Driving to another state in a rental car?

[Nermel9]

Hi guys,

So I'm planning to go to WDW in December, but my husband and I are also planning to go to South Carolina to visit his parents. Is it ok if I rent a car from Alamo and drive up to South Carolina (It's right at the border, practically in Georgia) and then drive back and drop it off in Florida? Will there be extra fees for driving to another state or anything like that?

Thanks!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Read all the fine print. In August we rented a car with Budget at the airport in Las Vegas. From there our plans were to drive to Utah & Arizona. In all of the fine print it was very specific that this car could only be driven within Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California & maybe Colorado.
I would also make sure the rental fee includes unlimited mileage. Also you may want to inquire about additional drivers. Budget automatically allows spouses to drive with no additional fee. Alamo allows spouses free if you join their Insider program. Also if you belong to Costco, their discount code automatically makes additional drivers free.

Have you considered a one way car rental then flying home from SC? It might cost a little more but would save you hours of your time.

 

[Nermel9]

I have thought of that, that's the ideal plan, but renting a car in FL and dropping it off in SC is SOOOOO much more expensive. However, it's not like I'm finding anything cheap in Orlando either. I'm hoping prices drop in the next few weeks and we can fly home from SC, but just in case we can't, I'm hoping we will be able to drive. I'm not loving the idea of driving back to Florida, but for now, it will have to do.

I do belong to Costco, I always rent through Costco with Alamo and get pretty decent rates, and I am a pro at stalking rental car prices until I find one that's good, I'm just not sure what I'm going to get Christmas week. Alamo also doesn't rent anywhere in SC, so if I was to fly home from there, I'd have to use another company, which makes me nervous haha! We'll see! I emailed Alamo before so hopefully they will get back to me soon.

 

[Yellowjj]

Most rentals these days are unlimited miles. But always check the fine print on the reservation. The bigger companies have no restrictions on state to state travel because your dropping it back off at the original place of rental.

One Way rentals are usually where drop off fee's are charged and maybe restrictions on miles. Roundtrip rentals usually have no such restrictions. YMMV and in situations like this, sticking with the bigger names makes for less hassle and surprise charges.

Alamo no longer allows a free spouse driver unless your on a corporate contract or tour voucher that included it. National still does allow additional drivers is your a member.

 

[bumbershoot]

As you price things out, just read every bit of fine print you can. They aren't going to be able to give you a definitive answer, because one rental you book might be different than another.