Originally Posted by
Evan!
We're talking about the opaque HW/PL bookings, correct?
Yep.
Originally Posted by
Evan!
Yes. But you pre-pay with HW/PL opaque bookings and if your plans change... too bad.
True, which is why I won't book one of those until I am 100% sure of my plans.
Originally Posted by
Evan!
Also, you go to the line for the counter and can't take advantage of memberships like Budget FastBreak, Hertz #1 Gold, Avis Preferred, etc. Thirdly, I rarely get upgraded in car class with opaque bookings. And finally if you have a coupon code for some substantial miles or a free day this can not be applied to HW/PL bookings.
I usually look at the incremental difference in price and if it is only a few bucks ("few" is subjective I realize) and I have a good coupon code for x,xxx number of bonus miles I usually eat the extra money and enjoy skipping the long lines, the extra miles, and possible upgrade.
I agree entirely. But there are also cases where the only half-decent rate is from a company where there's no preferred service (Dollar, Thrifty, Advantage, Enterprise, etc.), with whom I have no status so I won't get upgraded anyway, and where I have no coupons and there are no great promos for miles/points (or like Enterprise that don't even offer miles/points), and in those cases, saving an extra $10 or $20 using PL/HW can sometimes still be the best deal.