Booking through AAA question
 

I am going to be traveling to Orlando in December and I am looking at renting a car. This is the first time I am renting a car and had a question.

The AAA site show that for 9 days its $265 plus tax and fees of $85.

Since the pay now price totals $265, does that mean I have to pay the $85 when I pick up the car? With all the horror stories of car rentals I don't want any surprises.

~Thanks

Yes, the taxes and fees will be billed when you pick up the vehicle.

For reference make sure you look at the physical Hertz site as well to compare rates.

I ended up booking through the AAA website. It was cheaper than boeoking through the Hertz site. The pay now price ended up being $221 for 9 days with a mid size car. and Taxs and Fees of ~$75. I tried to sign up for the Hertz loyalty program bit I end up not being able to do to having a visa debit and not a credit card. I don't use credit cards at all. Just thought it was odd that they booked the reservation with my visa debit (booked though AAA, but bank statement show Hertz). But I they wont let me sign up for their loyalty program. Oh Well!

Also... How expensive is the optional insurance?

Hertz accepts debit cards. You certainly can be a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards member and earn points with just a debit card. Some of my friends don't have any credit cards but they're Hertz members (I should know since I do their car rental bookings). AAA does not bill when booked through the AAA site for pre-paid reservations (or any car reservation).

Thanks! I tried signing up online but it asked me for a credit card number. So when I entered my visa debit number it said that I needed to enter a credit card to sign up for the loyalty program.

My only other question is when I get to the counter to pick up the car, all I need to do is pay the taxes & fees since I pre paid the rental. Are they going to put a $ hold on my debit card? I was reading somewhere something about them doing a credit check? and put a hold on the debit card until after the rental.

I can't speak for a pre-paid reservation but for a normal reservation: Visa card (credit or debit) actual charges only. MasterCard (credit or debit) actual charges plus $200.

AMEX, Discover, you'll have to get an answer from someone else.

I don't know anything about a credit check. Some of my friends have the worst credit records you can imagine but they have no problem renting a car.

I called AAA today. They said that at the counter I will have to pay a $200 deposit that I will get back when I return the car. I expressed my displeasure.

I would come prepared with two utility bills in your name showing no past due balances (not sure if it will be necessary at the location you chose but it was being implemented a lot of places including my location before I left Hertz).

They will also perform a soft pull of your credit through Equifax when you check out. Fair warning - no credit history can be a rental disqualifier, the same as negative credit history. I don't know the specifics of their algorithm, I just know someone personally who was denied after the credit check at an airport location for having too little credit history (rented his home, paid for vehicles in cash, held no credit cards)

Edit: Also yes I would plan for a $200 deposit over the cost including taxes of your rental. If it is taken, it's returned once the rental is closed. The money is released to the bank, not you, which can cause a delay depending on the bank. I would expect that $200 to be inaccessible for a week after your rental, just to be on the safe side.

I don't have any utilities in my name. My credit is pretty poor. Life happens sometimes, and few years ago I was layed off and my I am still trying to rebuild my credit. I can't get a credit card (even though I was able to lease a brand new car, lol). I prepaid for the car rental so I will just make sure to save $200 aside.

Why are you calling the AAA? The AAA doesn't even host their own reservation system. They don't know anything.

There will be NO DEPOSIT required if a Visa debit or credit card is used. We've already gone through this dozens of times in this forum.

I can certainly verify that based on friends who have NEVER rented from Hertz before and they don't have any deposit on their rental when using a Visa debit or credit card (and more than one has bad credit).

Because I booked through there website. So I called the local office, but they transferred me on since I booked and payed online. Apparently Priceline runs there website.

Priceline doesn't know a damn thing either (and likely you spoke with someone that isn't in the USA, anyway). Only Hertz does. Call the local station where you are renting from.