Renting a car
Everything about rental cars
Rental car booking
Since 2014, we have been booking our cars exclusively via the various online portals or directly with the rental company. For us, the main advantage compared to travel agencies is that we can compare prices transparently and easily cancel bookings if the car becomes cheaper over time.
The first thing we look at is the price. The following criteria must also be met for us:
- Fully comprehensive insurance without deductible and incl. insurance against uninsured third parties in accidents
- Liability insurance with at least 1Million US$ coverage
- Tire and glass insurance
- Unlimited miles
- At least one additional driver (spouses and partners with the same address are automatically included as drivers with some of the major rental companies, e.g. Alamo. You do not have to book and pay for this separately)
We have booked through the following portals so far:
USA to GO! - Here you can get a discount of up to 20% from Alamo through USA to GO! To do this, you have to register for free with USA to GO! The rental contract is then concluded directly with Alamo via a separate booking mask. There are three different insurance packages, depending on which additional requirements you have. The booking can be canceled until shortly before arrival. If you have any problems, you have a personal contact at USA to GO! We have already booked here several times without any problems. The process is simple and since you get an Alamo booking number, you can also skip the counter without any problems.
Current 2024: Alamo has lowered the coverage of the additional liability insurance from $1 million to $300,000. When booking via USA to GO you therefore only have cover up to 300,000$. In Canada, the amount of insurance depends on the province and is not specified by USA to Go. We therefore recommend additional liability insurance, especially for Canada!!!
ADAC Car-Rental USA - If you book through ADAC, you have the possibility to compare the prices of the four largest rental companies (Alamo, National, Herz, Sixt). When booking, you make a deposit. The remaining amount is paid about four weeks prior to departure. Then you get the voucher, which you present on site at the counter. So far, we have only had good experiences with ADAC car rental in every respect and can recommend them. We had cars from Alamo and Hertz. As an ADAC member, you also get a discount.
We personally do not book via comparison portals, as there is usually an additional broker in addition to the rental company.
In addition, of course, you can still book through the rental companies themselves. Here is a selection of the largest car rental companies in the USA:
Alamo - Our preferred car rental company from which we have rented by far the most cars. So far we have had only good experiences.
Hertz - We have rented a car from Hertz three times so far. Basically, everything was always fine here too. However, we were quite annoyed in Atlanta 2016 about the rip-off at the end of the booking.
Budget - Up to now, we had a car from Budget once. So far everything was OK. We would book again with Budget.
National - National usually shares a rental station with Alamo, but we have not rented a car from National yet. In Houston, we got a car from National, because there were none in the booked category at Alamo. However, the booking was made through Alamo. The car was completely ok, we had no problems with it.
Other car rental companies are Dollar, Sixt , Avis and Thrifty. However, we have not yet had any experience with these four.
Notice: All car models at all rental companies (except the guaranteed Jeep Wrangler at Sixt) are only examples of the cars you can get in the booked category. It is never a guaranteed model. You should be aware of this to avoid disappointment and discussions on the spot. If cars are guaranteed in certain categories, it is always explicitly mentioned!
Checkin - Skip the Counter - Choiceline
All information in this section refers to a booking with Alamo, since that is the only rental company with which we have had experience with online check-in and skip the counter. With the other rental companies, we have so far always gone to the counter and were checked in there by an employee.
CHECKIN
We always do the checkin the week before we actually rent the car, because once you're checked in with Alamo, you can't cancel the reservation. The checkin itself is quite simple and works by using this link. You will receive the confirmation number when booking, regardless of how you have booked. To check in, you will need your driver's license and a credit card, which must be issued to the person renting the car. If you also provide your flight number, the rental company will know that you will be arriving late if your flight is delayed. Nevertheless, you should not choose the rental time too early, as you are generally only allowed to exceed the rental time by one hour. If you arrive later, you have to hope for goodwill. In the worst case, the booking will be forfeited. We always allow for a buffer of at least 1.5 hours after the flight is scheduled to land. Once you have cleared customs at the airport, follow the signs to Ground Transportation. Here you will find the shuttle bus stops of the various car rental companies, which will take you directly to the rental stations, which are usually located outside the airport. This service is free of charge. At some airports there are also trains that take you to the stations.
SKIP THE COUNTER
After you have successfully checked in, you can also skip the counter. This means that you no longer have to go to the counter at the rental station and can go directly to the Choicelines to choose a car. In the form that you have to fill out, you will be asked for additional services that you can book on the spot. These are e.g. child seats, GPS devices etc...... How it works exactly is also explained on the check-in page. If you have also successfully filled out this form, you will receive a QR code. This is best printed out or downloaded to your phone. Done!!!
CHOICELINE
If the rental station has a choiceline, it means that you can choose a car within the booked category. The keys are in the cars, you choose one and drive it to the exit. Here you show the QR code you received together with your driver's license and then you get the rental contract.
By now, all Alamo stations in the larger cities have a Choiceline. How well the choicelines are filled is completely unpredictable. Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you're not. If you don't like the offer, you have several options. Either you wait until a suitable car is driven out of the car wash or you simply take a car and exchange it at another Alamo station. You also can come back the next day and try your luck again.
Rental car return
There are two options here. On the one hand, you can return the car to the place where you rented it. On the other hand, you can also return the car to another station of the rental company.
If you return the car to another station, you may have to pay one-way fees. These depend on how far the two stations are from each other and vary from rental company to rental company. These fees are always paid on the spot after you have returned the car.
The return process is always the same. You simply follow the Rental Car Return signs of your rental company at the airports and return to the rental station. Here you are instructed by employees in the return queues. The car is checked, you get your receipt and you are done. If you don't have to pay one-way fees, you should make sure that the amount on your receipt is 0$, because usually you don't have to pay anything when you return the car. Directly at the car return, the shuttle buses are waiting to take you back to the airport.