2MM_Guy

I have been a Blue Chip member for more than 10 years and this has never happened to me.

I wanted to add an additional driver to my contract. The agent stated that there would be an additional charge of $10.99 per day! I told him that in the past I have had additional drivers and I have never been charged. Another customer (waiting in line) also piped in stating that this was the stupiest thing that he had ever heard.

Has anyone else encountered an additional charge for this situation?

Auto Enthusiast

There is usually a charge for additional drivers, unless:

-The rental originates in a state that by law says spouses are allowed to drive for no extra charge.

-It's an association or corporate rate that says a spouse, coworker, other AAA member, etc. is allowed at no extra charge. Hertz Gold, AAA, and AARP allow this, I believe. For "discount" brands, the rules might be more restrictive. Check the T&Cs.

2MM_Guy

Thanks!

Will do.

I guess I was taken aback as this was the first time. I have had additional drivers numerous times before.

jackal

Yes. Blue Chip program benefits do not include a waiver of the additional driver fee. It may have been waived in the past on accident (some rental software programs don't automatically add the additional driver fee if the additional driver is added after the rental contract is opened [which is the case on Blue Chip rentals, since the rental contract is opened before you get there]), or it might have just been a nice gesture on the part of the rental agent or manager on duty that day.

There is, to my knowledge, no legitimate way to consistently get the additional driver fee waived with Thrifty. There are no publicly-usable national corporate discount codes that include this waiver; if you find a code that waives the additional driver fee, it's likely a code belonging to and intended for use by the employees of a company with a signed agreement with Thrifty.

AAA's promotion code does not include this benefit with Thrifty (it does for Hertz, IIRC), and AARP has no special discount with Thrifty (there is a generic "Seniors' Discount" that includes no special benefits other than approximately 5% off the rate).

2MM_Guy

Ironically, in the past when I have added drivers, it has always been at the time of the initial contract.

In this particular case (a first for me), it was in the middle of the contract (a colleague was staying on longer than me).

So I guess I will pay a closer attention to this topic.