Dollar (car hire!) experts.....

[alibeau]

Any Dollar experts out there?

After umming and ahhing over who to book with, we stuck with Dollar so that we could use the Dollar Express facility.

I placed our booking on Dollar.co.uk and then modified our reservation to include our dollar express id details. Anyhoo, they have emailed me back to say that our DE details cannot be applied to this reservation as it was made on .co.uk and not .com

So I can cancel this reservation with no penalty and I am guessing that if I then book through USRAC or dollar.com that I can then use dollar express

Boo hoo - thought I had it all sorted

Ali

PS - just to add, had a look at Dollar.com and the prices are way over the top so I guess that leaves me with USRAC?

 

[alibeau]

Oh eck, I'm getting my knickers in a right old twist now

Just discovered that our Dollar Express account is INACTIVE?!?!

So I have emailed them to ask if they can reactivate it or do I have to re-apply. Just glad I looked into all this today so I still have plenty of time to sort it out!

Ali

 

[Netty]

you dont have to add your dollar express to your car hire, just turn up with your dollar express number.
your dollar express may be inactive because the credit card you used is now out of date and you need to give them the new expiry date ,or a different credit card

 

[alibeau]

Ahhhh, okey dokey, thanks Netty

I am sure that the credit card I used for our previous bookings has indeed expired. Anyway, Dollar Express have acknowledged my email re our inactive account and will get back to me within 3 working days, so I'll see what they say and take it from there......

It's just that the email I recevied from Dollar.co.uk said if we just turned up and presented our Dollar Express card, they were unable to guarantee that it will be honored for this reservation

We don't go til Feb 15th so I've got a little while to get it all sorted, I just like to know that it is indeed all sorted - I guess it's the control freak in me!!! And as DH said, there has only ever been 2 or 3 people in the 'regular' queue at the Dollar desk so it's not the end of the world but it would be just our luck that there would be a plane full and we can't use Dollar Express

Ali

 

[Netty]

Think dollar co.uk are talking rubbish-but i may be wrong!
you can use dollar express whoever you book with i.e. netflights/usrentcar etc as long as you are hiring a dollar car

 

[kristieuk]

We used to email Dollar after booking our hire to ask them to tie the booking to our Dollar Express account, but haven't bothered for the past couple of years. Just take the card with us, and they just see you are a member and call you forward in front of the main queue. To my knowledge, being an Express member carries no benefit other than that? I could be wrong!

 

[wayneg]

I think its 5 rentals I have done with Dollar Express, just once I added my express number before arriving, other 4 times just handed card in with my voucher, someone at Dollar has no idea what they are talking about IMO.

No reason why they can't add it if you wanted it adding, on this Dollar thread on Dibb from a few days ago people were posting they got their confirmations thru with Express numbers printed on. post #474 http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=375322&page=32 there was at least one more.

 

[alibeau]

Thanks for your replies

I'm just going to wait for my reply from Dollar Express regarding 'activating' my account again and take it from there.

Going on your replies, if I can get my account active then I think we will just take the card and show it at the counter TBF that is what they said to do in their email, they just also said that they couldn't gurantee it would be honoured

Seems bonkers to me that you can't just add your DE number to a uk reservation but here is a copy of the email I received:

Dear xxxx,
Thank you for your query. The Dollar Express number is intended for bookings made on www.dollar.com which is a separate entity from www.dollar.co.uk . You are welcome to present your Dollar number locally, however, we are unable to guarantee that it will be honored for this reservation.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Best regards,
Dante
Internet Reservations
Dollar Rent A Car

Ali

 

[nemmie]

Thanks for your replies

I'm just going to wait for my reply from Dollar Express regarding 'activating' my account again and take it from there.

Going on your replies, if I can get my account active then I think we will just take the card and show it at the counter TBF that is what they said to do in their email, they just also said that they couldn't gurantee it would be honoured

Seems bonkers to me that you can't just add your DE number to a uk reservation but here is a copy of the email I received:

Dear xxxx,
Thank you for your query. The Dollar Express number is intended for bookings made on www.dollar.com which is a separate entity from www.dollar.co.uk . You are welcome to present your Dollar number locally, however, we are unable to guarantee that it will be honored for this reservation.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Best regards,
Dante
Internet Reservations
Dollar Rent A Car

Ali

I have a feeling what they are actually refering to is the reward points that a Dollar Express card can accrue. Many times I have been told whist using a NetFlights voucher that I will not earn reward points on my rental. I am of course not bothered at all seeing as I just passed however many people waiting in the queue by using the Dollar Express lane. I'm pretty sure that's what they mean by
''we are unable to guarantee that it will be honored for this reservation.''
You will still be able to use the Dollar Express line and they will able to see all your pre-entered information.

