the AMEX cdp is $81, Avis and Enterprise are much cheaper but are the savings worth it? Are there any strategies for using reward certificates for car rentals? Any and all suggestions are welcomed...

I also posted this at the Las Vegas forum but haven't had any replies.

thanks

IMHO, Avis and Hertz are basically interchangeable and I usually take whichever is less expensive. I've never used Enterprise, but from what I gather, it is geared to the lower expectation insurance replacement market and not as service oriented as the first two.

IMHO, Avis and Hertz are basically interchangeable and I usually take whichever is less expensive. I've never used Enterprise, but from what I gather, it is geared to the lower expectation insurance replacement market and not as service oriented as the first two.

Normally I'd agree... however I did have a good experience with Enterprise in LAS a few years ago. The Mrs. and I decided spur-of-the moment to rent a car and drive to red rock canyon the day of our arrival. Went online the night before and found a great deal on Enterprise for a compact car - one day rental... I believe it was about 19.95 for the day - unlimited mileage. When we showed up the next day, they didn't have any compact cars left, so they gave us a nice SUV for the $19.95. Great service, no problems, would do it again. YMMV.

My experience with AMEX MR car rental voucher is not that pleasant.

I once got a AMEX MR Hertz $75 voucher to be used at BOS.

The AAA rates is about $50. With AMEX CDP, it bumps up to $85. With the extra tax and stuffs, I found out that voucher actual value is just about $30 or so.

Note that the voucher value is deducted after all the tax has been added. For exampel, if your rate is $100, with 20% tax, after $75 voucher, it will be $45.

Some Hertz coupon knocks off the rate pre-tax.

My experience with AMEX MR car rental voucher is not that pleasant.

I once got a AMEX MR Hertz $75 voucher to be used at BOS.

The AAA rates is about $50. With AMEX CDP, it bumps up to $85. With the extra tax and stuffs, I found out that voucher actual value is just about $30 or so.

Note that the voucher value is deducted after all the tax has been added. For exampel, if your rate is $100, with 20% tax, after $75 voucher, it will be $45.

Some Hertz coupon knocks off the rate pre-tax.

Good point, thanks. I'm going to shop around to see what other codes and coupons end up being: no sense in using 20,000 MR points if I'm not getting a decent dollar value.

Good point, thanks. I'm going to shop around to see what other codes and coupons end up being: no sense in using 20,000 MR points if I'm not getting a decent dollar value.

I have found the best rates recently using the Amex PLAT code for National coupled with an entertainment book coupon (National let's you combine those).

I use them only occasionally, but I believe Enterprise has the best-trained staff in the business. Their service is uniformly excellent. The locations are sometimes not as convenient as Hertz or Avis but I would certainly not avoid them.

QL

Enterprise is first rate, and I have found that on a second visit to the same rental office, you can ask for an upgrade as a "repeat customer," and if available the upgrade will be completed. Enterprise does not have a reward or loyalty program per se; therefore, there is a great deal of "upgrade discretion" with the office staff and manager.

I'd recommend using National at LAS, and signing up for Emerald Club if you aren't already a member. Emerald Club allows you to bypass the often long line at the counter and pick the minivan of your choice right off the lot. Just drive to the exit gate, show the agent your driver's license and you're on the road.

As a previous poster mentioned, the Entertainment Book coupons, combined with contract ID# 5760339 usually give you the best rate.

If you need a link for free Emerald Club membership, surf on over to the National board here on FlyerTalk and you'll see the link there.

Enterprise isn't bad...but their cars tend to have higher mileage and the agents give you the hard sell on the optional insurance coverages that you don't need.