Significant changes are on the horizon for Qantas Frequent Flyer members. A new exclusivity agreement means that from 19 November 2010 onwards, members will only get car hire discounts and perks when renting with Avis and Budget. So for anyone that favours Hertz or Thrifty, you’ll still be eligible to collect points for rentals that are completed by 18 November 2010, but after that, no more.

This move is supposed to be beneficial. QFF says it will allow them to offer a higher level of offers from their exclusive partners, thereby maximizing savings for their members. However, the obvious major drawback is that we are now limited to a choice of only two car hire companies instead of four.

As a sign of goodwill perhaps, to kick things off, all Australian car rentals three days or more from Avis or Budget that are picked up by 31 October 2010 will earn you an extra bonus 1,000 points on top of the usual points. Below we’ve listed the promotional codes you’ll have to enter to receive this bonus:

Bonus 1,000 Extra Qantas Frequent Flyer Points

Avis coupon code: MPPA074
Budget coupon number: MPNZ010

Let’s just hope QFF wrings out enough goodies to compensate for our lost options.

If you’re looking for a deal, don’t forget to check our collection of other car hire coupons and discounts from Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty.

Related posts:

1. Frequent Renter Programs: Is There A Winner?
2. Car Hire Coupons & Discount Codes Galore
3. Car Hire Discounts from Partner Programs

Do you find yourself thinking that you have too many cards in your wallet, too many different loyalty programs and too many point schemes to consider? If so you probably feel you waste hours trying to understand the offers, when you would rather be planning the more enjoyable parts of your holiday.

Car hire is one such area, so we’ve taken a closer look at types of loyalty program tie-ups and point schemes you can find at Australia’s five major car hire providers – Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty.

There are two very different aims when considering programs and points associated with car hire. First is getting the best deal possible and second is getting the most out of that deal.

Getting the best deal possible

There are typically four types of discounts offered by car hire companies. These include:

• Coupon offers, which are the large majority of the offers and change frequently,
• Standing percentage discounts based on your membership to a particular organisation,
• Loyalty discounts which are provided only to the most loyal and high-use customers, and
• Corporate discounts, provided to companies and businesses.

Start your research by checking the available car hire coupons, which we’ve scoured each of their websites to compile for you, and in discount books such as the NRMA guide or Entertainment Book.

With your vouchers and codes ready, contact the car hire company. Mention to them any airline, auto club, hotel program and credit card group that you are associated with. Even if you are unable to get a discount, you can record the details for future point collection where applicable. Some providers only accept these details at the time of reservation.

Discounts may also be available as a result of membership with some international airline frequent flyer programs. All discounts are subject to providing proof on check-in.

Earning new points or miles

Each car hire provider is partnered with a large number of airlines and other companies allowing you to earn points or miles as you drive.

Australian Frequent Flyer Programs

Qantas offer three points per dollar spent on time or kilometre expenses (excluding GST, insurance and other such costs) with Avis, Budget, Hertz and Thrifty. This is extended with Avis and Hertz to provide 700 points for any international hire you make through these companies.

Virgin Blue is connected with Europcar and Thrifty only, offering a number of points between three and five per dollar spent based on your Virgin Blue Frequent Flyer membership level.

Australian Banking Options

Through Westpac Altitude and Qantas American Express, points may be earned by renting your hire car through Budget.

International Airline Partners

Every airline is associated with at least one of the major Australian car hire providers. However, there are so many airlines with differing reward points options that it is recommended that you contact your airline and ask who their car hire partners in Australia are and how it works.

If you have multiple frequent flyer rewards cards, you may need to compare the deal you receive. Make sure that you check whether the number of points is provided per dollar spent (as both the main Australian airlines do), per day (e.g. AAdvantage, United Airlines and Air New Zealand) or per rental, which is provided by most of the other airlines including the Australian airlines for international rentals.

Getting the best out of your booking

1. Check for discount car hire coupons.
2. Ask about discounts based on airline program, auto program, hotel program and credit card programs.
3. See if your international or local frequent flyer scheme is covered.
4. Compare each of your frequent flyer program offers to determine which is best, as you are only able to select one per booking.
5. If you are travelling on a corporate rate ask what points you are entitled to earn. Because the corporate rate is discounted, some hire companies do not provide any points or miles, while others provide a reduced number.

Related posts:

1. Frequent Renter Programs: Is There A Winner?
2. Qantas Frequent Flyer Goes Exclusive With Avis & Budget (Promo codes inside)
3. Car Hire Insurance On Your Credit Card

Are you driving in circles with your frequent renter program options but failing to get anywhere?

Loyalty programs are offered by all of Australia’s five major car hire companies, but at a glance it can be hard to determine if any are superior. So we set our research team to work to find you the answer.

What are the programs?

