3 Ways To Get Car Rental Deals and Free Upgrades

They're few ways to get car rental deals and upgrades when renting a car. Many of these techniques are much simplier than you expect such as:

Technique #1- Joining the car rental membership or corporate members program

Many times just by being a member of a rental companies car
rental programs, you’ll periodically received discount coupons including car rental deals and free upgrades. The standard membership programs are usually
free for everybody and only carry your details, so that you don’t have to
provide address, etc. every time you rent. The better ones (“platinum”,
“privilege”, etc.) often entitle you to free upgrades. You get them by either simply
renting a lot of cars or, if you are lucky, your company already has received a
lot of them, so that you not only get a special rate or even better, your very
own membership card.
Technique# 2- Make friends at the Car rental counter

This method works well when you rent at smaller airports, railway stations 
and in city locations, to get car rental deals and free upgrades,
especially when the crew at the rental desk is familiar with your face and they don’t rotate too often. At best, it is always the same person when you arrive. Take the time to build personal and business
relationships with the people at the counter, remember their names, exchange business
cards, bring them small cheap gifts and make sure you extend compliments. Be
the person that brightens their day, you’ll be surprised how a small token
could go a long way when you rent cars. Make it a positive experience for them,
so they can happily reward you with a car bigger / faster / more beautiful car.
Don’t get offended if this doesn’t work every time, they may be short on cars
or have many reservations that day. Always remember you made a friend that
remembers your name and there’s always next week or the next time you rent.

Technique# 3- Don’t be afraid to ask for a free upgrade

As the saying goes, “ask and it shall be given” many times
because of the relationship you have built, the conversation from the counter
to the car, the car rental rep may be feeling very generous that day. Many
times, rental companies are short on cars and may not have the size car you reserved
and they do not have an option but to give you an free upgrade, but often time they
will try to get you to pay more, before they offer a free upgrade. At the end of
the day, the car rental rep, has all power to issue you a free upgrade, your
ability to build relationship with them can be very beneficial. Don’t be afraid
to ask!!!

Thanks for reading, if you want to know more about how to get car rental deals and free upgrades, or would like to ask us a question before your next car rental experience, visit us at www.RentaCarSecrets.com.

Should I Use My Debit Or Credit Card When Renting A Car?

Using a major credit card is always the best option when renting a car. Major credit cards offer many benefits such as more options while renting, rental coverage, towing and mileage point which we all love. However the number one benefit to me is during the car rental process. The car rental sales associate will take your card and make an authorization charge. An Authorization charge is when, a hold or freeze of a specific amount is placed on the card by the car rental company. This is not a charged but the authorized amount will be unavailable to you until released by the car rental company.


These charges varies by car rental company or even by location, but a common authorization charge would be $250.00 plus the cost of the rental. The difference between using your major credit card versus your debit card, is that on your major credit card it isn't a charge made, just an authorization hold. (money secured but not charged). While your debit card because linked to checking account will immediately withdraw any authorizations made by the car rental company and has a temporary time period before any refunds are posted back to your checking account. This time period normally takes 1-2 business days. In order to use your debit card, a visa or master card logo must be present visibly on the physical card and gift cards are not accepted.


It is possible to use both your credit or debit card or either one when returning the rental vehicle. Many Individuals authorized the rental on their major credit card, so they do not tie up emergency funds with their bank, by using their debit card to initially rent the car and upon returning the rental vehicle, kindly ask to use another card, debit or major credit card. However the card or cards you use to pay for the final charges of the car rental bill has to be in the same name of the primary driver on the car rental contract. Car Rental Company's do this to eliminate fraudulent charge backs to their accounts.


Either way, both major credit cards or debit cards work and posses many benefits, but its ultimately up to the renter to decide what would be best to use pertaining to their specific situation and what works best in their favor. Thanks for reading, if you want to know more about renting a car, or would like to ask us a question before your next car rental experience, visit us at www.RentaCarSecrets.com.


Thanks,

RentaCarSecrets.com

SHOULD I TAKE THE DAMAGE WAIVER INSURANCE?

This thought has suppressed everyone that has rented a car and the decision to accept or refuse has become a staged event. First off, if you’re totally clueless to what damage waiver is, its commonly called “CDW”, which stands for collision damage waiver. Car Rental Company’s offer this additional insurance to help boost their (O.P), operating profits. The insurance normally covers up to $35,000 worth of damages and “loss of use” for the rental vehicle, including suv’s, small pickup trucks, cargo vans, low end luxury cars and regular passenger vehicles.

This insurance is almost offered by the rental company’s sales associates, who are normally properly trained to overcome any objections and to provide reasons why you should pay extra for additional coverage. A common sales pitch would be like, “I see you’re renting the car for a couple of days, why risk getting into an accident and having the stress of paying your personal insurance deductible? Why not take our full package coverage and be TRULY! Worry free?” The pitch is clever and targeted to bring scenarios to mind that will trigger a buying decision. Many sales reps use a scare tactic where they over emphasize all the negative things that could possible go wrong, scarring you into buying the collision damage waiver (cdw). This pitch would sounds like, “what’s your deductible? $1000 WOW! You definitely need to take our coverage, it’s raining and remember, you are not familiar with these roads or driving conditions and to be honest the chances of you getting into an accident is very likely to happen. I just want you to know, that if you even put a minor scratch on the vehicle, even if it’s not your fault, I would have to collect your full deductible of $1000, when you return the rental, plus you’ll also be responsible for the income lost on the vehicle while its being repaired in the body shop (loss of use). If I were you I wouldn’t leave here today without it, so sign here, here and here”.

After a pitch like that, why bother to continue your vacation, so much pressure and stress; so back to the question. Should I take damage waiver insurance? The mysterious answer is…it depends. It totally depends on what your current situation is. For instance, if you know your one claim away from your personal insurance carrier dropping you, then chances are, TAKE THE INSURANCE, DON’T BE CHEAP! If you have good driving habits and you’re only keeping the car for a weekend, then use your discretion. If you’re keeping the rental vehicle a week or longer, chances are the additional charges for the damage waiver insurance is going to be twice the cost of your deductible on your personal insurance, once again use your discretion. If you’re travelling with your family, I personally would tell you to take the extra insurance, but once again everyone is different and has a different situation. If you came off a flight and you feel dizzy, I would take the insurance, at least until your dizziness goes away and you have to actually go to rental location to sign off for the additional coverage. If you’re using American Express (AMX) to rent your car and it’s the primary card on file, in your name or if you’re on business and it’s in your companies name, once again use your discretion, but American Express offers many coverage’s that greatly extends to your rental vehicle. It doesn’t make sense to pay for additional coverage twice. If you decide to use any credit card to cover you while renting a car, I would call them first to verify all the disclaimers, before declining the collision damage waiver insurance offered by the rental companies.

The truth is that, you can’t buy peace of mind and the car rental companies know this. However you should know your rights and options to either accept or decline the damage waiver coverage. No one I believe should be pressured or scarred into any situation that requires your signature, but should be accurately informed and left to individual discretion. Thanks for reading and if you would want to know more about renting a car, or would like to ask me any question you may have before your next car rental experience, you can reach me at www.RentaCarSecrets.com .

Thanks,

Chris Bennett