Renting a Car to get To/From Airport???

[kristenrice]

Although we live just 10 minutes from the Grand Rapids airport, we found much better prices flying in and out of Flint, which is about 1 hour, 45 minutes away. I have never been to Flint, but it has a reputation of being a "high-crime" area. My husband was not entirely thrilled at the prospect of leaving either of our vehicles there for 6 days, especially since mine doesn't lock. We have a hotel booked for the night before our flight since our flight departs at 6:50am. Our return flight lands at 4:35pm so we will have plenty of time to drive home the same day.

Parking in the economy lot will cost us $36 and require a shuttle to get to the terminal. If we opt for the long-term lot (which is closer to the terminal and possibly more secure), parking will cost us $56.

I found some discount and coupon codes and found that I can get a one-way rental, for both ways, for about $60 total. The full-size category (Chevy Impala or similar) would be $28 from GRR to FNT and then $32 from FNT to GRR. That assumes that we pick it up at noon on Saturday and drop it off at 6am on Sunday. For the trip home, it would be a pick up at 5pm on Friday and return it at noon on Saturday.

It would be about the same cost to rent the car vs. drive our own so I think this would be a good idea. Our vehicles (2004 Suburban and a 2007 TrailBlazer) are not the best when it comes to gas mileage. We're not talking a lot of miles, but I think the car would be a little cheaper on gas which is another reason I am leaning towards the rental car. It would also mean that we don't have to worry about anything happening to our vehicle while we are gone.

Are there any downsides to this plan that I have overlooked?

 

[Robyn S]

We also find it much cheaper to fly out of a major airport instead of nearby Harrisburg. We did not want to leave our truck in Baltimore MD for 2 weeks, and knew that the gas would be expensive. We rented a standard size vehicle and saved money on gas and didn't have to pay to park. The only down side....the car rental companies wanted to "keep the nicer vehicles" because our rental would be 1-way. Both the car we drove down, and returned with were pretty beat up, no extras, and the car we picked up to return home (at 10pm) wasn't even very clean. After a long day at Disney, and the flight back-we didn't even argue with them.

 

[kristenrice]

Update and a quick question...

I found the some codes for Budget (SWA RR code combined with a $5 off coupon) and I was given two options for a full-size rental. From GRR to FNT, I can choose to pre-pay $25.34 or pay at the counter for $28.29. On the return trip, I can pre-pay $27.32 or pay $30.46 at the counter. Alright, so is there an advantage to one over the other, besides the price difference? I was trying to decipher all of the information about the "holds" that they place on the card (credit or debit) and it confused me even more. I have a PayPal debit card that I use for our Disney trips, but it is very easy to move the funds to my bank account to pay off a credit card. I assume there is a greater benefit to charging it to my Visa or AMEX, correct?

I was also reading about providing proof of round-trip travel when renting from an airport location. Well, I'm sure most people do not do what I am planning and that is coming to the airport to pick up the rental car. I'm not flying round-trip out of the airport that I am renting from. On the return, the same thing applies. Will I have a problem at the counter? What if I pre-pay? I read that Budget requires a second form of ID and my proof of car insurance would fulfill that requirement. Is there anything else that could be problematic?

I'm leaning towards pre-paying using my AMEX card but I want to make sure that I am not giving up any benefits by not waiting to pay at the counter.

Thanks!

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

I agree the one way rentals are beat up cars in my experience also.
The CCC at. Disney requested a round trip ticket. I know your are concerned about driving and parking your car, but it's your vacation, why spend it with all the fretting and running around.

If the hotel offers in site parking and shuttle I would use that. We did this last Fall and it was great. No extra for the parking and free shuttle from the hotel.

 

[kristenrice]

If the hotel offers in site parking and shuttle I would use that. We did this last Fall and it was great. No extra for the parking and free shuttle from the hotel.

The hotel is about 15 miles from the airport and does not have a shuttle. Normally, when we fly out of DTW, this is exactly what we do, but it is not available at FNT.

 

[kristenrice]

I have my debit card which is linked to our vacation account. This is the card that I want to use to pay for our rental car. I would like to do the pre-pay option which means that I would only pay $25.84. What I would do is pick up the car at noon on Saturday at GRR and then return it at 5:30am at FNT. Now, my question/confusion lies in the "hold" policy. Since the debit card is linked to my vacation account, I need to make sure I have enough in there to cover the hold. Here is the policy from the Budget website...

Additional Fees and Credit Holds:

• The card presented for the hold at rental pickup is the card of record for your rental.
• Before Budget releases the car to you, all rental terms and conditions must be met, regardless of your prepayment method.
• Upon paying your rental with a Debit Card, Budget will generally request an authorization hold against your account for the estimated charges of the rental but reserves the right in its sole discretion, to request extra value based on certain factors as we deem appropriate. Some exceptions may apply. THESE FUNDS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR YOUR USE.
• When the rental is over we will process the reversal but the bank may take time to post it back to the account - unless you already paid toward your rental, in which case the hold will be only $100 USD. While this hold is in place, the funds will not be available for your use.

The bolded part seems to contradict the red part. They reserve the right to request extra value as they deem appropriate...but then the hold will only be $100 if you've already pre-paid. I have no problem making sure I have an extra $100 in the account, but can they make it more? Also, they don't put the hold on the card when you pre-pay for it, but when you actually pick it up, right? I'm concerned because I would like to get this reservation made and paid for, but I don't want to end up with funds that are going to be locked up and unavailable.

Since it is a one-way rental from an airport that we are NOT flying out of, I have to present a second form of ID. It says that my proof of car insurance will suffice. If my husband is going to drive the car as well, Budget does not charge the additional driver fee, but they need to see his license. Can I bring a copy of it, or do I need to bring his actual license? Does he have to present himself at the counter too? He doesn't have to drive, as I am perfectly capable of driving both ways, but if I'm not up to it for some reason, I'd like to make sure he's "authorized".

Sorry this got so confusing. I don't want to lock myself into paying with the debit card and then finding out that they are going to put a huge (>$500) hold on the funds.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I would reserve it with a valid credit card. I have heard that they will sometimes place larger holds on debit cards.