Anyone rent a car through Costco?

[bcla]

Thinking of doing it. My car is in need of repair that I've been putting off, and my wife doesn't want to use her car for a long trip. I remember the last time we rented a car for a road trip, I found a $14/day rate that the rental agency employee said was excellent, but over Christmas/New Years the prices aren't that great.

I saw some of the Costco rates were good, especially since I'd like to avoid renting at an airport in favor of a neighborhood location. I've generally seen they have higher base rates, but don't charge airport fees. However, I've seen some base rates at airports that were extremely low (some at $6/day) when there was low demand.

I'm not quite sure how it works. I've only gotten to the point where I've checked their prices. They say there's no credit card hold, so obviously no cancellation fees or forfeiting the entire amount. I'm wondering if there's a catch.

 

[fly girl]

I have never rented a car through Costco, but I have used Costco Travel many times. I have been very pleased every time.

I wouldn't hesitate to rent a car through them.

 

[msjprincess]

Yes, a number of times. They often have the nest price. No catch.

 

[disney junky]

Yes. I always rent through Costco. They give you a variety of options and there is no deposit. There are no catches. It is what it appears.

 

[wgeo]

One of the nicer perks of renting through Costco is that they put in the spouse as a driver included in the price. Not all rental places do that normally. So competitive prices with 2 drivers is an easy choice for me.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We've rented through Costco several times. No issues.

 

[MamaLema]

I rented a car from Costco in October
No problems

 

[mmouse37]

I rent cars through Costco all the time....I always find them to be the cheapest. Once you book keep checking the prices and often prices change (go down). When that happens I book a new reservation through Costco and then cancel the old one.

MJ

 

[E&Cmom]

We have when we went to Hawaii. No issues at all.

 

[Christine]

I've done it twice nice, last time just this past November for my trip to Disney. Best price. And as someone else said, check your rate every day and rebook. My car went down about $80 while I waited for my trip.

 

[bcla]

One of the nicer perks of renting through Costco is that they put in the spouse as a driver included in the price. Not all rental places do that normally. So competitive prices with 2 drivers is an easy choice for me.

That's actually a legal requirement in California. I understand the spouse doesn't even legally need to be declared.

However, the best car rental I've ever gotten was corporate. All I needed was to show them my driver license. No credit card and the company was responsible for any damage up to a full loss.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Echoing all the above. Several rentals, all good.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That's actually a legal requirement in California. I understand the spouse doesn't even legally need to be declared.

However, the best car rental I've ever gotten was corporate. All I needed was to show them my driver license. No credit card and the company was responsible for any damage up to a full loss.

Costco has consistently beat out my husband's corporate rate with Avis.

That said we can use the corporate rate with Avis for leisure travel BUT we are not covered under the business's auto insurance policy and instead would be covered under our own personal auto insurance (even though we have the corporate discount on it). My husband is covered under the business's auto insurance policy when he is on business. When he is on business, even if Avis (or any other company) covers me as a spouse for no additional charge, I am not covered to drive the vehicle and therefore only he drives it.

If you didn't use a credit card for the corporate rental car it's because it was stored under the rental car's system, made through a travel software or completely arranged through someone else.

**Several states have the covered spouse for no additional charge thing but as for who is covered for auto insurance that's an entirely different thing.

 

[bcla]

Costco has consistently beat out my husband's corporate rate with Avis.

That said we can use the corporate rate with Avis for leisure travel BUT we are not covered under the business's auto insurance policy and instead would be covered under our own personal auto insurance (even though we have the corporate discount on it). My husband is covered under the business's auto insurance policy when he is on business. When he is on business, even if Avis (or any other company) covers me as a spouse for no additional charge, I am not covered to drive the vehicle and therefore only he drives it.

If you didn't use a credit card for the corporate rental car it's because it was stored under the rental car's system, made through a travel software or completely arranged through someone else.

**Several states have the covered spouse for no additional charge thing but as for who is covered for auto insurance that's an entirely different thing.

Yeah - it was booked through the corporate travel agency and there was a code on the rental agreement that specified the company name. However, there was a lot of stuff involved. The corporate travel agents on several occasions told me to decline the fuel rate or any kind of coverage since that would be taken care of by the corporate agreement. I think the company self-insured. The rate listed wasn't that good though, as I could have gotten a better rate. I suspect that what I saw wasn't specifically what they were paying. I was told the corporate agreement meant they paid a reasonable price for fuel, but I saw something like $8/gallon for fuel. I'm sure that it get reconciled later.

However, in California, regardless of who is paying for it, a spouse can always legally drive a rental car without being named as an additional driver on the paperwork.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yeah - it was booked through the corporate travel agency and there was a code on the rental agreement that specified the company name. However, there was a lot of stuff involved. The corporate travel agents on several occasions told me to decline the fuel rate or any kind of coverage since that would be taken care of by the corporate agreement. I think the company self-insured. The rate listed wasn't that good though, as I could have gotten a better rate. I suspect that what I saw wasn't specifically what they were paying. I was told the corporate agreement meant they paid a reasonable price for fuel, but I saw something like $8/gallon for fuel. I'm sure that it get reconciled later.

My husband's company I think it was maybe 2 years ago decided to just have Avis charge them either the pre-paid rate or the fuel charges after the fact rate can't remember so the workers don't have to worry about filling up the gas before dropping the vehicle off. It almost always causes a blip though as the Avis workers catch up looking in their system after they see the fuel guage reading. I'm sure they are paying out the nose for the fuel rate though lol.

However, in California, regardless of who is paying for it, a spouse can always legally drive a rental car without being named as an additional driver on the paperwork.

Several states, not just CA, mandate that rental car agencies cannot charge extra for a spouse. That does not translate to auto insurance coverage and one would need to check if they are covered there especially when the vehicle is being used for business purposes which often have additional clauses attached. That's why I was commenting on how my husband's company handles it. If he's booked on a business trip I am not covered to drive his rental vehicle regardless of the fact that Avis will not charge additional driver fees because my husband is being covered by the business insurance policy. Really just saying you gotta check there if you're covered.

 

[mnrose]

Almost ALWAYS rent through Costco. I comparison shop a lot, and Costco's rates are generally the best, by quite a bit. No issues at all, and super easy to compare their prices from various companies.

 

[Skippy918]

Costco always has the best prices and no surcharge for spouses.

 

[monsterkitty]

We only rent through Costco because their prices are the best. We check back frequently and re-book if the prices go lower.

 

[CT Yankee]

Another vote for Costco here. Consistently the best price among all the options I have, including corporate rate, AAA, travel sites (e.g., Hotwire, Expedia). One time I had to cancel a reservation at the last minute and I had absolutely no problems doing so.

 

[Searc]

I only rent through Costco.