Each car hire company has its own branded frequent driver offer – Avis Preferred, Budget Fastbreak, Europcar Ready Program, Hertz #1 Gold Club and Thrifty Blue Chip.

Unfortunately the name is probably the most individual thing about them.  Each program will provide you with faster reservations, record your preferences and ensure that you have priority over other customers who are not part of their program.  With each, you will receive a card and a membership number.

Effectively by retaining your details on file, it speeds up the transaction time of both parties, thereby reducing administration costs over the long term.

Do they give me a discount for being a member?

The short answer is no.  The programs do not entitle you to a direct discount in their own right.  The best deal you can expect, as a result of being a member of their program is that you will be offered in most cases the best rate of the day. Being a member of the NRMA, an auto club, or Frequent Flyer program however may entitle you to a 5-10% discount depending on the car hire company. However, Avis and Hertz do offer the occasional member-exclusive offers like free days that can be better than the discount coupons available to the general public (Thanks Adam M.)

Most hire companies have a second or third tier of membership to which you cannot join, but must earn.  This is similar to a frequent flyer membership where you can only progress up to the next level by travelling a certain number of times and distances.  If you travel very frequently you may find yourself admitted to this group and therefore may become eligible for a greater level of priority, more upgrades and discounts.

Are there any other benefits of membership?

There are a few additional benefits to some memberships, which separate the quality of the programs.

Priority number
Avis, Hertz and Thrifty offer their frequent or priority members a dedicated phone line. The others direct you through to their standard reservation line which in some instances, particularly Europcar, can leave you waiting 10-15 minutes to be answered.

Priority service
Priority service is offered by all the providers. However in the cases of Avis and Hertz, this means no stopping at the counter at all within the main Australian airports, allowing you to simply proceed to the car.

Other features
Hertz goes one step further than the other car hire companies, in that they have a ‘no additional driver charge’ feature which is applicable on all their cars and provides a discount to gold members on the rental of infant or child seats.  In addition, they offer their own points reward program so you can still achieve points even if you are not part of one of their affiliated frequent flyer programs.

Joining the program

Each programs is free to join, except Hertz, which is only free to Australian residents.  The forms simply need to be downloaded from the website, completed and returned.

Be aware when selecting any preferences on your application form that this information will be automatically used on all your future bookings with that company.  Should you need to change a preference, you will need to contact the company to update your details.

A final word

Because all the providers are similar, the choice of your hire car company is likely to come down to individual cost and features at the time you wish to travel.  The only time this would not be the case is when you travel very frequently, then aiming for one of the memberships such as Hertz which offers an upgrade after 10 hires in one year, may be worthwhile.

There is no reason not to join multiple programs given they are free.  The only investment is your time to complete the information required.

Finally frequent renter programs do not have to mean another five cards in your back pocket.  Each provider confirmed that as long as you have your number available you do not need to physically provide your card. So if you choose to join multiple programs, save your wallet from exploding by creating one card with the names, program numbers and phone numbers on it.

Links

Avis Preferred Service
Budget Fastbreak
Europcar Ready
Hertz #1 Club
Thrifty Blue Chip

Related posts:

1. Car Hire Discounts from Partner Programs
2. Qantas Frequent Flyer Goes Exclusive With Avis & Budget (Promo codes inside)

We’ve updated our Winter Car Hire Guide for 2010. All you need to know about who and where to rent from! Have a look see and enjoy tearing up the slopes! Yeehaw!

Time’s a-ticking so pay attention: Europcar’s Earlybird Special offers 10% discount if you place your booking by 11 June 2010!

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1. Driving Rental Cars to the Snow
2. VIC Public and School Holidays 2010 / 2011
3. NSW Public and School Holidays 2010 / 2011

Oodles is one of our top two recommended car rental comparison sites for the Big Boys of Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty. In our Oodles review, we highlighted the site’s unique ability to plug in discount codes (or coupons) from Avis, Budget and/or Hertz when doing a search but had lamented the fact you need to seek out these discount codes in the first place.

Now, they’ve added a new section in their homepage featuring ‘today’s top ten deals’. Clicking on a coupon code will automatically enter it as part of your search criteria. You can enter one code each for Avis, Budget and Hertz to be searched in tandem. We like this as another step in the right direction to simplify, simplify, simplify. Now if only they’ll let us plug in discount codes from Europcar and Thrifty too!

Click to view Oodles website

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Anyone who has rented a car from Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, or Thrifty before mid-2009 will be in for a big shock when they notice the not-so-modest jump in current car hire prices. Our original post on car hire costs to expect used to say a 1-week car hire for a full-sized sedan will cost you an average of A$290. Now, we’ve revised it to ask you to expect a cost around the A$430 mark. That’s a whopping 40-50% average price increase across Australia’s major city airports!

