USA Car Hire
Options
clappyclaps
Posts: 3 Newbie
Hi all,
I'm travelling to Orlando on 22nd September for 2 weeks and I'm hoping for some advice on car hire please.
I booked my entire package through Thomas Cook and opted for the free Alamo car included, with the knowledge that it only included third party liability insurance. I then purchased car hire excess insurance through LeisureGuard as mentioned on the MSE website that cost around £50.
However I've made a bit of a faux pas - I forgot to check how many drivers were included in the free car. I've now confirmed with Thomas Cook that only one driver is included, which is a pain as I need two. I know you can pay to add additional drivers through Alamo. I do have 2 drivers listed on the LeisureGuard insurance, but I'm not sure if that makes a difference?
Can anyone advise on how best to get an additional driver added please? Should I wait and add it on once I pick the car up at the airport or should I try and add it on now in advance directly with Alamo? Or are there any other alternative options I could consider? Preferably the cheapest route possible.
Any assistance would be hugely appreciated.
Thank you
I'm travelling to Orlando on 22nd September for 2 weeks and I'm hoping for some advice on car hire please.
I booked my entire package through Thomas Cook and opted for the free Alamo car included, with the knowledge that it only included third party liability insurance. I then purchased car hire excess insurance through LeisureGuard as mentioned on the MSE website that cost around £50.
However I've made a bit of a faux pas - I forgot to check how many drivers were included in the free car. I've now confirmed with Thomas Cook that only one driver is included, which is a pain as I need two. I know you can pay to add additional drivers through Alamo. I do have 2 drivers listed on the LeisureGuard insurance, but I'm not sure if that makes a difference?
Can anyone advise on how best to get an additional driver added please? Should I wait and add it on once I pick the car up at the airport or should I try and add it on now in advance directly with Alamo? Or are there any other alternative options I could consider? Preferably the cheapest route possible.
Any assistance would be hugely appreciated.
Thank you
0
Comments
-
Alamo offer a US Gold package with 3 drivers.
You could attempt to upgrade direct with Alamo or via Thomas Cook.
Otherwise, it will be easy enough to add an extra driver at pickup (for a fee)0 -
clappyclaps wrote: »Hi all,
I'm travelling to Orlando on 22nd September for 2 weeks and I'm hoping for some advice on car hire please.
I booked my entire package through Thomas Cook and opted for the free Alamo car included, with the knowledge that it only included third party liability insurance. I then purchased car hire excess insurance through LeisureGuard as mentioned on the MSE website that cost around £50.
However I've made a bit of a faux pas - I forgot to check how many drivers were included in the free car. I've now confirmed with Thomas Cook that only one driver is included, which is a pain as I need two. I know you can pay to add additional drivers through Alamo. I do have 2 drivers listed on the LeisureGuard insurance, but I'm not sure if that makes a difference?
Can anyone advise on how best to get an additional driver added please? Should I wait and add it on once I pick the car up at the airport or should I try and add it on now in advance directly with Alamo? Or are there any other alternative options I could consider? Preferably the cheapest route possible.
Any assistance would be hugely appreciated.
Thank you
You made an addition faux pas in purchasing the cheapest insurance you could find. The car comes with;
Liability cover offering third party liability protection to the state minimum of $20,000 per accident.
Every insurance policy with SLI offers US$1,000,000 in liability coverage. US$20,000 won't get you very far in the event of an incident. You chose a policy sans SLI.
Don't assume that you will be able to add a driver on site; http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5515680#50 -
Should not have bothered with the 'free' Thomas Cook car, as it's far from it. The Alamo Gold package would have included everything, most likely for less than you've paid for the additional insurance and extra driver.Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear0
-
peachyprice wrote: »Should not have bothered with the 'free' Thomas Cook car, as it's far from it. The Alamo Gold package would have included everything, most likely for less than you've paid for the additional insurance and extra driver.
This, of course, is nonsense.
Why you would repeat it when it has been proven time and again to be totally wrong?
The actual issue is that they might not be able to add an additional driver.0 -
Leisureguard Excess Insurance only covers up to £6k, so it is not a replacement for LDW or CDW. It only covers any of the Excess that you would pay in the case of an incident up to this limit. A full loss could be £20k plus. And in any case most rentals in the US obtained through a normal booking site now includes zero Excess, so Excess insurance is often not necessary in any case.
