My recent search on Car Companies Policy

Additional Driver Fee

 Is there always an additional driver daily fee? How much is it?

Any additional driver (including a spouse or domestic partner) will pay a daily fee of approximately $10 per day unless the primary renter is a member of Emerald Club or has a Corporate Contract Agreement.

Emerald Club Members in the United States and Canada are allowed to have the following Additional drivers without a fee:

Emerald Club member's spouse, common law spouse, or domestic partner who has the same address on the drivers license as the Emerald Club member and meet normal renter requirements.

Immediate family member, Mother/Father, Son/Daughter, or Brother/Sister who has the same address on the drivers license as the Emerald Club member and meet normal renter requirements.

Corporate Contracts / Business Benefits Member in the United States and Canada are allowed the following additional drivers at no charge:

Commercial (corporate) rentals, the renter's business partner, employer or fellow associate, who has an assigned corporate contract with National and drives the car for business purposes and meet normal renter requirements.

All other additional authorized driver situations are subject to a daily charge.

Do you charge extra for an additional driver?

Answer:  Sometimes. Although additional driver rules at licensee-owned locations and locations outside of the U.S may vary, except for California, Nevada and New York, the fee for each additional driver is $13 per day with a maximum charge of $65 per rental. There is no additional driver fee in California. In Nevada the fee is $10 per day with a maximum charge of $50 per rental. In New York the fee is $3 per day. The following are exempt from the fee but must meet all other driver requirements: the renter's employer or fellow employee when on company business and renting under a corporate account; the renter's spouse or domestic partner; the companion driver of a renter with a disability who has completed the non-licensed renter form; for insurance replacement rentals, company employees or family members who are designated on the insurance policy.
It’s always best to check the terms and conditions on your online reservation confirmation or on the location information page to see which rules apply for your selected location.

 

Additional Driver Policy / EnterpriseCan there be an additional driver on the contract?All additional drivers must meet all renter requirements.

Appear at the rental counter with the primary renter.

Present a valid driver’s license.

Present a major credit card in their name at the time of rental, or meet the locations cash qualification requirements.

An additional daily fee will apply for Additional Drivers.

Note: There is no additional driver fee in the US or Canada for a spouse, domestic partner (either same or opposite set), or surrogate driver for mobility impaired renter.

Note: State law in California, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon, and Wisconsin allow the spouse to be an automatic authorized driver under all circumstances.

 

Additional Driver Fee / Alamo

Is there always an additional driver daily fee? How much is it?Any additional driver (including a spouse or domestic partner) will pay a daily fee of approximately $10 per day.

Fees are waived for additional drivers who are renting under corporate contracts and the Alamo Insiders program allows for one additional driver to be added at no cost.

Corporate Contracts in the United States are allowed the following additional drivers at no charge:

Commercial (corporate) rentals, the renter's business partner, employer or fellow associate, who has a signed corporate contract with Alamo and drives the car for business purposes and who meet normal renter requirements.

All other additional authorized driver situations are subject to a daily charge.

 

Is there an additional charge for more than one driver?

In all states other than CA, NV and NY, the charge for additional drivers is $13 per day per additional driver, with a maximum charge of $65 per rental per driver. The additional driver fee in New York is $3 per day per additional driver. The additional driver fee in Nevada is $10 per day per additional driver, with a maximum charge of $50. There is no additional driver fee in California.

The following are exempt from additional driver charges:

• renter's employer or regular fellow employee when on company business
• renter's spouse or domestic partner
• disabled renters who have completed the non-licensed renter form

At the time of rental an additional driver must:

• be at least 25 years of age
• present a valid drivers license
• present an Avis-honored charge card in his/her name
• complete an additional driver form

A maximum of 2 additional drivers can complete an additional driver form* for a rental. To save time, you can print out this form, complete and bring with you to the counter. Additional drivers who can drive the vehicle with the renter's permission (see Exceptions below) are not included in this requirement.

Exceptions:
If 25 or older, the renter's employer or fellow employee (while on company business) or the renter's spouse may drive the car with the renter's permission. They need not be present at the time of rental to provide credit identification or to sign an additional driver form.

An authorized driver for a disabled renter is exempt from the additional driver credit requirement.

Gay-friendly rental car companies (copied from www.365gay.com)

Gay-friendly rental car companies

By Jenny Hagel, special to 365Gay.com
10.17.2008 7:53am UTC

Last summer, my partner and I flew to North Carolina for a friend’s wedding. When we arrived at the Avis counter to pick up our rental car, I asked if I could add her as an additional driver, and was told it would cost $35.

As the woman behind the counter ran my credit card, she casually drawled, “Yep. It’s thirty-five dollars unless you’re co-workers, spouses or domestic partners.” My partner and I exchanged a look and I knew we were both thinking the same thing: “Is it worth thirty-five dollars to convince someone that we’re gay? In public? In a red state?”
Thriftiness got the best of me and I blurted out, “We’re a couple!” “Okay, then,” the woman smiled, “let me cancel that charge.”

While my awkward self-outing saved me $35 (and brought my relationship with the Avis woman to whole new level of honesty), it probably would have been easier for me to know the company’s policy before I arrived. Not interested in having your own Very Special Episode of Blossom at a rental car counter? Check out the list below for details on the additional driver policies at some of the nation’s largest rental car companies.

