Originally Posted by jackal

How much will you be driving in IL and OH on toll roads? If more than a little bit, I'm a big proponent of the Massachusetts E-ZPass. It's $20, but you get $20 worth of credit, so it's essentially free. Even before I moved to the East Coast, I bought one and just kept it in my backpack so it was always with me whenever I traveled. The discounts you get on tolls in many states make it worth it, not to mention the convenience of skipping long toll lines in many toll plazas.



Each state runs its own E-ZPass program, so I'm sure some states allow more finer-grained control over adding and removing license plates to accounts. IIRC, Massachusetts doesn't allow you to set dates, so you have to remember to remove your rental car when you return it.

That said, the way the E-ZPass system works is opposite of FL's. With FL, the most recently-added plate is the one that is charged. With E-ZPass, the first one to register the plate is the one on record in the network. I once took the PA Turnpike and my toll transponder read on the entry but didn't on the exit, so I was actually charged by both E-ZPass (PA charges the maximum Turnpike toll if you enter and do not exit within something like 18 hours) and Hertz/PlatePass. I got it straightened out, but it was in that process of contacting the PA Turnpike Authority, my Massachusetts E-ZPass account service, and PlatePass that they told me how the system works. So, basically, if the rental company has already registered the plate, then adding it to your personal account does absolutely nothing. I haven't bothered to add my rental cars since discovering this and it's never been an issue, but I'm also very careful to hold the transponder up to the windshield now instead of letting it lie on my dashboard.