Originally Posted by
apirchik
Why don't you rent directly from Israel with a prepaid voucher?
I use
www.alamo.co.il for all my US rentals and usually the fares I get including all coverages and taxes are lower than the best fares on alamo.com (not to mention Avis, Hertz etc).
In the end, I went to Alamo.com (not the Israeli site) and got the best deal I could find.
Hertz wanted $372 for an Economy car. A mid-size, which I would prefer, was priced sky-high.
Alamo gave me a 4 door midsize (Pontiac G6) for $340.
After reading your post, I went to Alamo, Israel, and saw that it wants $358 for a 4 door midsize (Chevrolet Epica). More than that, going through the US site gives me the following advantages:
1. I don't have to pre-pay. (If I do decide to pre-pay, I can do it 24 hours in advance and get a 10% reduction.)
2. I can use my American-issued Amex, not only getting me points on it but also avoiding conversion charges.
3. I was able to make the reservation through their "ReservePlus" system, which should save me time at pick up. I don't even have to go to the counter -- just run my credit card through the kiosk.