Tag: Best Car Rental

Weekly Car Rental Deals

I only had a little more than a week until my ultimate departure which would take me away from my home country of Canada for an extended period of time, so I figured that perhaps I could rent a car one last time and go to the Rocky Mountains I loved so much. I didn’t have my car anymore and the weather was beautiful so I really thought I should take advantage of it and head to the mountains while I’m still here. Renting a car was the only option at this time so I started looking around for the best Weekly Car Rental Deals.

My primary thinking behind renting a car for a whole week was that I would be able to use it to go to the Rockies and after I had returned, I would still have an automobile to take care of the items I needed to find a storage solution for. I was still going to work and was going to stay employed until the last day of August – literally until my departure date.

Another thing that got me looking for Weekly Car Rental Deals was a billboard ad I saw by the Westmount Mall in Edmonton which advertised weekly rental of a compact sized car at Budget Canada for mere $99 a week. Considering that weekend rental would cost me half of that, I figured I might as well rent a car for a whole week and have myself set not only for the trip to the Rockies, but also to move all of my possessions to wherever I end up storing it.

I phoned Budget to find out about the deal advertised but it was as I suspected – restricted as to the kilometers you can put on the car and the deal only applied to very small cars. Plus the Budget Rent a Car office near me was not open during convenient hours. I kept it in mind as an option, but didn’t dwell on it too much. Instead, I’ve spread my search for better Weekly Car Rental Deals across other providers and it did prove to be a good strategy. Don’t follow the billboards.

I ended up renting a car from Hertz. Weekly rental of a mid size sedan with unlimited kilometers was less than $120 with all fees and taxes in. Considering that I didn’t need car insurance because my travel visa card had worldwide coverage, this was an amazing deal for a week long car rental of Toyota Corolla. Yes, I could have had a car for a week for $99 plus fees and taxes, but it would have been Chevrolet Aveo (a miniature car) and I wouldn’t be able to take it to the Rocky Mountains because I would go over allocated distance quota.

Photo: Silver Toyota Corolla I Rented for a Week from Hertz to Drive Through the Canadian Rockies
Photo: Silver Toyota Corolla I Rented for a Week from Hertz to Drive Through the Canadian Rockies

Hertz is usually one of the more expensive car rental companies but you get what you pay for. They clearly don’t focus on people who are cheap (aka myself), but will go out of their way for people who are willing to pay for the luxury of preferential treatment. Weekly rental of a mid size sedan through Hertz would normally cost around $250. I was able to push it down to its 50% level through the use of a time limited coupon code (it’s already expired). The use of it has not been questioned anytime by any Hertz representative, their car was superior to comparable models rented through other companies by having more options and paperwork necessary to rent a car through them was minimalistic. Hertz is clearly geared to get you behind the wheel of a car you desire without much hassle.

This was the very first time I have rented with Hertz and it was a pleasant experience. I had rented car many times before, including rentals at international locations but always with different companies to save money. This time timing was on my side so I was able to get a deal I would not get with any other provider, yet I still received Hertz treatment. It is likely I won’t be renting with Hertz anytime soon, if at all, but I’d definitely rank them as one of the finest car rental companies in existence. Saves you a lot of hassle not having to deal with crap when renting a car.

That being said – there were a few things I did not like about Hertz. First of all – they did not offer customer pick up. I had to take a bus all the way to downtown Edmonton (I did it because savings I was getting in this weekly special were worth it). I don’t know whether all Hertz offices do it this way, but that was a crappy part of their business. Second thing I did not like was not really their fault but it still made it a bit annoying. When I came to pick up my car, there were two people there before me, each occupying one of the available agents. Those people kept asking irrelevant questions and one of them didn’t even end up renting, but they kept me stuck there for an extra half an hour. I had my car pick up booked for 5pm but I didn’t get my car until 5.30pm. If I had something important to catch, I would have missed it. That would have spoiled it for me entirely. And even though I can’t really blame it on Hertz as a company, being a customer you still wish you got what you booked at the time you booked it for.

