Auto rental @ Boston airport-Hotwire?
 

We have Hertz reservations for a midsize auto at Boston Logan for June-July. Hotwire offers the same for less than half the price, with Alamo. It doesn't include insurance but neither does our Hertz contract. Hotwire says it's at Boston airport, it doesn't state Logan. We don't mind if we must bus 5-10 minutes in Alamo's bus. We've never used Hotwire. Must pay total up front. I haven't found their cancellation policy. Please let me know if you've used Hotwire for Logan auto rental. Hotwire/Alamo's airport tax appears to be a lot lower than Hertz'. Why? Thanks.

Are you sure you're looking at Hotwire? First, with Hotwire rentals, you don't know which one of the 5 companies they use until your card is charged. Second, Alamo isn't one of the 5 companies they use.

FYI, no changes can be made to your reservation period with Hotwire. The person booking the car must be the one to pick it up and there is no cancellation. If you are 100% sure you are going on the trip, I book with them all the time and they always save me a ton of money.

Actually, sometimes the car rental option on Hotwire does show you which company it is. Sometimes it doesn't.

You cannot cancel Hotwire after you book/paid.

AFAIK, none of the car rental companies are onsite right at Logan. You have to take a rental car shuttle bus to any of the companies.

yk says,

"AFAIK, none of the car rental companies are onsite right at Logan. You have to take a rental car shuttle bus to any of the companies."

Partly right. You cannot walk directly to your car the way you can in Tampa, for example. You must ride a shuttle bus.

According the the MASSPORT website, "Currently, 8 rental car companies operate at Logan International Airport. They include: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty." I am a little dubious about Enterprise being on the airport, but I have rented there from Hertz, Avis, and most frequently, Budget.

There are others located off the airport, and I would be careful of these because they can be quite a distance away.

On the same page on MASSPORT where you quoted, Ackislander, it also says:

Each rental car company has complimentary shuttle buses that transport passengers to/from the terminal and the rental car facility. Shuttles run frequently and stop curbside on the arrival level for passengers to board. Departure level service is available on request.

At Logan, Enterprise is quite a bit further than any other major car rental company. By no stretch of a locals imagination woujld it be considered anywhere near being on airport property. Its location also puts it in the middle of commuter traffic nightmare - and being slightly north of the airport, even a bigger headache if one then wants to head south, such as to Cape Cod.

Enterprise and Thrifty are located "off airport", but not much farther, though some have complained about the Enterprise "neighborhood".

As mentioned above, you cannot change or cancel a Hotwire booking.

I usually book a room with Hotwire, after which the car rental options are ridiculously low rates.

Here's the Hotline page that I found a few hours ago. I'm still reading all your answers. Thanks.

http://www.hotwire.com/car/details.j...Id=35855786134