GW McLintock

Do you know which AAA organization you're a member of? In my findings I just used the generic AAA HQ CDP# 1.

Here's what I found; I bolded the lowest rates.

AAA CDP #1
ECAR: $51.57 w/ PC# 135892; $52.72 w/ RQ XCT1
CCAR: $51.61 w/ PC# 135892; $52.72 w/ RQ XCT1

USAA CDP
ECAR: $51.11 w/ PC# 135892; $55.31 w/ RQ XCT1
CCAR: $51.15 w/ PC# 135892; $55.31 w/ RQ XCT1

WN and US CDPs (yielded same results)
ECAR: $53.84 w/ PC# 135892; $57.90 w/ RQ XCT1
CCAR: $53.87 w/ PC# 135892; $57.90 w/ RQ XCT1

-J.

GW McLintock

I used the generic AAA HQ CDP# 1 in my research; you may want to find your specific CDP here. I was able to use PC# 135892 for your reservation, so do take advantage of that; I used it in all of my findings. By the way, there is no Hilton CDP

ECAR (Kia Rio or Similar) was the cheapest for all of the CDPs. Here's what I found:

AAA HQ CDP# 1: $145.54
Priority Club: $153.13
AA/UA/DL: $153.13
USAA: $144.02
Amex Plat: $147.11

Although USAA is the cheapest, you should consider the benefits of other CDPs such as the extended return grace period with the Amex Plat CDP.

-J.

GW McLintock

Is the Costco CDP # 336436? I had to resort to Google to find this, and it simply comes up as "VALUED CUSTOMER"; anyway, it's what I used for the Costco rate.

Do you require an automatic transmission or can you drive a stick? I included more than just Economy in my findings since prices and sizes are very different in Israel than in the US, for instance.

My research includes the following car classes:

• A: Mini (Suzuki Alto, Manual)
• B: Economy (Hyundai i10, Manual)
• L: Economy (Daihatsu Sirion, Automatic)
• C: Compact (Skoda Fabia, Manual)
• H: Midsize (Mazda3, Automatic)

Note that I could not find any PCs that did not significantly raise the base rate or prevent me from booking altogether, so these rates are only discounted via the CDP. Also, I'm not sure if my rates include the mandatory insurance you were talking about; no insurance or LDW/CDW was available to book as an extra. All prices are in USD; here's what I found:

For pickup and return at Tel Aviv Airport - Main Building:
AAA/Costco/AARP:
A - $74.55
B - $81.20
L - $94.50
C - $94.50
H - $121.10
AA/DL/UA:
A - $77.00
B - $84.00
L - $98.00
C - $98.00
H - $126.00

For Atarim Station to Ben Gurion Airport:
AAA/Costco/AARP:
A - $46.55
B - $53.20
L - $66.50
C - $66.50
H - $93.10
AA/DL/UA:
A - $49.00
B - $56.00
L - $70.00
C - $70.00
H - $98.00

For Bnei Brak-Aronovitch or HaHashmoniam Street going to Ben Gurion Airport:
AAA/Costco/AARP:
B - $53.20
L - $66.50
C - $66.50
H - $93.10
AA/DL/UA:
B - $56.00
L - $70.00
C - $70.00
H - $98.00

Enjoy your trip to Israel! It is a magical place

-J.

GW McLintock

Something to keep in mind, especially when booking a one-way from an HLE, is that you will get whatever they want to give you. You could theoretically get anything from the fleet list, but if the only full-size they have is an Altima, you'll be stuck with that. A Rio and Cruze/Focus and a Rav4 vary tremendously (!) in size... so I just found rates for A-F and Q4. FWIW if you're not happy with the car they give you (i.e. if they give you an Altima) you can always go to an airport and swap it for something else (they may allow you to take something outside of your reserved class, but YMMV). Be advised that a Standard SUV (L, SFAR) appeared as "Not Available" so I could not price that.

Do you know which AAA organization you're a member of? You may want to find your CDP number here; in my research I used the generic AAA HQ CDP# 1.

Airports generally tend to cost much more than HLEs, so I only checked the Central El Paso HLE, returning to the Westwood HLE as you specified. Using PC# 175070 and the AAA HQ CDP, here's what I found:

A: $494.13
B: $515.44
C: $533.19
D: $547.38
F: $568.65
Q4: $693.48

-J.

Armen52

Yeah, I do. Sorry I forgot to include that. AAA of Southern California (#4). I'm not sure if that makes any difference.

Thanks for all your advice. I am not completely familiar with the codes you posted but I think there is a thread that will help me figure that out, so I will go look at that and then make a decision.

