Hertz and Etihad Partner Up for Seamless Travel Experience

In the latest of promising industry developments, Hertz and Etihad have signed a three-year contract to offer a “seamless air to road luxury travel” experience, bringing Etihad customers money-saving deals and benefits. The partnership will integrate Hertz and Etihad’s technology platforms so travellers can conveniently book rental cars through Hertz’s dedicated microsite for Etihad customers, etihad.com as well as Etihad’s call centres and retail outlets.

In terms of perks, Etihad Guest loyalty program members will get access to exclusive offers on etihad.com on top of receiving 500 Guest Miles with each rental. Meanwhile, Etihad’s Pearl Business Class passengers will receive a 15% discount when renting luxury vehicles from the Hertz Prestige Collection, while Diamond First Class guests will receive complimentary access to the top level of Hertz #1 Club, the President’s Circle.

We did a quick check to see the level of discount that may be on offer – a 3-day hire from Melbourne Tullamarine airport showed the following rates:

• Economy Car (Toyota Yaris hatch): Hertz direct A$195.58; Via Etihad A$154.67 = 21% savings
• Standard Car (Toyota Camry sedan): Hertz direct A$217.63; Via Etihad A$189.97 = 12% savings

Not bad.

This is a first in terms of the depth of integration between an airline and car rental company and we’re glad for those who are in the position to take advantage of its effects. Kudos to improving customer experience. Lets hope this motivates more such partnerships to develop so we have more access to better deals.

Introductory Offer: All Etihad customers renting a car with Hertz by April 30, 2011 will have the chance to win a luxurious package of two return Etihad flights to either Europe or Australia, five nights’ 5-star accommodation at Relais & Chateaux, and the use of a Hertz Prestige Collection vehicle for five days to explore the open road.

Links:
Etihad Airways
Hertz (Etihad partner information)

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

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.

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. Read more

Frequent Renter Programs: Is There A Winner?

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. Read more

Snow Snow Snow! Winter 2010 Car Hire Guide is here!

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!

Top Ten Deals Now On Oodles

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

Car Hire Price Hike: 50% Up, So Now What?

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.

Car Hire Coupons & Discount Codes Galore

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.

Oodles: A Snapshot

Oodles is a successful newcomer to car hire comparison scene offering up some differentiating features.

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.

VroomVroomVroom: A Snapshot

VroomVroomVroom is a car hire comparison site based in Australia that compares live prices from Australia’s major car hire companies of Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty.

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.

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