candy wy.

so will be hiring a car from Heathrow in a few weeks any hidden ways to get a free second driver any good deals out there..

and before any smart ass comes along yes i have googled..

jackattack

The last few times I have rented a car we discovered that, for our specific rentals, the spouse has automatically been covered. That wasn't the case for co-workers or significant others, but spouse was covered with no extra charge.

Our rentals were in the US and with Hertz and Budget.

jackattack

Well now I re-read your post, I see you're renting out of Heathrow. So my point was useless.
sorry.

Jerseygirl

Maybe they've changed but Hertz and Avis used to charge extra per day. Alamo/Enterprise don't charge extra.

TexasPenguin

Don't know about the extra driver - we didn't need it. But we used CARHire3000 (www.carhire3000.com) for our 10 day hire in September. I simply couldn't beat the price. We booked a "Vectra-size" and actually got a Zaffira. Alamo was the selected company and the total price was about 100 quid lower than if I had done it direct...

S Folinsky

The best rates are if you book and pay for the car in advance from the US. Check with autoeurope.com and/or kemwell.com.

They will answer your questions on the phone regarding this. A few years back, they gave us Alamo at Heathrow. The last time I used them was three years back for a trip to Germany and Prague -- the pick-up and drop-off was at the Berlin Hauptbahnhoff. This time it was National/Alamo. Unfortunately, it turns out that some brands of cars are not available for use in former communist countries -- so we reserved a Ford something-or-other [not available in US] but to our pleasant surprise got upgraded to a Skoda Octavia TDI station wagon [better car and lower fuel costs].

BTW, I NEVER rent a car upon arrival -- too jet lagged.

lisa67

If you have a Chase British Airways Credit Card, Avis will let you have a second driver for free, and the card covers your insurance....and you get BA airmiles

candy wy.

I have a chase united get the insurance and united miles don't think it gives me free driver though..

Jerseygirl

Check exactly what is covered by your CC because it may not cover everything and when you collect the car they will probably try to sell you extra coverage.

There's been a few threads on this subject.

Edit: I'm sure there was a good thread started by Ash but I can't find it...will keep looking...

Found it....http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=647372

candy wy.

I have used this card everytime I have rented and never had a problem so hopefully this time is no different I also have 2 other cards that have insurance cover for rental cars but have found chase seem to offer the best deal to book with..i.e the air miles

Bomjeito

In the US, BTW, its based on state law. I know in Nevada, its a state law that they can't charge for extra drivers that can be proven family (spouse, kids, parents.) But last time I hired a car in Colorado, I was to pay for the spouse added to it but since I had their premium program card (some elite level you get alongside a FF elite) I did not have to pay for it in the end.

We had a bad experience in UK with Sixt. Won't use them again. Also they charge for extra driver.

In Scotland we also rented through a dealership that had a rental section and it was very reasonable. (Ford.) I recall having both my husband and myself on the rental at no extra charge.

Any AA benefits for extra driver? You could check into that.

lisa67

Definitely worth a phone call and then stand firm with the rental companies when they try and sell you "extra" insurance!

Picnic

The last time we needed an extra driver on a UK car rental I googled "free additional driver UK car rental" and found that Alamo had an offer. I tried that again and came up with this link: http://www.alamo.co.uk/Hotdeals/740/...adsoncargroups

I found that the price was comparable with the best price offered on www.travelsupermarket.com.