It's also really helpful to know that it's a good possibility I'd be able to switch cars at an airport location (not far in El Paso, or potentially in another nearby city on the way) if the car we get from the HLE is a terrible one, e.g. Altima.

Thanks again!

GW McLintock

"Any" is a pretty broad term; am I right in assuming this is a family vacation? Hope so! Anyway, I searched A-F as well as Q4 and L; PCAR did not show up for some reason. If you were looking for a Luxury car or some larger vehicle, let us know and someone can scope those out too. For all of these, I used PC# 175070 (save $5 a day, up to $30 off) since it is the only PC I know of that is valid through your pick-up date.

I used the generic AAA HQ CDP# 1 in my research; you may want to find your specific CDP here.

For pick-up at the Disney World Kissimmee HLE and return at Tampa International Airport using PC# 175070, here's what I found:

CDP:...AAA HQ......Amex Plat....Delta
A........$274.71.....$271.83......$274.71
B........$280.39.....$277.45......$280.39
C........$291.46.....$288.41......$291.46
D........$308.64.....$305.40......$308.64
F........$344.29.....$340.64......$344.29
Q4......$310.43.....$362.34......$310.43
L........$347.31.....$358.99......$347.31

I tried to also use the Delta CDP with PC# 175512 so you could take advantage of the bonus MQM offer, but it seems that this location is not participating in that promotion.

-J.

GW McLintock

Keep in mind Hertz Gold isn't really a CDP and doesn't actually save you any money; it does however make the rental process a lot smoother and more efficient (in most cases).

Since "any" car class is pretty broad, I searched for A through G as well as Q4 and L. If you were interested in a Luxury/Prestige or larger vehicle, let us know and hopefully somebody could scope those out for you.

Note that all of the rates I found are pre-pay rates; I couldn't find any PCs which are valid for your rental, and all of the pay-later rates were usually higher than the pre-pay rates. For Standard and Full-size cars, the pre-pay rates only save you a few cents with USAA; I didn't notice it with Amex Plat but I think it was the same situation.

For your rental from the Lihue Airport, here's what I found:

CDP:...Amex Plat...USAA
A........$77.32.......$85.01
B........$77.32.......$85.01
C........$78.80.......$86.67
D........$87.69.......$96.67
F........$87.69.......$96.67
G........$103.98.....$115.01
Q4......$93.61.......$103.34
L........$103.98......$115.01

-J.

GW McLintock

Hi woodyth! Am I correct in assuming that you'll be using the Lindbergh Terminal location?

FWIW, you're not guaranteed a LaCrosse on a PCAR reservation (heck, these days you're not always even guaranteed model-reservable classes ), but I checked that as well as IFAR and SFAR for you. If you were looking for a luxury/Prestige or larger vehicle, let us know and we can scope that out for you too.

I used the generic AAA HQ CDP# 1 in my research; you may want to find your specific CDP here. Also, keep in mind that Hertz Gold isn't a CDP and doesn't actually save you money; it merely makes the rental process a lot smoother and more efficient. Also, Hyatt has no CDP with Hertz to my knowledge.

Unfortunately, I could not get any PCs to work with this rental.

For a round-trip rental from MSP, here's what I found

AAA HQ CDP
G: $974.31 prepaid
Q4: $603.30 pay-later
L: $1,210.69 pay-later

USAA CDP
G: $974.31 prepaid
Q4: $630.90 pay-later
L: $1,266.87 pay-later

DL/US CDP
G: $974.31 prepaid
Q4: $637.78 pay-later
L: $1,280.90 pay-later

For pickup at MSP Terminal 1 and return at the 1605 Morissey HLE in Bloomington, all of the rates were pay-later rates. Here's what I found:

AAA HQ CDP
G: $776.81
Q4: $923.86
L: $1,155.39

USAA CDP
G: $924.49
Q4: $966.54
L: $1,208.96

DL/US CDP
G: $934.68
Q4: $977.19
L: $1,222.34

I bolded the cheapest rate combination for each vehicle class. If you can find a PC that works for your rental, then by all means use it; you may want to check other rental companies as well (perhaps AutoSlash could chime in... I just think these rates are ridiculous).

-J.

GW McLintock

No problem The rates are the same with CDP # 4. Also, I used PC# 175070 in my findings (can't believe I almost forgot to mention that...). Here's what the codes mean:

A: Economy (ECAR, Kia Rio or sim.)
B: Compact (CCAR, Chevy Aveo or sim.)
C: Midsize (ICAR, Toyota Corolla or sim.)
D: Standard (SCAR, Altima coupe or sim.)
F: Full-size (FCAR, Chevy Malibu or sim.)
Q4: Midsize SUV (IFAR, Toyota Rav4 or sim.)

