luckydriver

i'm arriving 530pm on a friday in DFW to see my gf. my gf lives in allen (which is well east of dallas). her job is actually west of DFW. point being its 45 minutes from work, or the airport, to home. and she works that friday.

rental at the airport is 200 higher than renting in allen. crazy! so picking up a car at the airport really isnt an option

problem is rental places around allen seem to close before we could get there at 7 ish ( it is friday/traffic)

but even assuming she worked it out that she could get a cheaper car near home (like on thursday nite before i get there friday), how could i be put on the contract as 2nd driver without being at the counter? also does anyone NOT charge 2nd person fees. seems like a crazy fee to me

thing is we are doing a long trip and need to leave 5am saturday. even 730 that one place is open is not gonna cut it. we are doing a rental to the following friday traveling out of state.

as a secondary but not critical point. is it possible for her to hold the car in her name but when we get home it all be put on my CC so i get the miles?

3rdly. if anyone knows any DFW area deals for a weekly rental......

guv1976

What dates? What size vehicle? Do you qualify for any discounts like AAA, AARP, Costco, Sam's Club, USAA, etc.?

luckydriver

ideally pick up late friday march 8 and drop off anytime march 15th. premium soft ride car like impala etc. AAA

just cannot find any way around me being at the counter. i'm sure people drive even though they are supposed to. what is the real penalty if found out?

i did wanna also put the car on my CC to get the rental coverage and the miles.

ginmqi

So basically tons of people drive their family/friend's rental car while not officially signed up on the agreement. And probably over 90% of the time it's fine.

Basically if you don't get into an accident, you're fine. If they "find out" honestly no idea...never heard of someone getting penalized for this if the car is returned in appropriate condition.

Obviously do this at your own risk.

AutoSlash

Quick answer:

1. You can't be put on the rental contract without being present at the counter.

2. You can be put on the rental contract at any time during the rental period by visiting a rental office of the company you rented with. It does not have to be the same location you picked the car up from.

Now, while what @ginmqi said is probably true, it's also true that if you have an accident with the rental and are not an authorized driver on the rental contract, there is a high likelihood that the insurance company (be it your personal auto insurance, your credit card coverage, or the CDW from the rental company) will deny your claim and you will be responsible for the entire cost to fix the vehicle (and possibly even damage or injuries you do to someone else or their vehicle/property). Sure, if you back into a guardrail or whatever, you could just say your girlfriend was driving, but if you get into an accident with another vehicle and the police are called, you may be in a bind. Is it likely? Maybe not, but do you really want to take a chance?

Lastly, depending on what discount code is used for the rental, you may have to pay an additional driver fee. You might want to review this post from our blog to see if it can be avoided.

luckydriver

i see hertz is kind of close to her house and free add't driver if AAA and only 40 bucks more than enterprise

but do you think i can definitely add me the following day if we stop at another office on the way for hertz?

edit:

Individuals not automatically covered on the Rental Agreement as Authorized Operators noted above may be signed on as an "Additional Authorized Operator" (AAO). AAO's are all subject to an additional authorized operator fee, must be present and may be signed on to the rental agreement at the time of rental or during the rental at any US corporate location.

Renter and each AAO must be present to sign Rental Agreement, present an acceptable credit card or debit card (if renting city accepts debit cards) in their own name, or a current round-trip ticket (air, train or bus), show valid driver's license, and must be a minimum of 20 years of age. For those 20 through 24, the location's age differential fee will apply.

---------------
so what is a US corporate location. is that a stand alone store vs like hertz at a gas station?

i am also able to find AAA codes which bring the price down pretty good.

Auto Enthusiast

A US corporate location is, with Hertz, almost all of them, whether an airport, at a gas station, in a strip mall, etc. On the website, under Location Details, it will say something like Location Type: Corporate.

luckydriver

additionally, what are the chances they let me give them my CC to pay when i sign on the next day? or even return it the following week? i understand she will have a hold on her card likely a few days.

AutoSlash

As @autoenthusiast said, the vast majority of Hertz locations are corporate. If you look them up on Hertz.com, you'll see it like so:

Quote:

Originally Posted by luckydriver

additionally, what are the chances they let me give them my CC to pay when i sign on the next day? or even return it the following week? i understand she will have a hold on her card likely a few days.

Mid-rental, I'm not sure--possibly, but at the end of the rental, almost certainly. Just tell the return agent you want to change the card used on the rental. They'll send you inside to complete the return and swipe the card. Note that changing the card on the rental will likely void any collision coverage benefits associated with any credit cards used on the rental, meaning that if they try to come after you for damage post-rental, you may not be covered. Assuming your girlfriend's card has CDW coverage, it might just be better to just write your girlfriend a check.

Quote:

Originally Posted by luckydriver

ideally pick up late friday march 8 and drop off anytime march 15th. premium soft ride car like impala etc. AAA

For grins and giggles, I just checked, and I'm finding fullsize cars (Camry, Altima, etc.) in the Allen area for as low as $179 including tax for the week with Hertz and premium cars (Maxima, Impala, etc.) for as low as $230 including tax for the week, also with Hertz, depending on which affiliations you qualify for. At DFW, you're looking at $290 for a fullsize car for the week with Advantage or $318 with Hertz (depending on affiliations); it's $340/week for a premium with Sixt, which will get you a premium German make. You can use the links in our signature below to check rates and then email us to help find/refine results as needed.

klanfa

Yes, I've done it with Hertz multiple times at different locations, never an issue. It was also pretty quick IME. I reckon stopping at a small local Hertz (HLE) or a small airport without Ultimate Choice should be faster and easier.

IAHtraveler

As ways, great advice. But a check? We're not in 1994 anymore 😂

OP: any chance your GF and you share a residence and it can be proven by a froversd license or rental agreement/etc? Or work for the same company? Avis (and possibly others) will give "domestic partners" and coworkers automatic coverage when driving the car, so this could avoid the hassle of you needing to be listed as a driver.

As others noted, yeah, just swap the card upon return .this shouldn't be an issue at all.

luckydriver

please post the location at airport where you found fullsize for 318. we were looking for premium (maxima etc) but when i looked at DFW they were all over 400 or 500 bucks compared to the 300 ish in allen. renting when i got off the plane would be solving all our problems at hertz since AAA gives you free 2nd person.

i just did a friday 8th to friday 15th rental premium DFW hertz and got 627 and even compact was 477 (which i dont want).

only affiliation i have is AAA

AutoSlash

It was Hertz at the DFW airport. I just fed your details into our system and, not knowing exactly what you qualified for, left all of the affiliation options checked.

The $318 rate requires the USAA discount. If I remove everything except AAA, the best option for Hertz becomes $419 with the AAA discount. (Both also have 15% off coupons applied.)

Looks like there are some lower rates available today, too. If you're a Costco member (or are willing to pay the $60 to join), you can get Alamo for $284 (that comes with a free additional driver, too). Or without Costco, you can get Alamo for $289 with the Southwest Rapid Rewards discount (free to join if you're not already a member). Both also have a $30-off coupon applied.

Anyway, you can feed your details into the quote link below in our signature to find these rates.

Anna Phor

I'm not understanding why your girlfriend can't just rent the car in Allen then drive to pick you up at the airport? What am I missing?

cblaisd

I just plugged in DFW-Allen into the Uber fare estimator, and it's $52 for UberX and $72 for UberXL