car rental questions

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

We need a car for Maui on June 7 and the Big Island on June 14. I've noticed some threads suggesting II or Costco, we belong to RCI also. We can go to Costco and compare rates, evidently II is Hertz. I have used Priceline in the past, but I'd like to know which companies include a spouse as a second driver free and how we can avoid that extra charge if we use Hotwire or Priceline.
Thanks for any suggestions for cheapest rates,
Liz

 

[djs]

One good thing about car rentals (with the exception of PL or HW reservations) is that for the most part they can be cancelled w/o penalty. So you can book something that looks decent and still take time to search for a better deal.

I generally rent from Hertz as I have #1 Gold through II, but instead of using II's discount I'll often use the discount through AAA. AAA usually does allow an aditional driver with no fee (this may only be with Hertz though). In some states I believe state law comes into place and allows a spouse at no additional charge (California comes to mind).

I too have seen people posting about good rates using a Costco discount.

 

[DeniseM]

There are a couple of good discounts posted on the Hawaii Board - you might have to go back a page or 2 to find them. We got an SUV on Kauai for June-July for $199 a week.

 

[BevL]

We usually end up with Alamo through Costco for Hawaii. They include a second driver at no charge.

Again, can't emphasize enough to make reservations at the lowest rate you can find and then keep checking. There's never a penalty for cancelling a car ressie.