Car Rentals

As far as booking, it's all the same, but you might want to look into joining one of the frequent renter clubs. One way to ensure the lowest rate in (almost) any city is to rent out of the airport. They have the most cars, cut the best deals, and are almost always corporate, so you don't have to worry about certain special rate deals not applying or whatever. Make sure that, no matter what, you do a thorough inspection of the car before you leave the lot, and all damage is reported. I've never been screwed this way, but I know plenty of people who have.

Edit: Do not purchase their insurance plans (9 out of 10 credit cards have built in coverage), and do not go for their gas refill plan, they will charge you up to 3x the local price.

I found that priceline gives me the best rate for car rentals. At times, it beats our corporate discount (which you should check if you have -- even if it's not for a business trip)even for the company we have the discount with. Priceline then lets me add the corporate discount at the time of booking and a couple days ago, I got a "good news, your rate is even lower!" message as the booking went through. No idea how this works, but it cut the rate by $10/day.

With respect to insurance, I don't know what credit cards really cover. I think we had another thread here where someone mentioned they were hit with some sort of "lost revenue" fee from the rental agency. Basically, they couldn't rent out the damaged car while it was getting fixed, and the credit card doesn't pay for that.

If I travel for business, my employer offers insurance and I have to decline the one from the rental agency. When I use it for personal travel, I'll pay the $11/day (via priceline) rather than worry about fighting with my CC if something does happen.

If prices are comparable, I tend to favor National Car over others. Sign up for their rewards program and you get access to Emerald Isle. This lets you bypass the counter and you can pick your own car. I like to sit in a few of them and see which one I like most; but I know nothing about cars, so I couldn't tell from the brand/model which one has a comfortable interior. I like digital speedometers, so that's what I look for.

edit: Definitely do not take any of their gas plans and just refuel the car on your way back to the airport. You can probably get 15-20mins on the highway without moving the tank needle at all...

National is great, just got to Executive Aisle and my bills look like this:

Vehicle Class Driven: Premium 2/4 Door Car Auto A/C

Vehicle Class Charged: INTERMEDIATE 2/4 DOOR AUTOMATIC A/C

I'll second National. Emerald Club is the fucking best. No dealing with retard, mouth breathing, travel once a decade fuckwits. If you're not an Emerald Club member though, be prepared to put up with the same bullshit as other places. Also, fuck Budget and Avis right in the ass.