iahphx

I've noticed that, when using the above one-way rates with National, you can often get a further discount by applying a coupon (the codes tend to be more available for multi-day rentals). Plug in a few of the applicable coupon codes from this post and try to find one that works withyour one-way rental, Generally, the "dollars off" rates will work but the "free day" won't:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/12712094-post1.html

sandibeach

none of the national codes worked for my one way rental.

iahphx

That's highly improbable. What's your itinerary?

maverick17

does the amount of savings make it more likely any i.d./affiliation will be questioned? my savings with one of the codes (thanks for sharing them) would be quite a bit.

maverick17

i kept trying them as coupons, with none working, thinking my location at EWR was the issue. then it dawned on me to try as contract and made all the difference.

iahphx

You never know. I'd go with the best code. It might help to have a story ready if you need one -- and a back-up plan.

I have a feeling that this code thing is all a game. The car rental companies could be much tougher on codes if they wanted to be. Of course, they'd lose a lot of business if they were.

iowa guy

What percentage off of the one-way base rate have you been able to get with the codes?

iahphx

They're not "percentage off" rates: they're generally fixed rates. Depending on how awful the best published rate is in the markets you need for your dates, they can result in savings of 80%+.

drsh99

I'm not seeing the crazy-huge savings some have mentioned in this thread. Are some of these codes low base rate AND unlimited mileage? Using one of the University codes in the top section of the post, I get a low base rate of about $184 for a premium car for a 4 day rental. But, there are no miles included. Mileage costs .30/mile.

iahphx

Is that a National rate? The beauty of the National rate is that it's unlimited miles. The Avis rates do suffer from the problem.

RustyC

Would also echo the thanks for information-sharing on all this. I've had 21 or so years of sporadic experience with various one-ways, sometimes landing a good deal but often having to wade through a lot of bad ones. Back in the pre-Internet days when some companies were bad about telling you one thing on the phone and another at the counter, you had to be exceptionally careful about making sure there wasn't a drop charge and, if there was, finding out what it was. Most agents at the car companies weren't well-trained to handle one-ways and acted like it was deviant behavior. National was a pioneer in not having drop charges and long recommended by Clark Howard, though the trade-off was usually the higher daily rate.

On the Florida specials I used to do the seasonal driveaways most years. I usually went with a 5-day rental and applied the best weekly coupon against it, plus whatever other discounts were stackable. I think my all-time best was under $10 a-i for 5 days, though nowadays the $3+ gas fouls the equation and no doubt had dented the take on the driveaways (they used to "sell out" not long after being announced).

After the floodgates opened on intra-Florida drops they used to be cheap, but it seems lately the car companies have been giving separate daily rates for those and really upping them.

One use for one-ways is to drive to another airport to "launch" a trip with a low-fare ticket originating out of there, but with routing on the return through your home airport and skipping the last segment.

drsh99

Yes, its the National Rate for University of Chicago. which are unlimited?

iahphx

I don't think I've linked that one. Have you tried the "Big 10" rate in the first post?

drsh99

No, I just used Univ of Chicago, since its my real affiliation.

Majikow

Awesome thread. Thanks all who contributed.

I just tried getting a one-way rental from AUS to SAT for 2 days and it was like $300-400. Ridiculous. I used the Priceline code on Avis.com and got it to $69. I am a little afraid that they may give me grief when I get there about the drop fee of $200, so just in case I might make a reservation with National jst in case (used the Car&Driver code with the $10 Ent book coupon code and got it to $119).

Has anyone ever had an issue with Avis and using the Priceline code?

I was also able to get a total of $99 with no drop fee through Avis with the BJ's wholesale (which I am a member of) discount code (A415900).