Avis & Budget
When it comes to adding your partner as an additional driver, it doesn’t get much easier than Avis. According to Alice Pereira, Manager of Public Relations for the Avis Budget Group (which owns Avis), “Domestic partners are included, no questions asked.” In fact, Avis is the official car rental choice of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Avis’ gay-friendly policy applies to all of their corporate-owned and operated locations. A small percentage of locations are owned by licensees, however, and the policy may vary at these locations.

How do you know if a rental location is owned by the corporation or by a licensee? “Call the location,” Pereira says. “For the most part our licensees do follow our policy but it’s best to call to be sure.”

To reserve a car, and to learn about Avis’ domestic partner policy, visit www.avis.com/prouder.

Budget Rent-A-Car is also owned by the Avis Budget Group and Pereira says that there are, “no additional driver fees for domestic partners on the Budget side [of the company] either.” According to Pereira, Budget’s additional driver policy, with respect to domestic partners, is the same as Avis’.
Learn more, or rent a car, at www.Budget.com.

Enterprise
Enterprise Rent-A-Car also waives the additional driver fee for domestic partners. “This is standard throughout the company at all locations,” according to Lisa Martini, Manager of Public Relations for Enterprise.
For more, visit www.enterprise.com.

Dollar & Thrifty
Dollar Rent-A-Car and Thrifty (both owned by the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.) charge additional driver fees for opposite- and same-sex partners. According to Chris Payne, spokesperson for Dollar Thrifty, “Our policy is that additional drivers identified as a life partner will be treated as a spouse.” When asked why Dollar Thrifty has a policy on same-sex partners when there is no discount involved, Payne replied, “We just want to make sure it’s a non-issue for us….A customer’s a customer and we just treat everyone the same.”
Visit Dollar and Thrifty online at www.dollar.com and www.thrifty.com.

Hertz
Unfortunately, the Hertz corporate office did not return multiple calls for this article. According to the company’s reservation line, however, Hertz charges a daily fee for each additional driver, regardless of their relationship to the renter. This policy is consistent across the country, although the amount of the fee varies from state to state (for example, it’s $3 per day in New York and $11 per day in Illinois). The only exception is for Hertz Gold Members, who may add an opposite- or same-sex partner to their rental agreement free of charge.
Check out www.hertz.com for more information.

What if..?
It’s wedding season again, and my partner and I have yet another out-of-state wedding to attend. Last week, we called around to rental car companies, checking availability and comparing prices. The calls were routine until, during one call, my partner’s brow furrowed.

“Budget just told me I can add a husband for free, but not a domestic partner,” she said as she hung up.

“That can’t be right,” I said. Having spoken recently with Pereira, I knew that was inconsistent with the Avis Budget Group’s policy.

I called Budget’s toll free number and was also told that I could not add a domestic partner to my rental agreement for free. I asked a few follow up questions and the agent ultimately admitted that she wasn’t entirely sure what the company’s policy was.
Finally, I asked to speak to a manager, who assured me that I could add my partner to my rental agreement without an additional fee. Ultimately, I got the right answer – but it took three conversations to get it.

I spoke with Pereira about my experience with Budget’s reservation line. She reiterated that, at Budget, “domestic partners are treated as spouses.”

So what if, as in my case, a traveler knows that a company’s official policy is the same for opposite- and same-sex partners, but the agent they speak with doesn’t comply? “They should ask to speak to a supervisor,” Pereira says, “because that’s the policy.”
Travelers who are AAA members can call AAA Headquarters in Orlando, FL for help with customer service issues. According to AAA Director of Public Relations, Mike Pina, AAA’s Member Services Department is happy to intervene to resolve conflicts between members and travel service providers. “Our policy,” says Pina, “is that everyone receives equal treatment…and we would certainly encourage our partners not to discriminate.”

To contact AAA Headquarters, call 407-444-7000.
You can be your own advocate, though, by knowing a company’s official policy before you make your reservation. As illustrated above, calls to a company’s reservation line can yield a variety of responses, both correct and incorrect. For the most accurate information, call the rental company’s corporate office.

Setting my sights on Palm Springs, CA (Cathedal City Area)

Cathedral City, California

Riverside County

Population in July 2009: 52,436. Population change since 2000: +23.0%

Median resident age:	32.0 years
California median age:	33.3 years

Zip codes: 92234, 92235.

Cathedral City Zip Code Map

Estimated median household income in 2009: $43,776 (it was $38,887 in 2000)

Cathedral City:	$43,776
California:	$58,931

Estimated per capita income in 2009: $20,316

Cathedral City city income, earnings, and wages data

Estimated median house or condo value in 2009: $225,523 (it was $113,600 in 2000)

Cathedral City:	$225,523
California:	$384,200

Mean prices in 2009: All housing units: $321,143; Detached houses: $368,096; Townhouses or other attached units: $290,580; In 2-unit structures: $361,059; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $208,545; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $242,238; Mobile homes: $64,744; Occupied boats, RVs, vans, etc.: $102,243

Median gross rent in 2009: $1,004.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Cathedral-City-California.html#ixzz1RRujyXrY

• Hispanic - 28,121 (54.5%)
• White alone - 19,824 (38.4%)
• Asian alone - 1,517 (2.9%)
• Black alone - 935 (1.8%)
• Two or more races - 851 (1.6%)
• American alone - 220 (0.4%)
• Other race alone - 94 (0.2%)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone - 19 (0.04%)