Interstate Car Rental Dropoff Charges
 

I'm trying to rent a car for a holiday starting in Seattle and ending in Las Vegas in late August.

This is the first time I've tried renting a car in the US on my own money and needing to drop off a long way from the pickup location. And they're all trying to charge me $300-$500 in one-way charges.

My dates aren't very flexible and I'm not interested in Rent-a-Wreck type operations. I live in the UK and have no significant discount or privilege card.

Does anyone know a way of renting without these quite high dropoff charges?

you can shop around for a better price but it will still cost you.

my friends just arranged a one way the distance is Las Vegas pick up and Salt Lake city drop off charge is 150.00 the time and gas was worth it for them.

go to orbitz.com and see which rental car agencies match up with seattle and las vegas. Do look into brands that might not be recognized but are dependable.

alamo, dollar, budget, avis, enterprise, (hertz will always be VERY expensive) national, thrifty but that 300 might be pretty standard (i ran it thru with budget and there was a 300 euro fee, more than 300 american)

Out of curiousity I just checked on Orbitz and found a 2 week rental between $450 - 500, taxes included. This was actually $100 lower than returning at Seattle. Looks like you should be able to find a better rate than you currently have.

National is generally the best option for one way rentals... no charges other than the rental fees and you can use coupons and discounts.
I personally love National because I get to pick the car I want each time.
I am a member of the Emerald Aisle program.
If you'll tell me your dates, I can price it through the GDS and see what I get...
I also have loads of coupons from the 'Passbook' that I would be happy to share.
~Laura

Are you dealing with an agency in the UK that handles U.S. car hire? UK citizens may have different insurance needs than residents of the USA who are covered by their own car polices. The insurances can be quite expensive.

Recently noticed with Hertz, that UK friends got a better deal when calling the Hertz toll-free number from the U.S. than when using internet. Other times the opposite. Also noticed that Hertz website asked "Where are you located" rather than "where do you reside", and if you mark "USA" rather than "UK" the rates were lower.

Thank you all for draging me into the 20th century.

I'd been going through the rental cos' own sites. I'd simply forgotten Orbitz.

Amazingly, companies asking $300 or £300 dropoff fees on their own sites suddenly drop their demands on Orbitz.

Wonderful this Web thingy, innit?