Hertz - International Student going Coast to Coast: How to keep costs low?

Hi all,

A good friend of mine from Korea will be renting a car tomorrow (today). He's a South Korean national, w/ an international drivers license and no credit card (but he does have a visa check card). He's also going one way, which has made things tough with other companies. My understanding, though, is that Hertz can accomodate, they will simply take a deposit off the check card, rather than holding the CC number as collateral? (Please correct me if I'm wrong).

He plans to rent the car for about 35 days, so the rates are getting pretty high. What are the best ways to minimize his costs? As he will be staying in tons of hotels on his trip across the country, he just joined AAA, so he has that going for him, but is there any better way to get a good deal? Best to go from HLE instead of airport? Best to return to HLE instead of an airport?

He'll be going from the SF Bay-area to JFK.

Also, which level of insurance is preferable for someone who doesn't have any here? The $12.95 per/day level?

Thanks for any and all replies!

Wow, this really sounds like a trip I wouldn't want to do...
- One way SF-JFK
- Last minute reservation
- No Insurance

I would be sure to look at all companies; I would be surprised if Hertz was cheapest for this trip.

I would also be certain to NOT pick up the car at an airport; a HLE location or in the city will be cheaper.

I did a quick search on Orbitz to compare companies. I found Budget, picking up in downtown SF tomorrow, returning to JFK on the 31st, for $1500 all-in. This was for a full-size car, which the same price as a midsize and compact. Econonomy came out much more expensive for some reason. And when I tried to book this on Budget's website, it was also much more expensive.

There are lots of other options for long-term trips like this, but at this late date I'm not sure you'll do much better than $1500 quoted above.