Hi guys, was wondering if anyone with experience or expertise in US travel can be if help..
I'm getting very confused and overwhelmed with understanding car hire in the US (LA). I'm trying to find s good deal on an all-inclusive rate for car hire sonim not "surprised" with all the extra tax costs etc when I go to pick up the car but even the all-inclusive rates have a lot of exclusions and I'm unsure as to what other insurance I will need?
Also, is SCTI the best travel insurance to go for family cover (2 adults, 1 baby), coming in at around $270 for 32 days travel to the USA which seems pretty good.
Thanks in advance for any input:)
Go here for details on car rental insurance
www.carhireinsider.com.au/car-hire-insurance/
They have a good amount of info. I used the company carinsurance4 which is now no longer available. (see others they recommend). It costs something around $100 for a 12 month WORLDWIDE policy, so covers trips at least 150KM from home. eg Syd - Melb. They give much higher SLI coverage (upto $1Mill Vs Car Rental co 15-30K) and you are wise to have this extra cover. (I am going on memory on prices here so check and make sure you get the one that includes the USA)
Also means you can go for a cheaper travel insurance cover, one that doesnt have car rental excess coverage.
Non US residents are wise to take out SLI as US residents can access their private car insurance SLI when renting, where we dont have that included in our car policies as they are not for US use.
Car Rental.
Join your selected vendors club. You will get some discounts for doing so. It also helps when picking up the car. They do treat you a little better.
in LA you cant rent an Economy car, but you can get a quote and price for 1. They then upgrade you one level. Although this trick isnt so good now a days as the price saving is in the order of $5 a week.
Last time I used the following and with my $20 a week off coupon with my car rental VIP membership (free) I got a Nissan Sentra for $US75 a week. - With taxes it was around $US90 a week.
How?
As you can book a car, but are not required to make a payment, you book at a rate, then every few days check by making another reservation request. If the rate drops, book it, then cancel the old booking. 2 Years ago I got the best rate 2 weeks out. Last year it was 3 weeks and these vary according to supplier. I did find when the rate increases it never goes back down, so if you find the price is going up, you can stop this game. Oh and there is no charge for cancelling, they dont even have your credit card details. I had two bookings one for a thursday and another for a friday in case I got bumped from my cheap standby ticket on the first day. I used my ipad to cancel the next days booking while in the rental car lot.
My $US75 rate had started at $US120
I used Alamo, but previously I used Thrifty and National and the trick works the same.
All BTW give you an area to pick your own car from. eg Alamo/national have cars in class lines. So you can find one that suits rather than be given a 2 door when you want a 4 door etc.
Only thing to remember is that car rental is limited by the insurance and generally by the companies to, 30 days on each hire. So you might need to arrange a break in the rental at a convenient time. BUT watch charges if you rent from one location and return to another. Big charges apply.
If you are going to LA, then I guess you will spend at least a few days there. DL Hollywood etc. Then rent a car for that time, then book another when you go outside LA if you are going to have a car for more than 30 days.
The US is fun if you have a car. Also if you have an ipad or iphone, there is a great app that can give you Gas prices, so you can find cheaper fuel on your trip. LA and SF have fairly high prices.
Enjoy your trip. - If you can go to Bryce Canyon - 4 hours from Vegas - its mind blowing beauty