Why has this happened? (with thanks to Sarah for the question)
The global recession has hit the travel industry hard – just look at all the flailing airlines – and that includes car hire. The story as told by the major car rental companies is that they’ve had to slash their fleet in order to stay afloat in these bad times. As a result, with greatly reduced cars available, they’ve had to push up prices. How absolutely essential it is for them to raise prices this substantially, if at all, is open to debate.

What can we do about it?
Thankfully, most of the major price hikes have been reserved to the big global brands. If you want to stick with these known names, you will just have to fork out the money. But you may be more motivated to consider other options: Many of the smaller independent companies haven’t increased their prices (and even if they have, it’s by a lot less). We suggest you do a little extra research on alternative companies as now, more than ever, your savings will likely be sizable. A little digging can go a long way.

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It’s ready! We’ve worked to gather all the car hire coupons, discount codes and deals from Australia’s Big Boys of Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty.

Now all you have to do is check our car rental coupons page and presto, everything in one place. No more opening five windows and jumping around, having as much success comparing the specials as a goldfish trying to master trigonometry.

And we’ve even filtered out the duds (trust us, there are duds). We only list the offers that actually give you extra benefits. Often these companies promote so-called specials of “great daily rates” or “waived fees” which are in reality already reflected in the search results of comparison sites without you having to punch in a coupon number i.e. they don’t make any difference at all. But not the ones we’ve handpicked: make a booking with them and you will truly get a deal you would have missed out on otherwise.

And do share with us and help out your fellow hirer if you come across a hot deal we may have missed. In the meantime, we will continue to avidly hunt down any and every worthwhile special.

Related posts:

1. Qantas Frequent Flyer Goes Exclusive With Avis & Budget (Promo codes inside)

Our Verdict: If you are a frequent renter with Car Rental, Qantas Frequent Flyer or Velocity Rewards memberships, or you have Discount Codes from Avis, Hertz or Thrifty, there’s no more convenient place to compare and book your car hire.

Founded: 2007
Based: Melbourne
Companies searched: Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Thrifty
Prices: Will not be higher than if you went to each of the rental companies’ sites. No extra mark ups, booking or agent fees. ‘Best Rate Guarantee’ will match a lower price on an equivalent car found within 8 hours of booking and add a further 10% discount
Of interest: Allows you to enter car rental membership, frequent flyer details or discount codes so you can automatically collect points or be shown discounted prices in the search results. Where the express pickup service is available, regular travellers can jump the queue

Their unique tabbed search results is well presented and highlights the cheapest available but if you want to see details of other results, you’ll have to click around. You can almost always find the cheapest price for each size category on Oodles, but our other recommended comparison site VroomVroomVroom tends to offer up more search results (e.g. green / hybrid cars).

Selecting a car will reveal all the necessary information from pickup and drop-off details and cost breakdown. Prices are final (but of course, excluding any further add-ons you may request). The booking form requires basic information but no credit card details are required and your reservation will be held for you at no obligation.

Related posts:

1. VroomVroomVroom: A Snapshot

Our Verdict: Simplest and most user-friendly, it is our favourite place for quickly finding the lowest prices and placing a booking without having to go to each of the different sites if you intend to rent a car from any of these reputable global brands.

Founded: 2002
Based: Queensland
Companies searched: Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Thrifty
Prices: Unless you have an offer code or membership discounts, Vroom will find you the exact prices as if you went to each of their sites. No extra mark ups, booking or agent fees. Their Price Promise guarantees to match a lower price on an equivalent car within 3 days of booking with a further $10 discount
Of interest: Partnering with CarbonNeutral, Vroom offsets the carbon emissions of each car hire at no extra cost to you as a renter

With their real-time car hire price comparison presented as a list, it makes it easy for you as a renter to immediately find the cheapest option for the car size you require. Leaving your mouse to hover over each item automatically displays an image of the hire car so you can picture the car you will getting.

Once you’ve selected your car, you’ll be shown pickup and drop-off details, a description of your vehicle and a breakdown of the costs. The final price listed is inclusive of all taxes and fees for the basic car hire so there will be no surprises upon pickup. Naturally, you have to pay more for further add-ons such as child seats or excess reduction, prices of which are also displayed.

The booking form is basic and simple to fill in. No payment or deposit is required, allowing you to secure a rental car far in advance at no risk or obligation.

Related posts:

1. Oodles: A Snapshot
2. Best Comparison Site for the Major Car Hire Companies
3. Big Boys Comparison Sites We’ve Reviewed

All are in PDF-format except for Hertz where you will be redirected to their website for online viewing of their Terms and Conditions.

Note: For easy and reliable price checks/bookings for these Big Boy companies, do have a look at the best sites for comparing car hire that we’ve carefully researched and handpicked.

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