Do you show up to the rental car counter and get overwhelmed with all the choices? Do you want to prepay for the gas? Do you want additional insurance? Do you know what your existing insurance covers? Ack! It is all so confusing, so this week we chat with road warrior Ed Pizzarello and get his car rental tips. Listen to Ed's tips for renting a car so you are armed with the info you need to make good choices when planning your next trip.

ON THE PODCAST

00:30 - Sponsor

01:12 - Talking with Kim and Tamara about car rental

03:25 - Talking with Ed

05:40 - Favorite car rental company

08:00 - Loyalty programs

10:55 - Bad experiences

14:40 - What to look for in your rental car

19:20 - Finding budget rentals

24:45 - Booking

26:20 - Insurance

30:29 - Gas

34:50 - Issues with rental cars

40:20 - Renting Internationally

43:18 - Ed's Favorite Travel Gear

44:50 - What's next for Edward

46:45 - Up next for Vacation Mavens

ABOUT EDWARD PIZZARELLO

Edward Pizzarello travels for over 100,000 miles a year for business and loves to travel with his wife and two children whenever he's not on the road for work. You can find him blogging at Pizza in Motion and hosting the Miles to Go podcast.

Tune in to Edwards podcast Miles to Go using Google and Apple or on Now Boarding Podcasts.

Follow Edward on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

TIPS FOR RENTING A CAR ON VACATION

• Hertz may not always be the cheapest option, but they offer the best customer service. Ed has found that Hertz has always taken care of him, while other companies have left him with unresolved issues or not willing to honor a rental rate.
• Being a part of a loyalty program with a car rental company can pay off when it comes to picking up your rental car. If you are part of the company's loyalty program you can skip having to wait in a very long line. Since most of you will be traveling with children, this will save you from having to wait possibly over an hour!
• Mini vans tend to be more expensive to rent, due to the fact that everyone wants them because of the space for luggage and passengers. They also may have the most miles because they are always been taken out. Try looking for a station wagon or SUV instead.
• When looking for what kind of car to rent for your vacation, you really want to think about how much space you really need and look closely at what luggage guidelines are listed.
• When looking for car rental deals you may want to look at what your credit card companies have to offer. For instance Chase bank has a portal where you can get cash back for just for using your card to pay for certain items. Look to see if they have a rental company that you can add on to get money back. Costco is also a great option, since they partner with different companies you can get some really great deals. Costco also will not charge you for adding a second driver while other companies will.
• Auto Slash is a great site to look for the best prices in rental cars. They will ask you for a lot of information and then send you all of the deals you are eligible for at different companies. Also, if you plug in the information of your car rental after you book, the site will keep checking to see if your car rental price changes up until the moment you pick up your car.
• When it comes to insurance when you are booking your car rental, you should first check your credit cards to see what they will cover in case of any issues. Chase seems to be one of the best when it comes to car rental coverage. But you should check your cards to see exactly what they will cover.
• Be aware of the gas prices when you need to fill up your tank before you drop off the rental car. A lot of time the closer you get to airports, the more you will have to pay per gallon!
• If you plan to rent a car internationally be aware that automatic transmission will usually cost more and companies may run out of them if you don't book months in advance. If you are comfortable driving a manual, you should definitely think about renting one when going overseas.
• Having a larger car in Europe is not easy. You will find it hard to find parking and with the narrow road you may have issue getting around.

FAVORITE TRAVEL GEAR

Edward likes to wear his Merrell shoes along with a pair of jeans or his Prana shorts that have zip pockets for the summer time. In the colder weather he will wear his ScotteVest so that he can utilize all of the pockets.

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

Article on how to use Chase Portal

Auto Slash

American Express Premium Car Rental Protection

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