 

[nemmie]

Found this on the website

Earn free days with Renter Rewards
Dollar EXPRESS Renter Rewards® is an optional rewards program that gives you a free rental day at Dollar rather than airline frequent flyer miles.

Join by changing your Dollar EXPRESS profile or selecting Renter Rewards on your Dollar EXPRESS enrollment form as your preferred loyalty partner.
Rent from Dollar! We automatically keep track of your days.
When you've rented 16 days, we'll send you a Renter Rewards Certificate for a FREE day.
Redeem your FREE day on compact, mid-size or full-size cars or on minivans


Pretty sure that they are refering to you earning these renter rewards.
A reservation through Dollar.co.uk would not be eligible.

 

[TraceyL]

Dollar @ MIA wouldn't honour our Dollar Express when we booked through a third party - even though Dollar.com had confirmed it was only the reward program that we weren;t eligible for

 

[kristieuk]

Dollar @ MIA wouldn't honour our Dollar Express when we booked through a third party - even though Dollar.com had confirmed it was only the reward program that we weren;t eligible for

Could you just clarify what you mean by they wouldn't honour it? Were you not able to use the Express queue? If so, I can't understand that - there is nothing to honour as such - just a separate queue for being part of their loyalty scheme! I would have been furious!

 

[TraceyL]

Could you just clarify what you mean by they wouldn't honour it? Were you not able to use the Express queue? If so, I can't understand that - there is nothing to honour as such - just a separate queue for being part of their loyalty scheme! I would have been furious!

I mean they told me I could not use the express line - as it happens other events overtook this but she was quite shirty with me over it, wanted me to go back and join the (very long) regular line

 

[kristieuk]

Blimey!! That is ridiculous! I can't believe you were treated so badly. We have used the Express line a few times, all we have ever been is asked is whether we are Express members - surely that's the only qualification, not who you have booked through or which country you live in

 

[Cyrano]

I had no problem joining the Express Line at the Dollar desk with our booking through Usrentacar last summer. Was well pleased since there were at least 20 people in the normal queue

 

[alibeau]

Hmmmmm, so do I cancel my booking with Dollar.co.uk, I can do so with no penalty and re-book with USRentacar where I can register my Dollar Express account details

Ali

 

[kristieuk]

Sorry, we seem to have forgotten your original question

If it was me, I would keep the reservation. I don't really see what cancelling and booking with USARentacar would achieve - it seems to be a problem with individuals at the Dollar desk, which wouldn't be any different whoever you booked through.

I have never had a problem, and from previous threads I know many others have used the Express line without any trouble. Dollar staff don't seem to know their proverbial backsides from their elbows half the time

 

[nemmie]

Sorry, we seem to have forgotten your original question

If it was me, I would keep the reservation. I don't really see what cancelling and booking with USARentacar would achieve - it seems to be a problem with individuals at the Dollar desk, which wouldn't be any different whoever you booked through.

I have never had a problem, and from previous threads I know many others have used the Express line without any trouble. Dollar staff don't seem to know their proverbial backsides from their elbows half the time

Have to agree. I've had good and bad customer service with Dollar but sadly I feel that is the case with most car rental companies (some have been downright terrible customer service) therefore I stick with Dollar.

All I can add is that I have never, in around 20 rentals, been declined access to the Express line because my reservation was not with Dollar.com. In fact I have never ever had a ressie with Dollar.com, usually netflights.

Once I had an issue on a Virgin Holidays car hire only voucher where the Dollar clerk told me to go over to the other side of the airport and queue at the Virgin Holiday desk. I refused and asked for a supervisor and all of a sudden she said ''Ok I'll do it here''

 

[alibeau]

Thanks everyone

I'll speak to DH and see what he thinks. As I say, there have never been that many people in the 'regular' queue so we'll take our DE card and see how we get on......

BTW forgot to add that I am not bothered about the reward points, just wanted to avoid the 'regular' queue.

Thanks again and finger's crossed eh?!

Ali

 

[wayneg]

I also would leave it, I have never heard of anyone being refused at MCO, used mine 5 times no problem and never booked with Dollar.com. I have even received 1,000 Virgin airmiles a couple of times.
Hopefully the issue at MIA was a one off.