Maybe a knockoff thread in the Avis and National forums would also be interesting, especially since those companies offer a similar but slightly different version of the FL driveout.
In cases where they are similar, ex both Hertz and National will do FLL to EWR, it would be informative to see why some people chose the more expensive option. That's especially true since Hertz now allows pickup from FL neighborhood stores, which avoids the airport taxes. (ex National rental credits and choice, versus the common "worst car we want to get rid of" scenario with Hertz, Avis continues for 2 weeks after Hertz's special is over, etc.)
This year, Hertz is allowing south/western drops, such as TX and GA. They tend to do that sporadically, whereas Avis and National have always historically allowed them.
Both Avis and National are more expensive than Hertz, but Avis allows SUVs. Hertz used to allow SUVs and Premiums in years past, but only A (well, not really, same price as B) through F this year.
National allows West Coast drops, but not from JAX. Last year they did, and many took advantage of this for the popular I-10 roadtrip from JAX to LAX.
Hertz will allow you to go as far west as the last HLE in AZ right before the CA state line, Yuma City or something like that, I believe. If you want to go to Los Angeles with Hertz, you'd either have to pay the expensive regular price for that route out of Jacksonville, or change contracts at the cheapest HLE you can find in AZ and pay for one day to LA at close to $100.
Incidentally, if you're thinking of doing reverse peak, LA->JAX, Hertz did something clever. The usual prices for that route are seen before and after the FL driveout, but elevated during it.
Last edited by Auto Enthusiast; Feb 22, 2011 at 8:37 pm