Planning Holiday in USA - Car Hire, Airport advice

fiish

Hi,

I am planning a holiday in Texas, USA at the end of the year. The travel documents and flights are sorted and I am now looking at the aspects of hiring a car and travelling to Heathrow Airport.

This is my first time hiring a car in the US, so would any more experienced hands at this be able to offer any advice on booking, as well as what to look out for in the process? Also I am travelling with my family and we probably want additional drivers, what is the cheapest way to get those included?

In addition I am looking at ways of getting to Heathrow as I live outside London. Public transport is always in the frame but I am also considering booking long stay parking. As it is a morning flight we are catching we probably want to stay at a nearby hotel the night before flying, is it worth taking up one of those parking+hotel deals? Would the hotel car parks be more or less secure?

getmore4less

Depends how long you are going but a one way car hire can be got for £50 in the UK so that may be cheaper than the hotel/parking.

Also check the taxi fare it might also be reasonable if you don't live too far away.

We did the hotel/park in the holiday inn through holidayextras(secret hotel)

Same with US car hire if you use one of the majors or the the likes of holidayextras they include most things you need especialy the insurances.

Our last trip we found Hertz was the best for our 1 way hire in the US and they include spouce as an extra driver for free.

StuieUK34

Goto Netflights.com (for Texas) for car hire... If using Dollar, you will see there is the 'platinum' insurance option, which translates to: Tank of fuel and additional drivers. Should be no excess too
sweet!

cubegame

For car rentals, use a screen scraper like www.travelsupermarket.com www.kayak.co.uk or www.carrentals.co.uk

Netflights as suggested by others are rarely all that cheap but it's worth checking.

Parking at Heathrow is normally pretty cheap compared to other airports. Two weeks for £40 is possible.

StuieUK34

As suggested, you netflights for your car at IAH (Airport)
They pickup with Dollar who in turn give you a decent rate, and the option to pay for fuel up front and include additional drivers..
Or pick kayak or carrentals who link to Netflights and other companies, who will charge you more, or less for your car but dont include additional drivers so you get stung when you come to add them
It pays to have spent days working out who does better rates in the bigger picture, no excess's and all that.... which i have done for the multi trip i am doing next year... Netflights are good for that state, but there others who do similar rates when you throw in the additional drivers and tank of fuel

Lower_North

Depending how long you are going, and who you book your cae with join the loyalty scheme of the car hire company. I joined on line Dollar Express it enables you to use their express queue which is good at busy airport. also give free days hire for every 14 days hire (think its 14 maybe 15 lol). Heres their link ....
www.dollar.com

Join anyway cos its free

The car hire company in US will try to get you to take out extra CDW. MSE link is a must..... Step 3 in the link is much cheaper. If you booking a another car on another holiday, take the annual option.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-car-hire#stepfour

..... and watch out they will try to get you to upgrade your car, which will cost a lot more than you think (I got caught the first time).

ferf1223

StuieUK34 wrote: »

They pickup with Dollar who in turn give you a decent rate, and the option to pay for fuel up front

Netflights T&Cs states:

Fuel Policy

Dollar Rent a Car supplies all of its vehicles to renters full of fuel, and renters are charged an amount at the start of the rental for the fuel in the car. This amount may vary dependant on the category of vehicle. Renters are then instructed to return the vehicle as empty as possible. No refund is provided for unused fuel.



If the Platinum option is taken the vehicle will be full of fuel and you have pre paid 1 tank so can return the vehicle empty.


If you are a Dollar Express member, in my experience renting via other 3rd parties (Carhire3000), they give you the option - pre-pay for a tank of fuel and return the car empty...or do not pre-pay, and return the car full. Sometimes the latter makes a lot more sense.


Strictly speaking, Dollar normally provides the cars full, and expects them to be returned full. Normally only 3rd party booking have the requirement to pre-pay for a tank of fuel (either at the time of making the booking, or at the time you pick up the car).


I used to always rent from dollar.com as I didn't need the insurance waivers. Anymore, the difference in price in renting from dollar.com with no insurance (other than my CC coverage) and renting through a UK 3rd party with full coverage is so small as to not be worth it.

neilbond007

cubegame wrote: »

Netflights as suggested by others are rarely all that cheap but it's worth checking.

They've always been the cheapest when I've booked. Used them probably 50 times.
But I always go for the smallest car they have. There's only normally me or 1 other. The smallest car is big enough for a couple, easily.
I did notice that for larger cars other places had better deals.. .


EDIT - Just seen the above post. For the first time Dollar did charge me for a full tank of fuel. The price was comparable to the fuel prices around the area. So no rip off there. I took it back running on fumes too

gerardty

Spent two weeks in Texas this September. Hired a midsize SUV from US Car Hire (https://www.uscarhire.co.uk.) on their Silver package.We have used this company for our last three US trips with no problems. All the insurance options are covered by them. The SUV was supplied by Alamo. Alamo allows you to choose the particular car from a selection at Houston (IAH). Tank full (you pay) return empty. I would not pick any vehicle smaller than a Midsize SUV to drive in the US as everyone else drives them, especially in Texas.
Have a great trip.

neilbond007

gerardty wrote: »

I would not pick any vehicle smaller than a Midsize SUV to drive in the US as everyone else drives them, especially in Texas.
Have a great trip.

There are more SUV's / Trucks than in the UK but, still, the vast majority of people in the US drive regular cars.
Here's a link that's a couple of years old http://www.aftermarketnews.com/Item/37214/number_of_suvs_pickup_trucks_on_the_road_holds_strong_according_to_experian_automotive.aspx
Bear in mind the number of gas guzzlers will have come down since then too due to "cash for clunkers" and US people finally looking at cars that save $$. They even sell Fiestas over here now!!

I drive a Mazda3 and have never felt small or intimidated on the roads.

You don't need to pay for a SUV. Pick a car that will fit requirements!

StuieUK34

Booking a hire car with a UK agency has full CDW/LDW/SLI so avoid Brits being stung...
If booking direct with Dollar, then use Dollar.co.uk , not .Com
If you pick a car where its just a straight forward booking, prepare for a cost of around $10 per day additional drivers...

If i were you, and you wanted piece of mind, and drivers covered, go down the netflights.com route and use there 'platinum' package which gives you a tank of fuel and additional drivers.

Myself am hiring 1 car in Vegas, 1 in Fort Lauderdale, then another in Orlando.
I check everyday with 3 brokers, all for using the same rental firm (Dollar), each with there 'platinum/gold' cover for my fuel and missis to drive..
I use netflights.com , usrentacar.co.uk and dollar.co.uk
Bizarre as it sounds, sometimes netflights comes in a couple of quid cheaper for the car as opposed to the other 2, but thats on a few days rent... longer days the other 2 sites are a lot cheaper. and am waiting for the dollar to go over $1.60