As indicated it is often better value to ignore the "free" car hire and just book your own with what you want included. And do not go for a SATNAV with a rental car unless included free. Cheaper to buy a basic cheap local one in Walmart or similar and if you do not want to keep for future, put on eBay when you get home. Or just use your smart phone remembering to download a suitable app and/or maps before you go so as not to use £££ data.0 -
Leisureguard Excess Insurance only covers up to £6k, so it is not a replacement for LDW or CDW. If only governable the Excess that you would pay in the case of an incident. A full loss could be £20k plus. And in any case most rentals in the S obtained through a normal booking site now includes zero Excess, so Excess insurance is often not necessary in any case.
As indicated it is often better value to ignore the "free" car hire and just book your own with what you want included. And do not go for a sag have bug buy a local one in Walmart or similar.
No, it is never better value for a 14 day+ hire, unless you need to add an extra driver or want a totally different car in the first place.
But hey ho, repeat the mantra enough and some may actually believe you.
Take the time to actually run a model instead of just making it up as you go along.
Though of course you are quite right in confirming that the LeisureGuard policy is totally unsuitable.
Hint: There is already a link in this thread, linking to actual costs.0 -
This, of course, is nonsense.
Why you would repeat it when it has been proven time and again to be totally wrong?No, it is never better value for a 14 day+ hire, unless you need to add an extra driver or want a totally different car in the first place.
Totally wrong?
I have just been on to the Thomas cook website and done a dummy booking for a holiday in Orlando.
Their fully inclusive car hire insurance costs "from £28 per day".
For an 11 day holiday beginning in September the insurance from Thomas Cook for an economy car is £313 and for 14 days it will be £369.
I also did a dummy booking through Alamo Brits and for the same class of vehicle for the same dates with fully inclusive insurance it will cost £293 and £320
To use the Alamo Brits partner booking you are meant to have a copy of the Alamo Brits handbook, something that can be bought for £9.74 new or a few £s cheaper if secondhand.0 -
George_Michael wrote: »Totally wrong?
I have just been on to the Thomas cook website and done a dummy booking for a holiday in Orlando.
Their fully inclusive car hire insurance costs "from £28 per day".
For an 11 day holiday beginning in September the insurance from Thomas Cook for an economy car is £313 and for 14 days it will be £369.
I also did a dummy booking through Alamo Brits and for the same class of vehicle for the same dates with fully inclusive insurance it will cost £293 and £320
To use the Alamo Brits partner booking you are meant to have a copy of the Alamo Brits handbook, something that can be bought for £9.74 new or a few £s cheaper if secondhand.
Yes, totally wrong. You have clearly missed the whole point of this thread.
You have scored a D minus. Please try harder.
The link in post #3 may help you to see the error of your ways.0 -
headpin stated that it was often better value to ignore the "free" car and book a separate one instead:Yes, totally wrong. You have clearly missed the whole point of this thread.
You have scored a D minus. Please try harder.
The link in post #3 may help you to see the error of your ways.
and you replied stating that this was incorrect and never the case:As indicated it is often better value to ignore the "free" car hire and just book your own with what you want included.No, it is never better value for a 14 day+ hire, unless you need to add an extra driver or want a totally different car in the first place.
But hey ho, repeat the mantra enough and some may actually believe you
I have since shown that it is you who is wrong and that booking a car through Alamo with fully inclusive insurance and not bothering with the Thomas Cook "free" car does in some cases, save money.
It is very simple for you to go to the Alamo Brits website:
https://www.alamo.co.uk/partners/members/brits/
and find out for yourself that hiring a car from them complete with full insurance coverage is often cheaper than the cost of the insurance alone when supplied by Thomas Cook.0 -
George_Michael wrote: »headpin stated that it was often better value to ignore the "free" car and book a separate one instead:
and you replied stating that this was incorrect and never the case:
I have since shown that it is you who is wrong and that booking a car through Alamo with fully inclusive insurance and not bothering with the Thomas Cook "free" car does in some cases, save money.
It is very simple for you to go to the Alamo Brits website:
https://www.alamo.co.uk/partners/members/brits/
and find out for yourself that hiring a car from them complete with full insurance coverage is often cheaper than the cost of the insurance alone when supplied by Thomas Cook.
It seems that you are still not getting it. Though seem to think that if you repeat yourself that things will change all of a sudden.
No, you are still wrong.
I don't like to repeat myself, but once again, refer to the hyperlink in post #30
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.1K Life & Family
- 247.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards