Rental car rewards program or deals??

[riverwed070707]

I have a couple trips coming up that are going to require me to rent a car. One is business (work pays) and the second is personal. I've looked at all the major companies and they are quite a bit more expensive than I expected! Wondering where people have gotten the best deals -- specifically for our personal trip to New Jersey.

Secondly, I didn't know if any of them had stellar rewards programs that would be worth checking into. I know Hertz charges an annual fee and I won't use it enough to justify that. I am a platinum Marriott member and I do get Marriott points for using Hertz though so maybe they would be worth it? Just didn't know if there were others worth looking into.

Thanks!

[bjl584]

This has come up recently, and the majority of opinion was that the better financial option is to not rent but to drive your own car. So, can I ask why this trip will require a rental?

As for your question, I've only rented through my company when I travel, so i'm not much help to you with that.

[BuckyBadger]

This has come up recently, and the majority of opinion was that the better financial option is to not rent but to drive your own car. So, can I ask why this trip will require a rental?

As for your question, I've only rented through my company when I travel, so i'm not much help to you with that.

My guess would be that these are car rentals attached to a flight somewhere. Not that she is renting a car to drive to the area of interest.

[disneysteve]

Try bidding on Priceline. My cousin, who lives in Florida, just did that. He is actually arriving here in NJ tonight for a 3-week stay and rented his car that way. That was by far the best deal he was able to find.

[riverwed070707]

This has come up recently, and the majority of opinion was that the better financial option is to not rent but to drive your own car. So, can I ask why this trip will require a rental?

As for your question, I've only rented through my company when I travel, so i'm not much help to you with that.

Exactly what the above poster said. We're flying to NJ and then driving down to DC. Its far cheaper than flying directly into DC and we're taking the opportunity to do some sightseeing along the east coast so public transportation isn't really ideal. Driving our own car would mean spending 3 of our 5 day vaca driving and isn't really a comparable option...

Try bidding on Priceline. My cousin, who lives in Florida, just did that. He is actually arriving here in NJ tonight for a 3-week stay and rented his car that way. That was by far the best deal he was able to find.

Would have never thought of this! Thanks.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

Are you a Costco member? I've found even better deals via Costco than booking through Priceline. Also, if you go the Priceline route, check BiddingForTravel.com first to see what winning bids are for others renting cars in the same area.

[riverwed070707]

Are you a Costco member? I've found even better deals via Costco than booking through Priceline. Also, if you go the Priceline route, check BiddingForTravel.com first to see what winning bids are for others renting cars in the same area.

Unfortunately, not a costco member. We don't have one here. Will check out that site. Thanks!

[adpiterp]

Priceline is a great idea! We have used Hotwire in the past also. I use Hertz for work since we have automatic Gold Rewards.