You can find out more about what you may receive in each category by checking out the fleet list

-J.

jobu2

thanks so much- new at this- I just listed all the memberships I could think of off the top of my head- please let me know if I can ever return the favor- like if you need a recommendation for a restaurant or something fun to do in LA

jondabomb

Thanks!

ddavid1101

Pickup Location :Rome(any Location, prefer in city)
Dropoff Location :Venice(Prefer closest/cheapest to get into Venice)
Pickup Date and Time: 11/24/12
Return Date and Time: 11/27/12
Vehicle Size Preference: Any Auto(cheapest)
Memberships (AAA/USAA/etc):None

Hey guys, planning a 3 day road trip to go around Northern half of Italy end of November. Looking for any car with Auto. This will be a one way ending in Venice.

best rate I got is with 211762 for Amex Plat showing $208 EUR for a Compact Green Collection.

Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

GW McLintock

Do you have an Amex Platinum card? I saw you listed no memberships but you still used that CDP... just want to be sure FWIW if you use that CDP I think you have to book the reservation with that card.

I don't have the time right now to check this out (I have a meeting in a little bit) but 208 EUR for a one-way in an automatic car sounds like a pretty good rate to me. Which locations did you use for that reservation?

-J.

ddavid1101

I dont have Amex Plat, but have used that CDP in the past in LGA multiple 1 day rentals and also in Brazil for a long rental(17 days) with no issues.

I have the following cards but no AAA memberships or true corp rates that apply:
Chase BA
Chase INK
Chase Priority Club
Chase Freedom
Amex Biz Rewards Gold
Amex Rewards Gold
Amex Delta
Citi Premiere Thank You
Citi AA Bronze
Citi Hilton(free one)
Barcap US Air

Pick up: Rome Termini Stazione FF SS Railway Station
Drop off: Piazzale Roma 496 Venice, IT 30135

I will try to play around with different location combos

Do I need LDW or Super Coverage? Is Amex Reward Gold coverage good enough?

GW McLintock

If you have credit cards for the programs I bolded above, does that mean you have accounts in those programs? If so, they all have CDPs you'd be eligible to use.

If you don't have an Amex Platinum (i.e., and are thus not eligible to use the CDP) and anything happens to your car during your rental, any type of coverage that you may purchase (LDW, super, etc.) or already have (e.g., included coverage as an Amex cardholder benefit) will become void. Using a CDP you are not entitled to use is a very dangerous practice.

Check your Gold Amex cardholder agreement for the specific terms and conditions of where the validity of their rental car coverage benefits extend to. Unfortunately, a number of CCs do not extend their benefits to rentals in Italy; YMMV.

I could not find any PCs that would be valid during your rental period (unless you wanted NeverLost; there is a 50% off PC for that ). I did not use the Amex Plat CDP in my research. You didn't specify what times you wanted to pick up and return your vehicle, so I just did 10am for both; these prices essentially show a 3-day (3x 24hr periods) rental. The rates I found all include CDW (the basic/mandatory one).

These are the car types that I found available with automatic transmissions:

• (I) Ford Fiesta Aut. (Economy, Auto)
• (Y) Hyundai 130 (Compact, Auto; Green Collection)
• (K) Mercedes-Benz C-Class Aut. (Premium, Auto)

From the Rome Termini Stazione FF SS Railway Station to the Piazzale Roma 496 location, here's what I found:

No CDP:
I: $237.82 USD pay-now, 190.95 EUR ($250.76 USD) pay-later
Y: $295.12 USD pay-now, 237.06 EUR ($311.31) pay-later
K: $603.37 USD pay-now, 485.03 EUR ($633.16 USD) pay-later

Using an airline CDP (such as the Delta, US Airways, or AA CDP):
I: $220.69 USD pay-now, 176.97 EUR ($232.40 USD) pay-later
Y: $272.28 USD pay-now, 218.47 EUR ($286.89 USD) pay-later
K: $549.69 USD pay-now, 441.63 EUR ($576.50 USD) pay-later

Virtually anyone is eligible to use an airline/hotel CDP, so I encourage you to take advantage of those rates. 208 EUR is approximately $273 USD; you'd actually save money (albeit only a few cents) if you used the Delta (or another airline/hotel) CDP.

Have a fun trip!

-J.