Photo: Beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains
Photo: Beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains

Other than that, everything about Hertz was perfect. Perhaps a little too perfect to be true. Either way, I had my car and was ready to hit the road from Edmonton to Jasper to enjoy my last weekend in the Rocky Mountains. The feeling was amazing especially since I knew that the weekend after that would be the weekend of my departure to South East Asia. Whoaaaa.

Best Way to Rent a Car with Avis Coupon

I found the best way to Rent a Car worldwide which I want to share with you. Not only is it the best way to rent a car, it’s also the cheapest. It’s just a simple Avis coupon code that works wonders when it comes to bumping the price of your car rental down. And given that Avis have offices worldwide – virtually in any country where car rentals are possible, this little trick can hook you up with well maintained vehicle for a great price.

I found out about it as I was looking for the ways to rent a car in Iceland but was not willing to pay $1,000+ for a ten day rental. Iceland is a very expensive country and it’s reflected in prices of their car rentals. I wanted to make the best out of my 10 day trip so in order not to waste time waiting around for buses and to be able to also access more remote places, I saw car rental as the best solution. But since it’s so extremely expensive to rent a car in Iceland, I had to work out some magic and find a solution that would hook me up with a car, but prevent me from spending more than a grand for it.

To make a long story short, my research has eventually lead me to the Avis coupon code which can cut the normal price down to near one half of it. It worked in Iceland, it worked in the Dominican Republic, it worked in Canada and will likely work in most destinations where Avis has their offices. How much discount you will get varies from one country to another but I have not found any better way to get less expensive, yet internationally backed up car rental since.

To get to the best way to rent a car, go to Avis.com and select your country of origin from the Country/Language drop down menu (or you can go directly to Avis.ca if you are Canadian). Choose your date and time for pick up and return and then choose your pick up location. This is all pretty standard stuff that will get regularly priced quotes. In order to get much better prices, you need to enter following code in the AWD (Avis Worldwide Discount code) field:

K444404

Screenshot from Avis.ca Website Shows Where to Paste the AWC Discount Code
PHOTO: Screenshot from Avis.ca Website Shows Where to Paste the AWC Discount Code

Previously normal car rental prices will now be slashed into much more attractive level. I have never seen car rentals for better price than when using Avis with this code. Good thing is, that after three different rentals in three different countries using Avis and this discount code, I have never been asked any questions. Nothing. You just paste it in the AWD field and make a reservation. Car will be waiting for you at your chosen location and when you return it, you will be given the receipt with the price you were quoted by the website and that price will be charged to the credit card you have provided the Avis representative with when you were picking your car up. It worked for me in Iceland, it worked for me in Canada and it worked for me in the Dominican Republic. No questions asked. None whatsoever.

Then again, given Avis’ international reputation, I would not expect anyone ever questioning the code or where you got it from. Avis are in it to be a worldwide leader in car rental services. They want your business and will be glad you have chosen them over a competitor. It’s none of employee’s business to question where you got which code from. But most of all, they are there to provide you with a reliable car and process your pick up and return in a courteous and professional manner. They are not booking agents so chances of anyone at the pick-up location questioning the code are virtually nonexistent. Based on my experience so far it is exactly like that but if you think about it, I don’t see how it could possibly create an issue at pick up location so I believe you can safely use the code and enjoy the benefits of great rental prices.

And remember – don’t worry about feeling guilty. Avis is a multimillion dollar company. You are bringing them business that’s profitable for them any way you spin it. The fact that you are not paying the normal price does not mean that you are ripping them off. Far from it. You are just being a smart renter and paying a price that’s fair, not a price that other’s who don’t do their homework have to pay. Each time I see people paying retail prices for travel and tourism related goods and services, I quietly laugh on the inside knowing that I saved myself from being overcharged.