Planning a trip from England to Miami Beach for 17 days in August - this will be my first time needing to rent a car in USA in over 20 years, so looking for some advice from the kind folks here on FT.

As we will be 6 people, I dont have much choice but to rent a minivan. I know there are some deals that offer free upgrades, but not really sure what car I would need to book to get an upgrade to a minivan (class V).

I have 2 discount codes CDP584332 (GOLF SPECIAL) and CDP541670 (Morgan Stanley Credit Card). For some odd reason, rather than booking one reservation for 17 days it is cheaper to book say 7 days and a 2nd reservation for 10 days - is this normal ???

Seems rates from Engalnd are "all inclusive" and seem better value than using some of the USA discount codes but then having to pay for LDW and SLI (something like $35 a day).

So this is my quote:

1 week rental from MIA - returning to a local Hertz $307
10 day rental from local Hertx - returning to MIA $409
Total $716, all taxes, surcharges, LDW and SLI included, or about $42 a day all in.

Could any of you advise me if this is a reasonable cost for a minivan?

One more thing (sorry its a long post):

How much time should I allow to get the car at MIA - I realise one needs to take a shuttle - but no idea how far off airport Hertz is located.

And on the return (which will be Labor Day morning) - how much time should I allow to drop off the car and take the shuttle back to the Terminal.

Many thanks for your help