Car rental thru travelzoo - T&Cs ?

Hi and sorry (I didn%26#39;t know where to post this question)!

I was trying to take advantage of a deal on travelzoo for one day free rental with Hertz. No matter what date I use it%26#39;s not valid (they advise of blackout dates but don%26#39;t tell you what they are)! All the other T%26amp;Cs are listed and I meet them.

Never having used travelzoo before I am not sure if I am doing something wrong however the Hertz website physically removes the promo code %26amp; states ';Not all requirements for the Promotion Coupon - 127595 requested have been met. We have removed the Promotion Coupon from your request to provide you with the best rate. If you would still like to take advantage of the Promotion Coupon, please refer to the offer details to meet all necessary requirements. [DRX141]'; I can%26#39;t find any refererence to the ACTUAL blackout dates. Any thoughts on this?

FWIW I am renting for 7 days and dropping at LAX - the quote I am getting is $399 for an intermediate vehicle like a Mazda 6 (which I wanted since I am familiar with the vehicle on an everyday basis at home). The quoted price seems a little steep to me (esp. considering with the exchange this equates to AUD$606!)...or, at least, more than I really wanted to pay when you include gas.

I am really only renting the car because all info I have suggests I HAVE to. Of course we are planning on seeing places that, by all accounts, really do need us in charge of a motor vehicle (Getty, Griffth, the Zoo) but I am wondering whether it would just be better to cab it to those few attractions and then rely on the bus or metro for everything else? We are staying in WeHo so the metro line isn%26#39;t immediately accessible but the buses are (DASH I think). Thoughts?

Sorry for all the questions...

Car rental thru travelzoo - T%26amp;Cs ?

I can%26#39;t really address the Travelzoo blackout date issue because, I%26#39;m not privy to the terms of the promo code either. But it seems to me that if you%26#39;ve entered your desired dates and the promo doesn%26#39;t work then you can%26#39;t use the promo code (unless you have unlimited flexibility to change your travel dates until you stumble on dates that work).

Re: the Mazda 6, you are not GUARANTEED to be given that car (the terms of all car hire companies are the same: the model you%26#39;ve requested or %26#39;similar%26#39;.

You didn%26#39;t indicate your travel dates (rates change by the season) but I did a couple of quick searches for the week of April 13th to the 20th (pickup and dropoff at LAX) on the following websites:

TRAVELOCITY.com

Travelocity returned a Madza 626 being offered through ';Hertz Simply Wheelz for $209.34 (This excludes additional insurance, Check the Hertz website for this cost).

YESCARHIRE.com

Yescarhire provided a quote of 130.20 GBP (INCLUDING additional insurance) = about $200 US -- a great deal. While they don%26#39;t disclose the make or model of the car (or the car hire company) until you agree to pay for it and provide credit card info, yescarhire uses Alamo in California. Alamo%26#39;s website lists the Pontiac G6 as their mid-size vehicle.

Good luck!

Car rental thru travelzoo - T%26amp;Cs ?

Thanks for that good info HopSkipJump!

I%26#39;ll follow up on those websites you gave me and see if any appeal after I read the fine print. Alamo are a reputable company AFAIK, correct? Seems like a nice deal on the face of things! FWIW I realise that Hertz et al do not guarantee the car make ...but I am forever the optimist and I figured there was a chance...maybe a remote chance.. but nonetheless, a chance! hehe

Hmmm I have to say that I am very cynical about the Hertz blackout date provisions now I%26#39;ve ttried 800 different date combinations...seems to me no matter the date you try it%26#39;s not avail. with the promo; I smell a rat! Anyway....

Thanks again.

The hertz deal is for weekend days only so you%26#39;d have to book after Thursday noon and return by Monday in order not to get that ';requirements'; message.

The rate you quote does seem high but maybe you are booking too early, car ';deals'; don%26#39;t come up until about 45 days before travel for the most parts. Hertz.com will list other special rates on their website over to the left, also check Avis.com under ';deals';. As non-U.S. citizen you will also need certain insurance with the rental, check as the Avis rates sometimes include all these insurances.

Hi msMelburnian,

In addition to the noon Thurs thru noon Sun requirement, the offer you refer to is valid for vehicle pickup through March 31, 2009. Perhaps your travel dates fall after this time? And a 7 day rental would not be eligible for a weekend rate, which usually is a 2 to 3 day rental period.

If your rental period is for 5 to 7 24-hour periods, you will be eligible for a weekly rate.

If the quote for the airport seems too high, you might try to check prices at one of the Hertz Local Edition locations. There should be some in the West Hollywood area. Local edition locations do offer free pickup and dropoff within a small radius of their locations. Maybe you can get a cab or shuttle from the airport to your hotel, and then rent a car locally?

Tha airport locations are much higher than city locations in most instances due to hefty airport surcharges.

If you are a AAA or Auto Club member in Australia, don%26#39;t forget to ask if there is a member discount off the rate.

Hope this helps. :)

If you have booked your flights through a Travel Agent, ask them what deals they can do for car rental as we got an Earlybird deal where we got an upgrade for booking by March 31st. So we booked a compact %26amp; were upgraded to an intermediate for the price of a compact. I know many people prefer to book car rental direct, but a good Travel Agent can do a package deal which does save money. And for us all the insurance %26amp; extra charges were included in the price so we didn%26#39;t have any suprises when we picked the car up.

Thanks for your replies :) (oh yes and Happy New Year to you all!).

I have spent quite a few hours looking at what this is going to cost me (and arm and a leg basically) so I am now rethinking my entire need for a car. I guess I can learn to love buses....

FYI the best deal I%26#39;ve found to date is ~$300 for 5 days rental in an intermediate car (with insurance etc included). That%26#39;s not too shabby but it will still leave a big %26#39;ol dent in the wallet. I think I can probably get away with using public transport for all but 1 or 2 days in reality and in the process save myself a tonne of money which I can better spend on eating out or entertainment.

Unfortunately I dont think I can ask a travel agent to do me a deal...since I booked this whole trip from go-to-whoa by myself. Also it appears I don%26#39;t qualify for any of the many specials/promos offered by any of the car rental firms. There seems to be a common theme as to why....

(1) Blackout dates %26gt; February 12鈥?2, 2009 i.e. when I need a car!

(2) Non-participating locations %26gt; California! i.e. where I need a car!

Thanks for the info provided...it%26#39;s still a work in progress so please do pass on any other advice/tips! Thanks!

Keep in mind that if you%26#39;re staying in WEHO you%26#39;re going to be spending over $100 just for your cab or shuttle back and forth from LAX to your hotel. So factor in things like that when pricing the car...also check on parking rates at your chosen hotel.