How to Get the Lowest Rates on Your Next Car Rental
The day before yesterday I was supposed to go to Amsterdam, so I called Hertz online and reserved a car for two days. It sounded like only one would be enough, but then all of us know that Amsterdam is big, everyone drives there in the wrong way even though they just want to go somewhere else – find out how not too – and most roads are closed at night during festive occasions. So it’s best to have your own car if you’re forced into spending time there.
The reservation seemed straightforward enough, but Hertz had a surprise waiting for me on my arrival: an extra charge of 20 euros per day! Did I make a mistake? How come? Have you heard of anything like that? I told them that I didn’t even know there was such a thing as an extra charge for the driver, but they insisted it wasn’t their mistake. But when I pointed out another car rental company whose price for the same car with the same mileage included 2 days, they decided to let me pay only 80 euros in total instead of 100. Wasn’t I lucky!
Here’s what happened:
When you call Hertz to make your reservation, the operator is likely to ask you which credit card is being use to reserve the vehicle. Once you say what it is, she types it into her computer and then checks its validity (the expiry date). This is standard procedure at most companies providing this service. What happens next is that this data is stored in some system – at Hertz, the computer may just store it on the hard disk or maybe print out a paper slip which will be put right into your file. Add to this the fact that Hertz car rental offices are usually very busy; if they were not busy (i.e., if no one had reserved any vehicles) there wouldn’t even be someone around to ask you for your credit card number and signature, which you should provide no matter what.
So how can you save money using Hertz?
Well, first of all the first thing I did was call those to check whether they do charge an extra fee for drivers fewer than 25 years old. The operator told me they don’t – but only after I had already reserved the car! And then, just to make sure, I called them once more and this time they said that it wasn’t true, but again only after I had made my reservation!
So even though you can check whether or not. Hertz is likely to charge you for using their rental cars by calling them up prior to making your reservation. Keep in mind that this won’t work on weekends and at night. What you should do is make your reservation. And call back one more time to double-check the cost of renting the car. You might save yourself 20 euros or something like that; it’s a 200 euro difference between two vehicles you may want to go with the cheaper one as well.
If Hertz says no to the extra fee for drivers under 25. All you have to do is show them your driver’s license upon pickup so they can check your date of birth.
If you’re taking a cab from the airport, make sure it’s not one of those officials looking cabs. Most probably they are trying to rip you off! That happened to me once in Rome, when I paid about twice as much as the normal fare. Because my hotel was quite far away from the airport. My advice? Just wait outside for a bit until some taxi drives by and catch one that already has someone in it. Most probably he knows how to get downtown or close-by where your hotel is. This you will always pay less than if you call for a taxi.
You can also ask your hotel’s reception to help you find one. They usually have an idea where these taxis are waiting. And how much it should cost, so the price would be reasonable all around. Oh, and never forget to check whether or not your driver included the toll roads charge in the initial quote! I did that once and ended up paying 2 euro more than what could have been expect. Just because of this silly oversight on my side. Watch out!
Conclusion:
Call Hertz one more time before renting their car to check how much it will cost you. With all the extras included. And most importantly – always double-check your cab fare when you’re leaving the airport!