ctuttle

This really isn't that surprising with all the mergers of the rental companies. While unlimited miles is the standard now, years ago in the 80s I think it was National who was the first to go to unlimited mileage. I remember they had an unlimited rate or a lowball rate that charged 20 cents a mile or something. Depending on how much you were driving the metered rate could be a lot cheaper.

The rental companies also used to be 75, 100, or 150 miles per day.

I'm guessing this is more of a revenue enhancement ploy. Since there are fewer players in the rental car business- National/Alamo/Enterprise, Avis/Budget it will be easier to get them all to have uniform policies. They will probably still offer the unlimited miles, and if you have a contract rate this will be something to negotiate.

You will still be able to get cars with unlimited miles, but you might have to switch companies or get a contract rate, it will just take a little bit of homework.

There are some cities that have never given unlimited miles on rental. I remember a few years ago we could not get unlimited miles even on our contract rate in Des Moines, Iowa. I don't know if this is still the case because I haven't been there in a while, but I remember there was always a limit, something like 150 miles, or there was a mileage charge.

crhptic

Interesting...on a lark I decided to test a few random bookings in DSM, and that location is still only giving 150 miles per day, even with corporate codes that normally are unlimited-mileage everywhere else in the country. I wonder if it's a franchisee with its own weird policy? (What I really wonder is how it stays in business, since every other company in DSM offers unlimited miles, at comparable rates).

IAHtraveler

Ahh, I finally found a place that limits mileage with my corporate code. We actually only get 125 mi/day with a quarter a mile after that. Also, for the few reservations that I tried, only compact, intermediate & full size were available. ::note to self - don't fly into DSM or get Avis from there::

Auto Enthusiast

Very interesting. I checked, and DSM does allow free unlimited miles on one-way rentals, such as the ever-popular one to Chicago for cheaper flights. If this were an independent franchise fleet, one-ways would either be prohibited or come with a separately itemized steep drop charge. The fact that one-ways are allowed at the usual pricing scheme of a high daily rate with free unlimited miles means this is the same randomly circulating nationwide fleet everyone else is using. So, this particular franchise operator may have implemented their own policies on roundtrips.

When I visited DSM, I did notice that almost all the rental cars had Illinois plates. Many of them apparently came one-way from Chicago, which is more expensive than the reverse trip. There were some registered in Iowa, and one or two registered in Nebraska and Missouri.